LANGLEY, British Columbia – Third-year guard David Mutabazi (Delta, B.C.) knocked down 30 points and the Spartans overcame a 24 point second half deficit, but it wasn't enough as the No. 9 Manitoba Bisons defeated Trinity Western 75-63 Saturday night at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. The loss drops the Spartans to 1-7, while the win improves the Bisons to 8-2.

TWU trailed Manitoba by 24 points, 56-32 with six minutes remaining in the third quarter. But over the next 10 minutes the Spartans outscored the Bisons 27-4 to cut the deficit to one point, 60-59, with 5:30 remaining in the game. The Bisons finally stopped the TWU charge and outscored the Spartans 15-4 in the final five minutes to seal the 12 point win. The Spartans had trailed 30-17 after the first quarter and 49-26 at half time.

Mutabazi with 30 points, and eight rebounds, and first-year guard Tyler Sipma (Lynden, Wash.) with 12 points, and third-year centre Connor Platz (Langley, B.C.) with 16 rebounds, six blocked shots, and five points led the Spartans. Daren Watts with 17 points, Wyatt Tait with 14 points, and 11 rebounds, Cieran O'Hara with 13 points, Simon Hildebrandt with 11 points, seven rebounds and four blocks, and Mason Kraus with 10 rebounds, nine points, six steals, and five assists led the Bisons.
 
QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Trevor Pridie
""Both nights, it was anyone's game with two minutes left, which is good against a team as good as Manitoba. Tonight we dug ourselves a hole in the first quarter, but outside that first quarter, we really defended well. We had some defensive issues in the first quarter and we had some offensive issues in the second quarter, but in the second half our guys fought like crazy. We have a group that doesn't quit and they play hard. I thought we were great defensively in the second half. I thought that was the best game David has played this year. It was nice to see him mix it up a bit and get back to playing at the level that he's capable of. Connor was awesome defensively, controlling the boards and blocking shots. I thought we also had some key contributions from guys like Jacob (Fortune) (third-year guard, Ottawa) and Marcus (Shankar) (second-year guard, Campbell River, B.C.) and Tyler. It's hard to find moral victories. We just need a win so bad. The guys play hard and they battle and Manitoba is a really good team."
 
"I think the break comes at a good time for us. We need to get better and work on some things. The tough stretch of good teams continues for us, with UBC right after the break. We just need to keep working and get one of these."
 
NOTABLE

• The Spartans finished the night shooting 37.3 percent (25/67) from the field, 23.1 percent (6/26) from the three point line, and 58.3 percent (7/12) from the foul line, while the Bisons went 40.5 percent (32/79), 18.5 percent (5/27), and 85.7 percent (6/7) respectively.
• TWU out rebounded Manitoba 47-44.
• The Spartans lost 75-70 to the Bisons on Friday night.
• The Spartans are 14-15 lifetime against the Bisons.
• The last time the Spartans defeated to the Bisons was 85-84 on January 10, 2014. 

UP NEXT
The Spartans are now off for exams. TWU will be back on the court December 30 when they will host the Thompson Rivers WolfPack in a non-conference game. TWU's next conference game is January 5-6 when they will travel to Vancouver to take on the UBC Thunderbirds. Game times is set for 7:30 p.m. and 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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