CALGARY - The University of Calgary Dinos started and ended their first playoff game of 2015 on fire to defeat the Manitoba Bisons 92-81 in Game 1 of their Canada West Play-In Series on Friday, February 20. 

Although Manitoba had five players average double-figures in the regular season, it was Calgary sharing the wealth as they were the team with five with at least 10 points, led by Lars Schlueter with a team-high 21, including five three-point shots and nine points in the final quarter. 

Calgary got off to a great start, hitting 10 of its first 11 shots and took a 27-17 lead after the first quarter. But in the second, Manitoba would find their game, dropping 30 points in the frame and trailed by a small margin of 49-47 at halftime. 

Manitoba would continue to chip away in the third quarter, eventually taking a 53-51 lead thanks to free throws by forward Wyatt Anders, who ended with a game-high 16 rebounds on the night. After the two teams exchanged buckets, A.J. Basi hit a big three for the Bisons, giving them a 64-60 lead with 3:22 remaining in the third. 

But Schlueter would hit a three on the next possession and after a Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson layup tied the game at 65, the German would hit another three for the 68-65 lead and two free throws by Jhony Verrone gave the Dinos a 70-66 advantage going into the fourth. 

And then in the blink of an eye, Calgary took complete control. 

Calgary would score 12 points in the first three minutes of the quarter with four different players scoring to take an 82-70 lead. From that point on, every time Manitoba made a push, the Dinos would always respond and cruised to the 92-81 victory. 

Along with Schlueter, the four other Dinos starters hit double-figures with Ogungbemi-Jackson scoring 15, Verrone and Phil Barndt with 10, as well as Dallas Karch with 11. For the game, Calgary shot 53 per cent while holding Manitoba to 37, and only allowed 15 points in the fourth quarter. 

The Bisons were led by their leading scorer on the season, Basi, who continued his strong play off the bench, scoring 21 points. Stephan Walton and Andre Arruda also hit double-figures with 14 and 11 respectively. 

Earlier this year, Calgary won their first regular season game against the Bisons, but Manitoba came back the very next night and won on the Dinos' home floor and Schlueter says they need to have the same defensive effort in the fourth quarter tomorrow night. 

Game 2 goes Saturday, February 21 night at 7 p.m. MT on canadawest.tv website. If the Bisons win, the third and deciding game will be Sunday at 3 p.m. MT. The winner of this Play-In Series will take on the Fraser Valley Cascades next weekend in B.C. in the conference quarter-final.