Bisons eliminate Bobcat men in first round

The moment Sultan Bhatti thought he wanted just 45 minutes after arriving in Brandon is finally here.

His time as a Brandon University Bobcat is over. But instead of a quick change of mind and a return flight to Montreal, it featured a Canada West men’s basketball all-rookie team selection, two and soon to be three all-star nods, and a second-team all-Canadian award over five years of memories.

The six-foot-four forward said those moments flashed before his eyes in a matter of minutes in Vancouver on Thursday night, following a 78-69 loss to the Manitoba Bisons in the first round of the playoffs.

Brandon’s talent had its moments, but Manitoba’s size, speed, and determination won the war at War Memorial Gym.

“I’m sad, but it’s not really because we lost,” Bhatti said.

“That was probably the hardest-working squad we had. That’s the good part about this team. The sad part is I can’t run it back for a sixth year. You know how I am, I like to be in a gym.

“I wanted to be gone from Brandon, but now that I think about it, I’m like, ‘S…, I wouldn’t mind staying in Brandon.’ But I have to move on.”

The Bisons take on the host Thunderbirds in the quarterfinals today at 4 p.m. CT, while the Bobcats bid farewell to Bhatti and Travis Hamberger, two pillars of their program for half a decade.

The Bobcats started strong as Munroop Gill hit two early shots. They led 11-7, then went cold for a lengthy stretch and gave up a big 13-2 run led by Tito Obasoto’s quick nine first-quarter points. Manitoba led 20-15 through 10 minutes.

Hamberger hit a three-pointer to open the second quarter after both teams were ice-cold from deep in the first.

Brandon was stagnant for a while until Youri Cange provided the spark with two contested short-range buckets, then a steal and quick pass to Hamberger for a breakaway layup to tie it 24-24.

Gill drew an offensive foul, encouraging Bisons coach Kirby Schepp to take a timeout midway through the frame.

Bhatti extended BU’s run to 11-0 with a reverse layup, then a 28-foot bomb to lead 29-24 before Brandt Lenz replied with a fourth-chance corner three.

Ramogi Nyagudi hit a pair of shots inside as BU slowed down offensively late in the frame, with Daren Watts adding a tough isolation bucket against Bhatti to cap a 12-0 run and lead 36-29 at halftime.

Cange started the second half with a layup, then a trey, making it a perfect 5-for-5 before clanging an open corner three.

Hamberger added a contested three and an even more contested layup on Kraus, then Kraus replied with a deep one.

BU played its best defence of the game early in the third, keeping it close for Max Winters to drill a three in transition to give BU its first lead since early in the first at 46-44 with 4:24 to go in the frame.

Gill gave BU another boost late in the quarter, with an and-one, then an early leak-out as he anticipated a Brandon steal, finishing a perfect lob pass from Hamberger to go up four.

Brandon took a 55-53 advantage into the fourth.

“We knew the type of basketball they wanted to play,” Bhatti said. “They were just going in the post every play with every mismatch they had. We had to help early, swipe, go for the ball and after that, we’re pretty good when we run.”

However, BU quickly lost the lead on a few sloppy possessions.

The quarter started badly and turned worse as Manitoba rattled off an 11-0 run in just over three minutes.

The Bobcats got desperate, and it looked foolish at times and otherworldly at others as Bhatti hoisted a few ill-advised threes but made two to keep it an eight-point game.

That was as close as it would get, though.

Bhatti finished with 21 points, while Gill recorded 13, and Hamberger and Gill chipped in 12 each.

Kraus and Watts dropped 20 and 19, respectively, for Manitoba, which won the rebounding battle 47-25.

Cieran O’Hara brought down a career-high 19 boards, including eight on the offensive end, as the Bisons scored 20 second-chance points to the Bobcats’ two.

“Sadly, there were some possessions we couldn’t get the turnover, and they scored big buckets. That kind of ruined us,” Bhatti said. “If we were able to stop it early, it could have been a better game. But I started making shots a little too late, which was pretty s…y too.

“But I’m proud of the guys, man. We’re a pretty young team, guys fought, I feel like the future’s bright if all the pieces come back.”

• • •

Today, the BU women’s basketball team (7-13) faces the UBC Okanagan Heat (10-10) in Regina at 2 p.m., with the winner drawing the host Cougars (17-3) on Saturday at 6 p.m.

The Bobcat volleyball teams open their last weekend set of the campaign in Winnipeg today, with the ninth-place men (7-11, 22 points) chasing home-court advantage for the play-in round, or possibly even a bye with two victories over the host Wesmen (9-9, 27 points) and some help.

One BU loss or even a five-set win puts eighth-place Winnipeg out of reach, since U of W would remain a full four points ahead of BU with only three available in the other match. Interestingly, BU can finish sixth, seventh, ninth or 10th, but has no way of finishing eighth.

On the women’s side, Brandon (3-15) is playing to avoid last place while trying to play spoiler as Winnipeg (6-12) is clinging to the 10th and final post-season berth.

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com