The Varsity Blues came back from an 11 point third quarter deficit with a 37 point fourth quarter and held off a very good Bison team to move to 2-0 at the Naismith tournament. With the Blues leading 41-38 at halftime, Manitoba's guards began beating Varsity defenders off the dribble almost at will as the Bisons small lineup spread the floor, got to the rim and added several nice backdoor layups in a very impressive offensive effort. After outscoring the Blues 29-17 in the third, Manitoba led 67-58 after 3 and the upset brewed. However, 6'2" Nick Magalas awoke in the fourth, finishing the game with 23 points including 4-9 from downtown while 6'5" Pat Sewell continued his fine early season play with 19 points and 10 rebounds as the Blues won it down the stretch. 5'9" Nathan Dixon led Manitoba with 23 points while fellow guard 6'0" Kurtis Sansregret added 16. 6'4" Dan Purvis-Collins added 12 for the Bisons who used small ball to pressure Toronto all evening. The Blues played without 6'5" Drazan Glizic who aggrevated a lingering foot injury on Friday against Acadia and late in the game lost 6'7" Nick Snow to what appears to be a serious ankle injury. Without the two bigs, Toronto played their brand of small ball with 6'1" Anthony DeGiorgio finishing the game at the 4 and 6'3" Ben Garvin (8 points/8 rebounds) also playing up front. The Bisons shot a very strong 51% from the floor but were severely outrebounded by the Blues 45-25. Toronto faces Waterloo for what will likely be the tournament championship tomorrow afternoon - Waterloo had a double digit lead on Acadia as their game neared halftime tonight.
In another game this afternoon, Lethbridge got a split of their two game set in Montana by defeating Montana Western University 78-75 in Dillon, Montana. Hopefully there will be more details to follow - much thanks to our Western correspondent for supplying the score.
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