WINNIPEG – The Manitoba Bisons (15-1) would blaze past the MacEwan Griffins (0-16) in an all-around team performance centred around great defensive intensity Friday night at Investors Group Athletic Center. The Bisons outstanding rebounding and team involvement would cement the win, 88-57. It's their tenth win in a row, while they are 8-0 at home, and are only two wins away from setting a new program best for regular season wins since joining Canada West. 
 
Bisons forward Daren Watts would have a spectacular game, dropping a career high 17 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots.
 
Griffins captain Matthew Osunde would have another great game, playing the full 40 minutes and putting up 16 points, five rebounds, and seven assists as he fought back against the blazing Bisons.  
 
"My mindset was just to let the game come to me," said Watts. "It's easy to overthink on the court so I think we all just played relaxed and let buckets fall into our lap. This isn't a team; this is truly a family."
 
The Bisons fought against a much more coordinated Griffins team right off the opening tip, as both teams battled back and forth between a ten-point deficit in the first. 
 
The physicality of both teams would be on full display, with a series of athletic blocks and swarming paint defence that had either team desperately fighting for each possession.  
 
Watts would come off the bench and instantly get to work, making his mark on the hardwood – putting up seven points and a block going into the half, with some high-energy plays that gave his team the intensity they needed to pull away with the lead.
 
The Bisons would also get to the free throw line with ease yet again, sinking 14 of their 18 free throws in the first half.
 
On the Griffins end, guard Scottie Austin would attempt to get the offence moving, dropping six points and a rebound as the opposing Bisons continued to gain momentum. 
 
The Bisons kept grinding, showing their grit as they ran away with the lead, creating a 20-point deficit off some great team basketball while going into the half up 44-22. 
 
Coming out of the half, the Bisons would continue their offensive pressure, comfortably keeping their 20-point lead and rallying behind floor general Mason Kraus as he pushed the breakneck pace.  
 
The Griffins would attempt to get back into the running by capitalizing off some open threes against the sagging Bisons defence. Three players would get on the board from deep – led by Osunde's 12 points, with six of them coming from beyond the arc. 
 
The win looked imminent for the Bisons in the fourth as the bench got onto the floor – as all Bisons players got on the board before the final buzzer. 
 
Watts continued to look great in one of the best games of his career, locking it down on defence and pushing the Bisons toward a comfortable win. 

Manitoba returns to IGAC next weekend for their long-awaited matchup against cross-town rival Winnipeg in the Duckworth Challenge. The stakes couldn't be any higher, as Manitoba is in first, while the Wesmen are just two wins back, at 13-3. The two teams are also 1-2 in terms of points allowed. 
 
"Our team identity is all about defence, and that's why we're at the top of the conference and probably the country," said Bisons head coach Kirby Schepp. "We have a lot of depth on our team that can help us win our upcoming games against the Wesmen."