Cange sparks Brandon to season-saving win
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/02/2025 (294 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Youri Cange was blissfully unaware of the frenzy he sent the Healthy Living Centre into.
It was only after the final buzzer, with Brandon Bobcats 74, Saskatchewan Huskies 64 on the board and his name echoing through the gym as player of the game that he realized it.
The rookie carried the Bobcats to the lead they needed to keep their Canada West men’s basketball season alive, knocking down not two or three but four straight three-pointers in a critical third quarter.
Brandon Bobcats Travis Hamberger draws a foul and scores against the Saskatchewan Huskies during their Canada West men's basketball game at the Healthy Living Centre on Friday. (Thomas Friesen/The Brandon Sun)
“I didn’t even notice that. I just try to create but the guys created for me,” Cange said.
“I was just so focused. Our goal is to get these two and try to make it to playoffs. Everybody’s been locked in all week and that’s what shows.”
The Bobcats (6-13) can earn the last Prairie Division playoff spot with a win in today’s rematch at 7 p.m., since the Regina Cougars (6-13) lost 101-84 to the host Calgary Dinos (15-4).
The Huskies only steal the spot with a win and a Cougars loss.
Friday’s clash was a game of runs, as the Bobcats struggled mightily after Huskie buckets but thrived in transition. They forced 20 turnovers and scored 36 points off of them while limiting the visitors to just 14 points off turnovers.
“We know once we start playing defence, the offence is going to come,” Cange said. “All we had to focus on is defence and that’s what we executed.”
The Huskies start six-foot-nine and seven-foot forwards in a man-to-man defence. The Bobcats found the best way to combat it early.
Jack McDonald, who had Easton Thimm covering him, nailed a pair of three-pointers to spread Saskatchewan out.
The Huskies worked their mismatches and drove hard to the rim for the bulk of their offence early and rimmed out most of their three balls.
Brandon led 23-15 after 10 minutes.
Travis Hamberger hit a triple to lead by 11, then a battle of runs ensued.
Saskatchewan struck first, 12-2 with a heavy dose of the twin towers Thimm and Ryker Wuttke. Hamberger and Dewayne Thompson answered with 10 straight, each hitting a three and a two.
Thimm sparked another 8-0 run before Hamberger drilled a three at the buzzer to make it 41-36 Brandon at halftime.
Just a few minutes into the second half, the Bobcats got what they’ve needed all season — a young guy to step up and hit shots when the veterans are locked down.
Cange filled the role, drilling four treys on a 14-0 run to lead 55-38. He missed a few but the guys kept feeding him and he kept firing.
Suddenly, he could do no wrong.
“It was amazing,” said McDonald. “Honestly, I see him every day shooting. He puts in the work so it’s well deserved but it was a long time coming for sure.”
Freddy Kapinga answered with a pair from deep to narrow the gap, and BU led 61-48 entering the fourth.
Brandon's Dewayne Thompson scored 11 points in the 74-64 win over Saskatchewan.
Bhatti struggled most of the night offensively but hit a deep three to start the fourth. After a few sluggish possessions, Bhatti and Thompson picked off passes for a pair of steal-and-scores to lead 68-51.
Saskatchewan chipped away as Brandon’s offence dried up but the Bobcats got enough stops to hold off the comeback.
Bhatti finished with 13 points while McDonald had 12.
Thimm put up 16 for Saskatchewan, with Kapinga adding 15.
Brandon didn’t make a free throw on five attempts while Saskatchewan was 8-for-18 from the line.
The Huskies scored nearly 57 per cent of their points in the paint.
They’ll need more than 64 to keep up in today’s rematch.
“They’re big kids, they’re strong so we gotta play to their weaknesses and play to our strengths,” McDonald said.
“They’re going to try to adjust to us and try to score even more … in the post,” added Cange.
“We’re going to also adjust to them and if we keep our defensive intensity, we’re going to do exactly what we did (Friday).”
FREE THROWS: The BU men’s volleyball team (9-10) clinched a playoff spot on Friday, defeating the Thompson Rivers WolfPack 3-1 (25-23, 17-25, 25-20, 26-24) in Kamloops, B.C. The women’s match ended after deadline. The teams meet again today to close the regular season.
Bobcat futsal returns today for the third of four match days on the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference slate. The BU women and Assiniboine College men are hosting five games each today. Both follow the same schedule as Brandon plays St. Boniface at 11 a.m., and Canadian Mennonite University at 4:15 p.m. AC plays CMU at 12:45 p.m., and Providence at 6 o’clock.
» tfriesen@brandonsun.com
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