WINNIPEG – Bisons sophomore forward Simon Hildebrandt ran IGAC on Friday night, displaying one of the greatest single game performances in program history to the tune of 41 points, as the No. 6 nationally ranked Manitoba Bisons defeated the No. 2 ranked Victoria Vikes 83-79.
 
Hildebrandt's career high were the most in a game in 49 years, and the second all-time in program history, just two shy of Rick Watts, who scored 43 against Lakehead in 1974-75.
 
The win improves Manitoba's record to 11-4, which puts them in a four-way log jam for the most wins in Canada West. The Herd are ranked third based on RPI, behind Regina and Calgary, who also have 11 victories. The top four teams earn a first round bye in the Canada West Playoff Tournament hosted by the Bisons February 21-25.
 
Victoria – playing without the nation's leading scorer Diego Maffia for a second game in a row – fell to 8-3, but are still fifth in RPI. They were paced by 2022-23 All-Star Renoldo Robinson, whose 26 points were just two shy of his all-time best.
 
The win was Manitoba's first at IGAC against UVic since 2013, and they have won three in a row against the Vikes dating back to 2020.
 
It's also the third time in the last four seasons that Bisons head coach Kirby Schepp will finish a Canada West regular season above .500, and he's just seven conference wins shy of the all-time record of 158, set by Rick Suffield in 2009.
 
"The Golden Boy" was automatic from the jump for Manitoba. He scored 11 of Manitoba's 20 points in the first quarter, and had 21 at the half. Along the way, he missed just one shot from the field, and drained all four of his three pointers.
 
Hildebrandt added 16 more in the third, including four triples. His eight overall were the second-most in a game in program history, just behind Nathan Dixon and Eric Garcia, who both netted nine in 2009, and 2010, respectively.
 
The Bisons did a great job moving the ball around, finding the 6'9" Hildebrandt for open looks early and often, while holding the highest-scoring team in the nation (94 points per game) to just 79 points.
 
"I felt good in warmup. I had a good shoot-around today. Once I hit a couple my teammates did a great job of finding me, and I got hot and just kept hitting them," said Hildebrandt.
 
"We knew if we could get paint touches – that's been a big focus the last couple of weeks – then you either go up and score or you find the open guys in the corner. We did a great job of that today. We were attacking the rim hard, getting two feet in the paint and just making plays. We have guys that we know can hit shots, and we were hitting shots today."
 
Manitoba led by six after ten, and 11 at halftime, increasing their lead to 69-54 entering the final ten. Hildebrandt was a major reason, hitting four triples in the first five minutes, while Daren Watts – who scored 15 points including three triples – added five in the third.
 
As a team, the Bisons hit 15 triples, led by Hildebrandt's eight. They shot 46.9 percent from distance, with Watts, Tito Obasoto, Brandt Lenz and Sam Jensen also nailing threes.
 
Lenz had one of his best games as a Bison, playing 17 minutes with Mason Kraus in early foul trouble. His ability to penetrate the paint and kick to the open man paid off many times, and he finished with a career-high seven assists.
 
Victoria didn't go down without a fight, coming back from as much as 19 down to tie the game at 79 with a minute left thanks to a deep three from 2022-23 Canada West Rookie of the Year Elias Ralph.
 
It was one of ten triples in the game for the visitors, who entered play leading the conference in makes per game, with 11.5. Ralph finished the game with 20 points, and he and Robinson combined for 42 of the Vikes 79 shots from the field.
 
The other factor in Victoria's impressive fourth quarter comeback was their rebounding. They entered play as the conference's best team on the offensive glass, and their two top players in that regard stepped up once more.
 
Sergio Pereira and Shadynn Smid entered play with a combined 63 offensive boards, and were a factor on both ends of the glass, combining for 18 rebounds, while Ralph added nine.
 
Smid paced the Vikes with 13 rebounds, tying his career high. He added six of his ten points in the final frame, including an emphatic dunk to finish with a double-double, as UVic went on a 16-5 run to tie it.
 
Smid's presence under the basket was felt on defence during the run, as the Bisons shot just two-for-nine from distance and didn't have many second chance opportunities, getting out-rebounded 50-40 overall.
 
But when it came to crunch time, the Herd stepped up. Robinson had a chance to take the lead with 49 seconds left, but the Herd played tight man defence, forcing a miss.
 
On the other end, Hildebrandt drained a jumper in the paint to give his side an 81-79 lead with 35 seconds left.
 
On the following possession, Watts and Obasoto locked things down, forcing Ralph to take a contested three as the shot clock was expiring, with Kraus grabbing the rebound.
 
Hildebrandt then sunk two free throws to ice the game.
 
Both sides will play again tomorrow at 7 pm, with tons on the line. Hildebrandt and company know that in order to be successful, they have to clean up their play on the glass.
 
"Our defensive rebounding we have to change. Myself, and everybody. I have to be better, they killed us on the glass today, so we have to be better in that aspect."