WINNIPEG – Ten different players scored at least a point, led by a combined 31 from
Mason Kraus and
Simon Hildebrandt as the Manitoba Bisons opened the 2023-24 season with an 86-74 win over the Brandon Bobcats on Thursday night at IGAC.
The Herd led by as much as 25, but the Bobcats clawed back in the fourth, cutting Manitoba's lead to as little as eight with five minutes to go.
The Bobcats fought hard, despite not having leading scorer Jahmaal Gardner, who signed a pro deal in Africa yesterday.
Three-point specialist Sultan Haider Bhatti, as well as Khari Ojeda-Harvey and Travis Hamberger were critical in BU's late comeback attempt, combining for 51 of their team's points, including a combined six triples, but it wasn't enough to steal the win.
Three pointers from
Daren Watts and Bolatito "Tito" Obasoto, along with four points and a few key steals from fifth-year veteran
Wyatt Tait late sealed the deal, as the two teams combined for 26 points in the final five minutes of play.
Kraus added two steals and the game's final two assists to cap off a game that saw him finish with a double-double, with 16 points and ten rebounds, along with six assists and four steals.
"We started to show our off-season rust and played a little sloppy towards the end," said Kraus. "But we just knew we were the better team and had to stay with it and not force anything too crazy. At the end we started to pull it back."
Hildebrandt shot 6-for-11 from the field, battling all game despite getting hacked on the hand countless times, along with a rough non-call where he landed directly on his back.
He had the game's first five points and shot 50 percent from distance (three triples), along with six boards, while Obasoto had his second-highest regular season points total, with 13, building off of a pre-season that saw him score 23 against UNBC.
Brandt Lenz also had a career-high eight points, while
Barac Thon and
Andre Gray II scored their first regular season points as Bisons.
Both teams play again tomorrow at 8 pm.
