WINNIPEG – The Manitoba Bisons put on a defensive showcase on Friday night, holding Brandon, one of the top shooting teams in the country, to just 38 percent from the field, and 28.6 percent from three in an 89-76 win at IGAC.
 
Manitoba improved to 12-7 with the win, still in the conversation for a quarterfinal hosting spot, while Brandon fell to 8-11.
 
The Bobcats entered the contest averaging 83.7 points per game, while shooting 45.3 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from distance. Player of the Year candidate Sultan Haider Bhatti and Rookie of the Year frontrunner Munroop Gill also entered play as two of the conference's top five scorers, but neither could solve the Herd on Friday.
 
The duo combined to 12-for-31 from the field and just two-for-ten from three, a far cry from their 43-point showing at the start of the season, a 101-90 Bobcats victory. Haider Bhatti finished as the Bobcat's leading scorer with 19 points, but a good chunk of that came with the game out of reach.
 
Manitoba put elite defenders Mason Kraus, Daren Watts and Ramogi Nyagudi on Haider Bhatti for most of the game, while Gill was held to just five field goals.
 
Defensively, Cieran O'Hara snatched up a season-best 16 rebounds, one shy of his career high, and the Herd won the battle on the boards 47-37 overall, while forcing the Bobcats into tough shots with their signature pressure looks on D.
 
Offensively, four Bisons finished in double figures, led by Nyagudi's 18 points and Kraus' 17.
 
"Last time we played them, Sultan had 24 points and we were pretty concerned about that. He's one of the best players in the conference. We put our better defenders on him, Mason, Daren and Ramogi a bit. We wanted someone with length. We were more concerned about him in the post," said O'Hara.
 
"I think Mason did a great job. He was able to hold him to 17. We were more concerned about the three. I think we did a great job switching onto him. We can switch, so that helped a lot. I think the biggest thing we were working on was communicating on ball screens. The biggest thing that hurt us last time against them was miscommunications with switching. It was just about talking. They didn't set that many ball screens with me so I didn't have to worry too much. That's all it really was, was communicating and being on the same page."
 
Paced by O'Hara, the Bisons were all over the glass in the first quarter, limiting the Bobcats to one shot while keeping countless possessions alive on offence. The Board Man scooped up 11 boards alone in the opening ten, more than the entire Brandon roster combined, and Manitoba had 18 overall in a 23-9 lead that the visitors were never able to come back from.
 
Offensively, eight different Bisons hit the score sheet, led by Tito Obasoto's six points.
 
"I knew I had a lot of boards, but I thought it was seven maybe not 11," smiled O'Hara. "I think it really helps. As long as they only get one shot, it limits them to a lot less points. A lot of the rebounds were coming my way, fortunately."
 
Haider Bhatti had nine of Brandon's 22 first half rebounds, as the Bobcats pressed to narrow the host's lead, but it was another cold quarter from the field for the visitors. They missed all seven attempts from distance in the quarter after hitting just one in the first, with Haider Bhatti limited to six points overall.
 
Defensively, Watts, Kraus, Nyagudi and others kept the Player of the Year candidate at bay with a variety of pressure looks, and offensively the hosts shot 42.5 percent at the break in a 40-23 lead. Watts led the way offensively with seven points in the quarter and nine overall.
 
Four different Bobcats sunk shots from distance in the third, paced by two from Travis Hamburger, while Haider Bhatti and Munroop Gill also made it rain from three, as the Bobcats shot 55.6 percent from three.  
 
But every time the Bobcats pushed, Manitoba had the answer, entering the fourth up by 14.
 
Kraus sunk two threes himself, and he and his teammates continued to keep Brandon's top scorers at bay. Haider Bhatti, Gill and Hamburger combined to make just 12 shots from the field, with Kraus contributing two steals, while O'Hara added one, and Watts emphatically blocked Haider Bhatti at the rim.
 
The fourth quarter featured a variety of highlight-reel plays on offence from Manitoba, including two emphatic dunks from Nyagudi, one on an alley-oop from senior Samuel Jensen. On the other end, Gill was busted open late in the third, but showed heart, returning to the game in the final quarter, however his textbook floater was well scouted by the hosts.  
 
"With Munroop, he's very crafty. He's not super fast super he's quick. He has a killer crossover. It was just trying to limit the floaters. He's a floater god. I was trying not to jump to early on bite on pump fakes," said O'Hara.
 
"I think we did a pretty good job. It was about staying down and in his face."
 
Both teams play again tomorrow at 7 pm.