WINNIPEG — The No. 9 seeded Manitoba Bisons saw their season come to an end on Thursday night, as a slow start ultimately proved too difficult to overcome at the Duckworth Centre. The No. 8 seeded Winnipeg Wesmen capitalized and won, 92-77, to advance to the Canada West quarter-finals.

Manitoba was out-scored 33-14 in a dynamic first quarter by the home Wesmen. Winnipeg forced three turnovers on the Bisons' first three possessions, as guard Narcisse Ambanza hit a three to cap an early 7-0 run.

Ambanza would finish with a game-high 36 points, also a season high for the Toronto native. He added six assists and three rebounds in 34 minutes for a phenomenal performance.

"I thought our energy level was low, but mainly they just made shots and we didn't," said Bisons head coach Kirby Schepp.

"That took away our fight and our energy a little bit. Credit to them, they came out energized and our guys didn't to some extent."

The Bisons were led by 23 points from fellow Torontonian Rashawn Browne, who went 8-for-17 from the field and added six assists, three rebounds, and two steals.

After the first quarter thumping, Manitoba battled hard in the final three quarters. In the second frame, better offensive execution led to some momentum. A floater from Browne cut the lead down to 16, while an offensive charge was taken by Kieran Zziwa to force a Winnipeg turnover. Manitoba would win the second 21-16, heading into halftime down 49-35.

The Herd would get closer early in the second half. After Ambanza opened the quarter on a personal 4-0 run, Bisons guard Zach Giesbrecht made a pair of clutch threes. Some solid play by forward James Wagner on the offensive glass would earn him some free throws, as Manitoba hung in to tie the third quarter and keep it at 14. Wagner would finish with 16 points and ten rebounds for the Bisons.

Early in the fourth, a three from Andre Arruda would get Manitoba as close as they would get — ten points. Winnipeg wrestled control back after, answering with a 9-3 run of their own, highlighted by two jumpers from Billy Yaworsky.

An Ambanza spurt of points with under three minutes iced it, as Manitoba fell into the penalty and allowed free throw opportunities for the Wesmen.

Winnipeg would end up outshooting Manitoba 51.4% to 38.2% in the game, with most other statistical categories relatively even. While the Bisons made more threes (10-6 3PM), they couldn't make up the easy bucket margin.

In other supporting lines, Andre Arruda had 15 points while Malik Irwin had ten points, eight rebounds, two assists, and two steals off the bench in his last game in brown and gold.