EDMONTON — The Manitoba Bisons (3-9) had no answers for the defence of the No. 6 ranked Alberta Golden Bears (9-3) on Saturday night, as the home side won in a blowout, 98-55, at the Saville Community Sports Centre.
Manitoba was playing catch up from early on in this one, as they were down 22-11 after the first quarter. A dominant 36-16 third from the Bears put the game well out of reach.
Leading Alberta was Adam Paige who had 17 points (7-for-10), five rebounds, and three assists. Brody Clarke chipped in with 15 points in 15 minutes.
Manitoba got an even-keeled performance from James Wagner, who had 12 points, six boards, and three blocks. Rashawn Browne also had 12 points, adding six assists and five boards for the Herd.
After their first quarter lead, Alberta went into halftime up 39-23. In the third, they shot 60.9%, going 14-for-23 from the field and 6-of-10 from beyond the arc. They then continued their red-hot play in the fourth quarter shooting 66.7% with none of their starters on the court.
Manitoba, meanwhile, struggled to get any momentum going and in the second half, they went ice cold offensively.
"They shot the ball so much better tonight and they had more flow offensively and they got good looks because of it," said Bisons head coach Kirby Schepp.
"Our poor offensive effort fed into their transition and we made it easier on them. We were solid defensively for a little bit, but our poor offence really fed into their offensive success."
The Golden Bears were relentless defensively and they shot the ball with confidence. They finished off every quarter strong and it was highlighted by a pair of buzzer-beater three-pointers from Paige and James to end the first and third quarter.
James hit his from the opposing three-point line to send the fans at the Saville Centre in a roar.
"Everything went right for them, especially in that second half, and that long three was emblematic of just how the game went for us," said Schepp. "We just didn't have any flow."
Manitoba is on the road next weekend to play the UNBC Timberwolves. Both games on Friday and Saturday can be streamed on CanadaWest.TV.
