Separated by one spot in the U SPORTS Top 10, the No. 10 Manitoba Bisons (12-1) edged out the No. 9 Saskatchewan Huskies (9-4) 75-72 in a highlight reel finish at Investors Group Athletic Centre on Saturday afternoon.
Tied at 72 with 14.3 seconds remaining, Bisons guard Keiran Zziwa dribbled to the top of the three-point line, fired the ball with two Huskies defenders close by, and banked in a game-winning shot as time expired.
Saturday’s contest was a true Prairie battle — there were 14 lead changes, both teams lost a starter to injury and the game was even stopped to clean some snow off the ball.
Saskatchewan guard JT Robinson led all scorers with 25 points, shooting 100 percent on six free throw attempts. Emmanuel Akintunde added 13 for the Huskies.
Forward Andre Arruda led all Manitoba scorers with a career-high 24, nailing 6-of-10 three-pointers. Forward James Wagner added 21 points and nine rebounds.
Three-point shooting was the glaring difference in otherwise a tight game. Manitoba connected on 11-of-20 shots, while Saskatchewan struggled from beyond the arc, shooting 2-for-19.
With the win, Manitoba moves into a tie for second in the Canada West standings. Saskatchewan meanwhile moves to a record of 9-4, just two games back of fourth in the conference.
The Bisons will host the Huskies again tomorrow, tipping off at 2 p.m.