Box Score WINNIPEG – A back and forth game was closed out in the final six minutes, as the 13-1, No. 8 nationally ranked Manitoba Bisons overcame a feisty 7-7 Mount Royal Cougars squad in an electric and high-flying game that came down to the wire at Investors Group Athletic Center. 
 
With the score 83-73 with six minutes to go, Manitoba went on a 14-7 run which helped seal a 97-80 win. The victory was the Herd's eighth in a row as they remained undefeated at home, and atop the conference standings. They need just four more wins to set a new program record for victories since joining Canada West. 
 
Bisons forward Wyatt Tait would have a career night with his first double-double (13 and 13), and proved to be one of the many catalysts for a big Bisons win, 97-80.
 
Five Bisons players would end with double digits before the clock ticked to zero, as they came together as a team in the fourth to ward off the persistent Cougars. 
 
"We struggled a bit at the end of the third rebounding the ball and getting beat in transition," said Tait. 
 
"We made an effort to finish possessions with a rebound going into the fourth and made an effort to take care of the ball."
 
Bisons forward Simon Hildebrandt would also finish the game with 25 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks – shooting an efficient 53.3 percent from the field. 
 
Cougars guard Holt Tomie – who entered the weekend second in league scoring –  would have another outstanding performance, dropping 22 points, seven rebounds, and four assists as he fought to keep Mount Royal in the game. 
 
The Bisons would come out swinging off the opening tip with a potent combination of fiery offence and lockdown defence – taking an early ten-point lead. 
 
Bisons forward Jonam Kazadi would muscle his way into the paint, grabbing high-flying layups and a nasty backboard block that would ignite the rest of the team. He finished with 11 points, which tied for a career high. 
 
Hildebrandt would also get it going, picking up 11 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots, going into the half behind a colossal putback dunk and block on the following procession. 
 
On the Cougars end, speedy guard Ijah Nelson would fight to break the deficit, speeding up the court at breakneck speeds and grabbing eight points with two threes before the half. 
 
Tomie would stay hot from the night before as well, dropping nine points in the second, putting the Cougars into the running and making the score 49-41 going into the half.
 
The Cougars looked energized coming out of the half – with guards Keivonte Watts and Tomie combining for 33 as the fourth rolled around. 
 
The Bisons stepped it up in response, rallying behind a massive poster dunk by Hildebrandt that left the rim shaking.
 
The Cougars would fight to gain their first lead of the game early in the fourth, battling to shorten the ten-point deficit, behind Tomie and Watts who dropped 22 a piece.   
 
The Bisons were relentless, however. Hildebrandt would continue to light it up on both ends – dropping nine points and two blocks in the final minutes as the Bisons cemented the win.
 
The Cougars are back in action next weekend against UNBC while Manitoba hosts MacEwan.