Bison men swept by Cougars

Steven Bohrn

After losing 92-70 to the visiting Regina Cougars on Friday, Feb. 3, the Bison men’s basketball team closed out the tough, two-game weekend series with an 84-80 loss on Saturday night.

The Bisons battled hard in the first half of Saturday’s rematch, controlling the game for the majority of the half. The herd seemed to come out a bit flat after halftime, however, and let the Cougars back into the game, which was a back and forth affair with many lead changes and ties.

The outcome wasn’t decided until the final 20 seconds of the game, when Joel Hunter, who was huge both nights for the Cougars, leading all scorers in both games, hit a clutch three-pointer off a late Bison turnover.

After the game, Bison head coach Minich Nowrang said he was proud of how the team came back after losing the night before, but noted that it was the small things and the intangibles that gave the now 14-4 Cougars, who currently sit in first place in the Great Plains Division, the win over the 4-14 Bisons. Veteran leadership on the court was perhaps what was lacking from the relatively young Bison squad, as the herd battled valiantly in all respects and made some big plays to stay in the game, but just could not close out the win when it really mattered.

The Bisons were led on the score sheet by guard Tarik Tokar with 18 points and their captain, fifth-year forward Jon Lundgren, with 17.

The Bisons will see their next action in a cross-town tilt against their biggest rivals, the University of Winnipeg Wesmen, on Feb. 9 at the Investors Group Athletic Centre, and Feb. 11 at the Duckworth Centre. Both games are a part of the basketball portion of the Duckworth Challenge. Game time is 8 p.m. both nights.