Box Score Written by: John Gaudes

WINNIPEG  - The Manitoba Bisons men's basketball team hung in with the country's #4 team, the Alberta Golden Bears, for 20 minutes of play but were outplayed in the second half, losing 70-56 at Investors Group Athletic Centre on Friday, February 7th.

With the win, Alberta wins their sixth straight and moves to 17-2, continuing their run atop Canada West's Prairie Division. Manitoba falls to 5-14.

Alberta was led by their school's all-time points leader, Jordan Baker, who had 16 points and ten boards. Joel Friesen and Czar Robotham came off the bench to add 10 and 12 points, respectively.

Manitoba's high points man was Mike Holloway, who had 12 with six rebounds. Andre Arruda and AJ Basi chipped in 11 each. A point of emphasis for Manitoba was rebounding, and they earned respect - grabbing 38 as a team to Alberta's 43.

"We definitely rebounded the ball well in the first half. They're one of the best rebounding teams in the country and that was a key thing," said Bisons head coach Kirby Schepp.

"We were getting good shots because we were aggressive, but when they turned the defence in the second half, we struggled to score."

Five minutes without a basket looked like a bad omen for Manitoba's start, as Alberta went up 11-0 off the tip with a stifling half-court defence. Thanks to open threes for Arruda and Basi, though, they were able to cut into the lead and hang close. Basi and Arruda would combine for 18 of their team's 34 first-half points.

With controlling offensive play by Jordan Baker, as well as Joel Friesen off the bench, Alberta was able to build their lead to double digits in the second quarter. Again Manitoba chipped away, though, as a late 6-0 run got them within one at the halftime break.

In the third quarter, Alberta broke the game open. Intent on slowing the pace down, they opened their lead to 8. Manitoba punched back thanks to the play of Wyatt Anders inside, but an 8-0 run in under a minute for the Golden Bears would break the Bisons' back. Alberta outscored Manitoba 21-9 in the third.

The game slowed down further with multiple fouls on both sides in the fourth. Without any pace, Manitoba was unable to make a run - sealing the win for the Golden Bears.

The Bisons men's basketball team finish their weekend back-to-back against Alberta on Saturday night, tipping off at 7 p.m. CST.