LANGLEY, British Columbia – The Trinity Western Spartans saw their late push against the No. 9 Manitoba Bisons fall short as the Spartans fell 75-70 Friday night at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. The loss drops the Spartans to 1-6, while the win improves the Bisons to 7-2.

TWU led 19-15 after the first quarter, while Manitoba led 38-31 at half and 52-49 after three quarters.

Third-year guard David Mutabazi (Delta, B.C.) with 17 points, and five rebounds, and four assists, third-year centre Connor Platz (Langley, B.C.) with 13 points, and 12 rebounds, and fourth-year guard Josh Belvin (Long Beach, Calf.) with 11 points, and six rebounds were the Spartans in double-digit scoring. While Simon Hildebrandt with 16 points, and Andre Gray II with 11 points hit double-digits for the Bisons.

AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans had a strong start and were the better of the two teams to start the game. TWU led 16-11 in a high scoring first five minutes and led 19-15 after the opening quarter. The Bisons were dominant in the second quarter outscoring the Spartans 23-12 to take a 38-31 lead in the half-time break.
 
Manitoba carried the momentum in the second half to lead 48-37 five minutes in. But the Spartans defence stood strong in the final five minutes and outscored the Bisons, 12-4, to make it a three-point, 52-49, heading into the final 10 minutes. Manitoba extended the lead to eight-points, 64-56, with five minutes remaining. But TWU pushed late to make it a two possession game trailing by six-points with a minute remaining. A Platz three point basket with 10 seconds remaining made it a one possession game with TWU trailing 73-70. But the Bisons Simon Hildebrandt made both free throws to hold off the Spartans 75-70.
 
QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Trevor Pridie
"The guys played hard and the effort was good. We probably played 35 minutes of really good basketball tonight, but against a really good team it's hard to win when you shoot 15 percent from the three point line and you turn the ball over 20 times, that math usually doesn't equate to a win."
 
"We did some really good stuff defensively and on offense we got some looks, we just have to shoot better and take care of the basketball and we are in the game with a top 10 team in the country. Manitoba is a good team and we need some wins so it should be up in the air again tomorrow."

NOTABLE

• The Spartans finished the night shooting 41.3 percent (26/63) from the field, 15.8 percent (3-19) from the three point line, and 65.2 percent (15/23) from the foul line, while the Bisons went 41.5 percent (27/65), 35 percent (7/20), and 58.3 percent (14/24) respectively.
• TWU out rebounded Manitoba 44-39.
• Last week the Spartans lost both games to the Brandon Bobcats 85-74, and 84-77 in Brandon, Man.
• Last week Manitoba defeated the Lethbridge Pronghorns 83-69, and 99-86 at home in Winnipeg, Man.
• The Spartans are 14-14 lifetime against the Bisons.
• The last time the Spartans defeated to the Bisons was 85-84 on January 10, 2014.

UP NEXT
The Spartans and Bisons will match up again tomorrow night at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C for the final games of the opening semester. Game time is set for 6 p.m. and can be seen live on Canadawest.TV.

About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 13 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, cross country, and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes as an independent team in men's rugby. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 14 U SPORTS team championships and 34 Canada West team championships.
 
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