Lakehead 72 Brandon 71 (Game 1)

The Thunderwolves squeezed out a close 1 points win in a game that saw the team rally from a 4th quarter deficit for the first time this season. 5th year senior Donavon Gayle was a star for the Bobcats hitting 8-12 shots for 24 points including many tough fade-a-way jumpers and step backs. The Bobcats also took advantage of some sloppy weak side defence and poor Lakehead decision making to take control of the game in the 3rd quarter after a 33-31 half-time lead for Lakehead.

Ven Russell, Brendan King and Ben Johnson managed to knock some big shots down in the 4th quarter to lead the rally. For the game, Lakehead was out-shot by Brandon to the tune of 47.5% to 36.4% and out-rebounded by totals of 37-32 for the game.

"I was not happy with our focus on the game plan tonight as I felt we were sloppy offensively and lazy in our team defence. We were lucky that Brandon missed a couple of easy chances early in the game that could have possibly put us away. Credit to Brandon for beating us on the glass and hitting several tough shots. They were well prepared and it showed. I am looking for our guys to learn from last night and come with more energy, communication and focus tonight in game 2 of the series." - Coach Scott Morrison

Game two is scheduled for 730PM local time in Brandon. Webcast should be found at www.canadawest.tv