WINNIPEG – The Calgary Dinos overcame a five-point deficit in the final three minutes, and a Bisons lead that was as much as 12, out-lasting the hosts 75-73 on Friday night at IGAC.
 
Trailing 73-68, Hayden Franson nailed two straight treys a minute apart, giving Calgary a 74-73 lead. They didn't trail from there. Calgary hit 14 threes overall in the game, shooting 50 percent from distance. Franson and Daniels Baumanis combined for eight of those threes, with the latter leading the way with 20 points.
 
Manitoba had four players finish in double figures, led by 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists from Daren Watts. Brandt Lenz added 15, while Cieran O'Hara had a double double with 15 points and ten rebounds and Ramogi Nyagudi had ten points.
 
Lenz and Watts both had chances inside the lane in the final 20 seconds on a euro step take and floater, but the rim wasn't on the host's side as the Dinos escaped with the victory.
 
Calgary improved to 5-4 with the win. Manitoba fell to 4-4.
 
"In the last couple of minutes, we had some rushed shots. I missed an open layup. It's just things that are in our control that we failed to capitalize on," said Watts.
 
"They took advantage of it."
 
Thirteen different players scored in the first quarter in a back-and-forth battle with plenty of pace. The hosts had six assists, finding the open man amidst an aggressive Dinos zone defence. O'Hara led all Bisons with five points, while five different players had an assist for the hosts.
 
"I think we executed decently with what we practiced this bye week," added Watts.

"It was cool to see what we did in practice come to life in the game. We were able to practice a lot of zone. That has us prepared to have a couple of different options. I liked our passing. We were able to get into good spots in certain kill zones, that's why we were up to get a couple of dump-offs that led to layups. I feel like there's improvements we can make, but there were some good plays."
 
A beautiful no-look pass from Tito Obasoto to Manyang Tong gave Manitoba a 21-19 lead in the final minute, but Calgary responded with their third triple of the quarter in unique fashion.
 
With a man all over him, Eli Djordjevic put up a prayer from distance that was good for a highlight-reel finish and one point lead entering the second. The visitors had three treys overall, led by two from Aidan Smith, who led all players with eight points in the first quarter.
 
Manitoba broke a tight game open in the final six minutes of the second quarter on the strength of their defence, taking a 44-34 lead into the break thanks to a 16-3 run.
 
Lenz, starting at point guard for an injured Mason Kraus, got the party started, stealing a Dinos pass, taking it coast to coast for two. The 6'0" veteran went all the way up for the two-handed slam, bringing the crowd and host's bench to their feet.
 
A Tong steal later on led to a layup from Lenz, and Watts added five of his own on a three and a drive down the baseline for an and one off a tough take.
 
"The energy was good. It's always good when we get a couple stops in a row," said Watts. "It starts on defence. It was good that our defence was bringing the energy up."
 
The Dinos went on a 9-2 run in the opening minutes of the third, capped by a Baumanis three to cut Manitoba's lead to three at 46-43, but an O'Hara one-handed dunk, and Watts steal and one helped Manitoba surge to an eight-point lead entering the fourth.
 
From there, it was back and forth. Calgary scooped up some key boards, and continued to shoot efficiently from three, capped by Franson's back-to-back triples to take the lead in the final minute.
 
Manitoba had two quality looks in the lane in the final 20 seconds, but they didn't fall.
 
Both teams play again tomorrow at 6 pm.