Box Score VANCOUVER - #9 Bisons lose heartbreaker in 4OT loss at UBC by 53-50. Manitoba drops to 2-3 with football loss before the conference bye. There was 13 different lead changes throughout the epic game in Vancouver.

After four nail-biting overtimes, UBC emerged victorious in Friday, September 30 night's epic showdown between the Thunderbirds football team (3-2) and the visiting Manitoba Bisons (2-3) at Thunderbird Stadium. It took a combined five touchdowns and three field goals in the four overtime periods alone to decide the 53-50 victory, which gives the 'Birds two crucial points heading into the final three games of the 2016 Canada West season.

The existing UBC school record of 729 total offensive yards, set in 2004, was shattered as the home side logged a 753 total yard performance on Friday night (also the second most offence yards given up by a Bison team). UBC receiver Trivel Pinto, who split time as a defensive back on Friday, tied the school record with his three touchdowns and also had .

Running back Ben Cummings and quarterback Michael O'Connor both made significant contributions to UBC's spectacular yard count. Cummings was dominant throughout the night, recording an impressive 246 rushing yards, while O'Connor totalled 463 passing yards.

Longtime Bisons head coach Brian Dobie, whose team pummelled the 'Birds in the pre-season, acknowledged that UBC showed their full potential in what he labelled as one of the most exciting contests of his illustrious career.

"I've been in two or three overtimes, but [none] like that one. It was crazy. I've coached for 42 years and without a doubt that was a top-10 game. [We] lost in a heartbreaker, and the big key is moving forward. It was a great game," he said.

The Thunderbirds held onto a narrow 3-0 lead heading into the second, with an interception from Stavros Katsantonis 6:08 denying the Bisons a potential first TD. The Bisons would eventually find the scoreboard early in the second, as quarterback Theo Deezar found ShaI Ross in the endzone. Manitoba scored 19 points during the second quarter.

Patience paid off as O'Connor threw the ball to Pinto in the back corner of Manitoba's zone late in the second securing UBC's first touchdown. The Bisons responded in the final minutes of the first half with a TD pass from ten yards out (to Riley Harrison) and a safety, securing the 19-13 lead.

Cummings ran four consecutive rushes totalling 89 yards to give UBC their second touchdown at 11:06 in the third. The Bisons again responded with a TD pass of nine yards from QB Theo Deezar to Ethan Diakow and then a successful 2 point conversion from the same combo and a 30-23 lead with only 11 minutes remaining.

With 4:35 left, Cummings carried the ball to the to the 3 yard line, and then dashed his way into the end zone to tie things up at 30 apiece with under five minutes remaining, forcing overtime.

In the extra session, O'Connor lobbed a 27-yard pass to Pinto, giving UBC the first touchdown of OT. The Bisons would respond shortly after with a 14 yard TD pass from Deezar to Trysten Dyce, and a long field goal for each team tied things back up at 40-all. After the Bisons once again replied with a TD pass from Deezar to Marquise Thompson following Will Watson's touchdown in triple overtime, the Herd was forced into another successful field goal on their final drive. UBC seized the opportunity and O'Connor found Pinto with a 35 yard pass as he ran down the sidleines for the game winning points.

For the Bisons, QB Theo Deezar went 33-48 for 368 passing yards with five TDs (tied for second most in a single game by a Bison) and three interceptions with throwing at least one pass to nine different receivers. Touchdown receptions by Shai Ross (27 yards), Riley Harrison (10 yards), Ethan Diakow (nine yards) plus in OT, Trysten Dyce (14 yards) and Marquise Thompson (13 yards). Placekicker Brad Mikoluff went 4/6 on field goals (longest was 42 yarder) while defensive back Jayden McKoy had two interceptions and linebacker DJ Lalama accumulated 12.5 total tackles (good for third place tie in team history) during the road loss.

Manitoba accounted for 28 first downs compared to 34 for UBC and the Herd racked up 509 total offence yards.

UBC will head east to Saskatchewan for an important matchup against the Huskies on Friday, October 14 at 6 p.m. (PT). Manitoba stays on the road after the conference bye and will play at the Calgary Dinos on Friday, October 14 at 8 p.m. CT.

Bison Notes: This was the fourth consecutive win (three in regular season and one in post-season) by UBC over Manitoba in the last two seasons and the last time Manitoba defeated the Thunderbirds on the road is 2013 (W 36-32 on Sept. 14/13). This is the lone meeting between the two teams in the conference regular season in 2016. Over Brian Dobie's tenure with Manitoba (21 years), the Bisons have a 17-15 overall record against the T-Birds and 10-7 on the road during conference regular season.
Earlier this season, the two teams met in a pre-season tilt in the first-ever CIS football game played on Vancouver Island. The Bisons prevailed by a 50-7 score in Langford, B.C. (Aug. 26/16).