Box Score WINNIPEG – The Manitoba Bisons leap-frogged the Lethbridge Pronghorns for third in the Canada West Prairie Division, commanding play from start to finish in a 79-63 victory on Friday night.
 
The win improved the Herd's record to 5-1, while Lethbridge fell to 5-2. The two teams will wrap up their weekend series tomorrow at 7 pm.
 
Depth was the story on both sides. Overall, 22 different players saw the court, with 20 playing at least seven minutes.
 
Lethbridge came in with one of Canada West's most versatile rosters. Eleven different student-athletes entered play with a start at the U SPORTS level, while four were averaging over ten points per game. But the hosts were the more physical team all night.
 
Veteran forward Cieran O'Hara commanded the glass with a career-high 17 rebounds, the most in a game since Keith Omoerah had 18 in January of 2016. He added five of Manitoba's 17 points in the fourth quarter to close things out, and had seven points total as a lethal inside presence.
 
O'Hara is now fourth in Canada West with 9.7 rebounds per game.
 
"I was telling [teammate] Jonam [Kazadi] at halftime, I had two points, I was like, I'm going for two [points] and 20 [boards] today," reflected the even-keeled big-man.
 
"I was okay with that. Before going into the game, [Bisons head coach] Kirby [Schepp] wanted us to crash the boards. He knew they didn't have many big guys. That was part of our game plan, was to out-rebound them."
 
As a team, Manitoba blocked seven shots, three of which came from Mason Kraus, one shy of his career high. The four-year starter added a game-high 17 points, with he and starting point guard Brandt Lenz combining for 15 of Manitoba's 19 first quarter points.
 
Tito Obasoto added a season-high 14 points off the bench, and was particularly effective in the third quarter, where he played six minutes. The spark plug guard scored eight points, getting to the line on three different occasions, willing his way to the basket in trademark fashion, and also finding open teammates for quality looks.
 
Andre Gray II reaped the rewards of Obasoto's play, tying his season-high with ten points, along with three rebounds and a block in 11 minutes of action.
 
"I think it's great, that's what we want to see as a team. We want everyone to get to what they know best," said O'Hara.
 
"Tito is down hill. Dre is down hill. Kirby at halftime said we were shooting too many threes against this team. They're too small. I think Tito did a great job and he took it to heart, and he kicked it out to Dre who was hitting open threes. Everyone was just crashing. It worked out perfectly."
 
Lethbridge got an inspired performance from fifth-year guard Angelo Mbituyimana, who entered the weekend with a team-leading 18 points per game and ten rebounds. He scored 11 points in the second quarter and had a game-high 23 along with eight rebounds, but no other Pronghorn had more than nine points.
 
Overall, Mbituyimana threw up 16 attempts from the field, hitting seven. Jack-Henry Fox-Gray had a game-high 11 rebounds, but the athletic big was held off the score sheet thanks to Manitoba's suffocating defence, while Kymani Pollard had nine points in 13 minutes, however a technical foul resulted in his ejection in the second half.
 
The two teams combined for 13 triples at the half in a 41-35 Bisons lead.
 
Brady Baines came off the bench to hit two threes in seven minutes in the second, while Mbituyimana also had two triples.
 
Meanwhile, Gray II had eight of his ten points in the second including two pure shots from distance, while Daren Watts added nine points including two shots from distance.
 
Five steals from Manitoba in the second half, three from Watts, helped lock down a Bisons win (second in Canada West with ten steals per game as a team). O'Hara also snagged six rebounds in the fourth to shut down numerous Lethbridge possessions.