Bobcats amped to play league-leading Bisons

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This article was published 12/01/2023 (666 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Cheers filled the Healthy Living Centre as Anthony Tsegakele swatted Ian Gasana’s shot 15 feet out of bounds. They doubled when Jahmaal Gardner returned the favour, spiking the basketball out of Tsegakele’s hands as he rose for a jump shot.

That was at Thursday’s Brandon University Bobcats men’s basketball practice.

Not a game. Practice.

The 8-4 Bobcats are energized as ever to take on the country’s No. 8-ranked Manitoba Bisons (9-1) at the HLC tonight at 8 o’clock.

BU bench boss Gil Cheung feels that ranking is a slight against coach Kirby Schepp’s group.

“They’re definitely a top four or five team in the country,” Cheung said. “… They’re talented, they’re big, should be a fun weekend.

“They have a very strong backcourt. They’ve had one of the best freshmen in the country, (Simon) Hildebrandt. They have a great inside attack and veteran guard play. They’re getting quality shots.”

After BU’s testosterone-infused one-on-one battles and a few two-on-two reps, the guys spent a huge chunk of practice running up and down the floor, taking uncontested game-speed shots. They want to mimic that torrid pace when the Bisons and their sixth-ranked defence matches up.

Cheung said Manitoba — which allows just 71.2 points per game — is tough to crack when it gets set, so he wants to shoot before that. As in, race up the floor and fire eight or nine seconds into the 24-second clock.

The Bisons also score well. At 86 ppg, they’re just over five points back of Brandon’s No. 3-ranked, 91.2-ppg offence.

Simply put, this is the best team the Bobcats will have faced all season. It spreads the scoring around a ton as five-foot-10 Elijah Lostracco leads the way at just 16.8 ppg. Eight players average six or more.

Brandon has three guys who hardly leave the floor, three more who play well over half the game and three playing spot minutes. The main six account for almost 80 of BU’s 91.5 ppg. The Bobcats are the only team with two 20-plus ppg scorers in Tsegakele and Gardner.

“Everyone that plays is a mismatch,” third-year guard Eli Ampofo said of BU’s offence. “I don’t think one-on-one, anyone can guard any of us realistically. Everyone around the league knows that.

“… The biggest thing for us offensively, even though we’re really skilled and can hit a lot of tough shots is trying to get high-quality shots.

“If we can get a lot of paint touches to kicks, try to get naked threes, to the free-throw line, if we can get a lot more high-percentage shots this weekend, we’ll have a better chance of taking two (wins).”

On the other end, Ampofo said the key is discipline. The Bisons run a methodical-yet-dangerous offence, passing up good shots for great ones and seemingly turning lemons into uncontested three-pointers.

“If we can really stay disciplined in our rotation,” Ampofo said, “trying to keep guys in front of us, not jumping at pump fakes, not trying to make superhero plays, jumping passing lanes, just trying to stay disciplined, I think we stand a really good chance this weekend.”

Ampofo also started talking about the playoff picture. The last time Brandon had to qualify for the post-season, it took a massive upset over Manitoba in Winnipeg to cap a five-game winning streak and steal the 12th and final spot at 6-14. That was back in 2020.

Now he’s talking about the rating percentage index (RPI), which seeds the teams with the 12 best records to determine matchups and first-round byes.

In short, Brandon feels its time is now. Not next year (well, also next year), or the one after that (also the one after that). A win or two this weekend would truly put Canada West on notice.

“Everyone’s thinking about February, everyone’s thinking about March,” Ampofo said. “I think we’d be lying to say our goal isn’t to win a Canada West championship. We’re a top-four team in the conference, really close to being nationally ranked.

“We all know we have to take care of every single day, take care of practice right now, we gotta take care of business (today) … Saturday before any of that fun stuff happens.”

The Bisons opened the season with a pair of wins over No. 5 Alberta, one a controversial double-overtime game they would have lost if U Sports employed instant replay and challenges.

But it’s in the books as a win, part of a string of five straight before dropping an 81-73 decision to Regina.

Manitoba is coming off a weekend sweep of the University of Northern British Columbia.

Would it be a successful weekend to split the two games, dropping the provincial rivals to 10-2?

“No,” Cheung said. “Our job’s out there to get better every single weekend and win every single game. Our job’s to go out there, protect home court and get two.”

WOMEN SET FOR BASEMENT BATTLE

The women play first on Friday at 6 p.m., and then Saturday at 5 p.m., with the men following at 7 o’clock.

Both teams are in search of their first win as the 0-12 Bobcats and their struggling offence take on the 0-10 Bisons and their struggling offence.

Both teams shoot around 32 per cent, make just over a quarter of their threes and 62 per cent of their free throws. Manitoba averages 60 ppg to Brandon’s 49.6, as it turns the ball over five fewer times per game. It’s also a top-15 offensive rebounding team, hauling down 14.3 offensive rebounds per game to BU’s nation-low 7.1.

While the Bobcats have yet to stay within 20 points in a regular-season game, the Bisons lost to Alberta, Fraser Valley and Regina — all top-five teams in Canada West — within single digits.

U of M beat BU 81-73 in their pre-season clash when Bobcats Chelsea Misskey (24), Piper Ingalls (18) and Noah Garcia (16) combined for 58 points. Brandon shot a higher percentage and kept the rebounding battle close but gave up 26 turnovers and 25 points off them.

Head coach James Bambury says rebounding is a major focus, along with veteran point guard Lauren Bartlett, “the straw that stirs their drink.”

Bambury feels this weekend is more important than most for his rebuilding team.

“Without a doubt. It would be crazy to say all of this is the exact same as going in against the No. 1-ranked team in the country … or a team we haven’t played in four or five years,” Bambury said.

“This is a team that’s really familiar to us … I think it’s important for us to recognize when opportunity is knocking and there’s a chance to maybe go out there and prove to a team we’ve already played once close that we can change the tide a bit.”

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com

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