LANGLEY, British Columbia – The Manitoba Bisons scored 70 points in the second half to run away with a 101-67 men's basketball win over Trinity Western on Friday, February 12 at the Langley Events Centre.

After the Spartans held the Bisons to just 31 points in the first half and possessed a five-point lead at the break, Manitoba exploded in the second half, scoring 35 points in each of the third and fourth quarters en route to a 34-point win. With the win, Manitoba improves to 14-5 while TWU falls to 1-16.

As a team, Manitoba shot 64.9 per cent (24-37) from the field in the second half, while TWU shot just 25 per cent (9-36) over the final two quarters. The Bisons also shot 46.7 per cent (7-15) from 3-point range in the second half while TWU was 1 for 10 from beyond the arc.

Osahon Eghosa and Justus Alleyn each tallied 13 second-half points to lead the Bisons offensive barrage while AJ Basi added 10 points over the final 20 minutes. Alleyn finished the game with 20 points while Brett Jewell, Eghosa and Basi tallied 14 points each.

The Spartans Lucas Mannes led his team with 21 points while Kelvin Smith added 18 points. Eric Rogers led the Spartans with six rebounds.

The Spartans held the high-flying Bisons to just 13 points in the first quarter as they built a 17-9 lead before taking a six-point edge, 19-13, into the second quarter. Smith had seven points to lead the Spartans while Jewell had four points for the visitors. 

TWU opened a 25-15 lead early in the second quarter, only to see Manitoba go on a 10-0 run to even the score. However, the Spartans hung right with the Bisons and after a late run, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Mannes, TWU went into the break leading 36-31. Smith finished the first half with 13 points while Jewell continued to lead the Bisons with 10 points.

In the third quarter, the Bisons offense came to life.

With Manitoba's Alleyn scoring a team-leading 10 points in the third quarter, the Bisons outscored TWU 35-16 to take control of the game.

The fourth quarter was more of the same as the Bisons continued the offensive onslaught, scoring another 35 points while holding TWU to just 15 points.

The teams will play the rematch Saturday at 7 p.m. PT at the LEC.