WINNIPEG – The No. 8 nationally ranked Manitoba Bisons got a scare from UBCO, trailing by as much as 13 in the second quarter, but they rallied down the stretch, scoring in bunches to pull out an 81-72 win on seniors night at IGAC.
The Bisons finish the season at 13-7, earning a first round bye for the Canada West Playoff Tournament, hosted by Manitoba February 21-25. They will be the No. 4 seed and will play on February 22 in the quarterfinals against the winner of the previous day's play-in match.
The Heat led by seven after one, and held a double-digit lead in the second before the Bisons stormed back, as forward Cieran O'Hara scored five in a row, including a dunk, while Simon Hildebrandt, Andre Gray II and Tito Obasoto also got the board for the hosts, who went on a 17-4 run in the final seven minutes of the second to tie the game at 36 at the break.
O'Hara was huge on the glass for his side, scooping up a team-high nine boards, while depth scoring from the team's only senior Wyatt Tait (six second half points, five rebounds) as well as point guard Brandt Lenz (nine points) and three point specialist Sam Jensen (six points) helped give the Bisons a boost.
Overall, nine different Bisons had at least nine points, as the hosts flexed their depth against a short UBCO bench that dwindled to seven following rebounds leader Jas Dhudwal's exit due to fouls in the second half.
"We knew going into the week that UBCO was going to push the ball in transition so we had planned to stop their style of play by pressing up in full court," said O'Hara, who had three steals and 18 rebounds over the two-game set, using his seven-foot wing span to cause countless issues on D.
"I think it worked really well as they had to settle with a lot of tough shots. They played super physical but I think our guards helped the bigs out by crashing the glass. It was a hard battle down low, but I think our depth really helped win the day."
Hafith Moallin scored 14 of his game-high 21 points in the first half, while Gavin Asworth went 4-for-5 from distance, and had 18 points, but Manitoba's veteran leaders stepped up when needed in the second half.
Defensively, point guard Mason Kraus held leading scorer Jalen Shirley to five points in the second half, while Obasoto and others held Moallin to seven.
Offensively, Kraus scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half, as he and Daren Watts combined for 24, and neither missed a shot in the fourth quarter as Manitoba broke open a 66-64 game with 4:37 to go, scoring 15 points down the stretch.
