WINNIPEG – Trailing by as much as 11 overall and seven midway through the fourth, the Manitoba Bisons showcased a herculean effort in the final stretches against the Alberta Golden Bears, coming out on top 93-88 in double overtime in an absolute classic at Investors Group Athletic Centre on Saturday. The win improves Manitoba's record to 2-0. 

Manitoba had their backs against the wall, as head coach Kirby Schepp was handed two technicals and was forced to exit the game late in the third. Despite the circumstances, the Herd rallied around their veteran bench boss, coming up big when it counted. 

In Schepp's absence, assistant coach and Bisons alum Rashawn Browne, as well as fellow assistants Donny Hayes and Srdjan Komlenovic stepped up, making key decisions in crunch time. Arguably the most important decision Browne made was inserting first-year standout Simon Hildebrandt back into the game with four minutes to play, despite having four fouls. 

"The game plan was to fight, at the end of the day we just had to keep throwing punches as they were throwing punches," Browne said. "Eventually they had to stop punching. It was all about who could throw the last punch.

Hildebrandt, a 6'9" MBCI product who played prep basketball last year, went to the line with 2:13 left, after being fouled on an attempted three. He sunk all his free throws to narrow the score to 69-67 for Alberta. Overall, he finished the game with 28 points. 

A huge steal by Wyatt Tait -- who had eight points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals -- and a successful contested layup by Isaac Miller-Jose then tied the game with 1:30 remaining.

Both teams fought for everything to break the tie but ended up going into overtime. 

"It just shows how my teammates and coaches have faith in me," said Hildebrandt about being inserted back into the contest late. "They helped put me in a good position to win the game."

Alberta, who got 22 points from Adam Paige and 17 from captain Brandon Meiklejohn, started out the electric OT with a jumper by Meiklejohn, and a wild scooping layup from Isaac Simon that would start separating them from the Bisons as they pulled ahead 81-77 with two minutes remaining

A Bears turnover late shifted the momentum for the Bisons, as Hildebrandt got to the line for two. Overall, he went 14-for-14 from the line, which was a deciding factor with both teams in the bonus for the first and second overtime sessions. 

Meiklejohn then got to the line to give Alberta an 81-79 lead, however the Bisons sent it to double OT on a last-second dunk from Miller-Jose, who scooped up an attempted three from Tito Obasoto, getting the bucket as time expired. 

Meiklejohn continued to shoot the lights out, with a dagger three in the corner that put Alberta up by three with 3:30 left. Guard Elijah Lostracco, who had 16 points, hit a big three shortly after, but was matched by Meiklejohn. Paige then hit two free-throws, but Lostracco responded with a shot himself, tying it back up at 88.

Hildebrandt then got to the line to give Manitoba a 90-88 lead, and Miller-Jose came up big on the defensive end with his third block of the evening as the Bisons held on the rest of the way for a five-point victory. 

"Our big emphasis coming into this season was competitive stamina. That really showed today," said Hildebrandt. I love all my guys. This is a good team. I think we've got a lot of potential here."

Both teams will be back in action next weekend.