Alyssa Etsell, University of Manitoba Bisons Sports Information 

WINNIPEG - In a nail-biter of a second half, the University of Victoria Vikes won 81-76 over the University of Manitoba Bisons in men's basketball on Jan. 13, 2018 at Investors Group Athletic Centre. 

"I thought our guys hung in tough considering we lost two starting forwards. I was really proud of how our first-year guys played," said Bisons head coach, Kirby Schepp. "They played tough against a really tough, physical team. I'm proud of the way they played under tough circumstances."

With the home loss, Manitoba breaks their five-game win streak and moves to a conference record of 10-5. Victoria improves their record to 7-6.

Mason Loewen went two-for-two on free throw attempts with 4.5 seconds on the clock to secure the win for Victoria at 81-76.

A foul call on Justus Alleyn after a field goal by Scott Kellum with under 27 seconds left led to dispute on a tie game (76-76). At 77-76 for the Vikes, off the foul call, Scott Kellum netted two free throws and pulled Victoria ahead by another two points with next to no time left in the game.

Earlier in the quarter, Bison Rashawn Browne made an epic steal almost immediately after a Manitoba field goal and led to a three-pointer with 4:34 left in the fourth and brought the home side briefly into the lead. Jordan Charles answered with a three-pointer for the Vikes, making sure the Herd continued to stay behind.

The rest of the quarter continued with back-and-forth field goals and left both teams fighting point for point for the win.

The home team shot at 41%, just edging out the visitor's 39.4%.

A number of huge plays by Manitoba closed the third quarter with a close score. Browne hung off the rim to net a dunk that moved Manitoba within just three points of the Vikes. Answering a run by Manitoba, Jason Scully attempted to keep a distance between the score with a near-perfect three-pointer.

Browne then scored a nothing-but-net three-pointer from the side of the court with under one second left in the quarter to bring the Bisons back into the game, going into the fourth quarter trailing 59-55.

Alleyn led the game at the end of the third in total points with 16.

Earlier in the game, the hosts closed the second quarter with an 8-2 run. Keiran Zziwa sent a mid-court pass to Alleyn to get a field goal for the Herd. It started some momentum in an otherwise stale first half for the Bisons and then they scored again with under five seconds left to go into the second half.

Joey Nitychoruk left the game with an injury late in the first quarter.

Jason Scully netted a dunk with less than two seconds left on the clock and allowed the Vikes to pull ahead late in the first quarter to head into second with a nine-point lead.

Alleyn had a game-high 27 points while Mason Loewen led Victoria's with 14 points.

Both teams play again tomorrow (Sun. Jan. 14) at Manitoba at 3 p.m. CST. Watch the game live online at canadawest.tv.

Game Leaders
Points:
Manitoba – Justus Alleyn, 27
Victoria – Hayden Lejeune, 15

Rebounds:
Manitoba – Keiran Zziwa, 14
Victoria – Mason Loewen, 14

Assists:
Manitoba – Rashawn Browne, 7
Victoria – Mason Loewen, 5