WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg Wesmen out-scored the Manitoba Bisons 32-12 in the fourth quarter, as the final ten minutes made the difference on Saturday night at IGAC. Donald Stewart led the way, scoring 13 of his game-high 28 in the final ten in an 88-78 win for the visitors.
 
Malachi Alexander added nine in the quarter and had 21 points overall, as the Wesmen shot 50 percent from distance in the fourth. Mikhail Mikhailov added a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Daren Watts led Manitoba with 26 points, 13 of which came in the third quarter. Simon Hildebrandt, Jonam Kazadi and Wyatt Tait also scored in double figures for the Bisons, while Mason Kraus had a career-high 12 rebounds, and was one assist and one point shy of a triple-double.
 
The win improves Winnipeg's record to 13-5, and should vault them into a top four spot in the Canada West standings. The top four teams in CanWest earn a first round bye for the 12-team playoff tournament hosted by Manitoba February 21-25.
 
The Bisons currently sit in sixth at 11-7, and will await the results from other games to determine where they are in the standings based on RPI.
 
The Bisons led 22-13 after one, 41-37 after two and 66-56 after three, but turnovers on four straight possessions to open the quarter and a few tough misses led to a six-minute span where the Herd were held scoreless.
 
Hildebrandt also went down late in the fourth with a lower body injury, affecting his side's depth. Manitoba trailed by seven for most of the final few minutes, cutting the lead to five on a Cieran O'Hara three, but there wasn't enough time left to make a complete comeback.
 
The Bisons shot 50 percent from three, and got a combined 11 points from Watts, Kraus and Hildebrandt in the first, while Kraus played spirited defence in the second, sprinting back in transition on two different occasions to obstruct what could have been easy buckets.
 
A fade away double at the buzzer by Kraus gave his side a four-point lead at the half, and that lead was widened in the third thanks to a 12-0 run, including six from Watts, who shot 10-for-18 from the field.
 
Alexander went on a personal 7-0 run late, setting the stage for a lopsided final ten.
 
Manitoba shot 4-for-15 in the quarter including 1-for-8 from three, along with five turnovers, while the Wesmen shot 50 percent from the field, with Stewart, Mikhailov and Alexander combining for 29 points and just three misses from the field.