By Danielle Doiron

WINNIPEG - The #9 University of Manitoba Bison men's basketball team has its first playoff win since 2004.
 
The Bisons won the first of a Canada West quarter-final best-of-three series 78-59 against the University of Fraser Valley Cascades Thursday, March 3 night at Investors Group Athletic Centre.
 
The teams met once this year, when the Bisons lost 72-67 in a preseason game. Manitoba finished third in Canada West's Pioneer Division with a 15-5 regular season record, while Fraser Valley went 12-8 to take second place in the Explorer Division.
 
Manitoba head coach Kirby Schepp has led the Bisons to the postseason four times in the last seven years and called the Cascades a "really tough veteran team."
 
"They really try to control the tempo of the game," Schepp said after the win. "I think that's really the battle for us. We're trying to get the game faster. They're trying to slow the game down.
 
"It's a battle of tempo, but the tempo was in our favour tonight, and that was probably the biggest difference of the game."  
 
Manitoba's Wyatt Anders and Fraser Valley's Kevon Parchment each had 17 points. Bison third-year Keith Omoerah had 14, and guard Justus Alleyn and forward Jonathan Alexander each had 12 points, as did the Cascades' Matt Cooley.
 
Manitoba's offense came out strong from the opening tipoff with a 7-0 run and the home defense held Fraser Valley scoreless for just over three minutes. Bison co-captain and veteran forward Wyatt Anders had seven points in the first quarter, while Alleyn netted six to help give the home team what looked like an effortless 20-10 lead.
 
The tone of the game shifted in the second. Solid Fraser Valley defense held the Bisons to only 16 points in the quarter, while the Cascades caught up slightly, adding 15 of their own. But while the visitors slowed the pace of the game by racking up six fouls, the Bisons only committed one in the final minutes of the quarter. Despite this, Manitoba only scored two points on free throws but led 36-25 at the half.
 
Both teams ran into trouble with fouls in the third, including a disputed technical against Alleyn early in the quarter. The teams combined for 14 fouls, including nine from Cascades players. The Bisons took advantage of the gritty stop-start action and scored 10 points on free throws, six of which came from Anders in the last three minutes of the quarter. AJ Basi closed the third with a buzzer beating three-pointer to give the Bisons a 62-46 lead.
 
The Bisons kept on scoring in the fourth. Schepp sent in some of his rookie bench, and first-year Joseph Medrano hit a jumper late in the quarter to help the Bisons take Game 1 by a 78-59 result.
 
The teams will face off again Friday, March 4 night at 7 p.m. CT at Investors Group Athletic Centre.
 
"We've got to make a few adjustments," Schepp said when asked about his plan for Game 2. "We've got to be more consistent offensively, work to get better shots, especially perimeter shots, and continue to defend."
 
If necessary, the Bisons and Cascades will finish the best-of-three series on Saturday, March 5 at 3 p.m. CT.
 
Final score:
Manitoba: 10-16-26-16=78
Fraser Valley: 20-15-21-13=59
 
Point leaders
Manitoba: Wyatt Anders (17), Keith Omoerah (14) and two players (12)
Fraser Valley: Kevon Parchment (17), Matt Cooley (12) and Brandon Burke (7)
 
Assist leaders
Manitoba: Justus Alleyn (4), three players (2) and three players (1)
Fraser Valley: Kevon Parchment (5), Vikay Dhillon (3) and Manny Dulay (2)
 
Rebound leaders
Manitoba: Keith Omoerah (9), Jonathan Alexander (9) and Wyatt Anders (8)
Fraser Valley: Navjot Bains (9), Kevon Parchment (9) and Matt Cooley (7)