Reuben Wright
67
Thompson Rivers TRU 0
70
Winner Manitoba MAN 0
Thompson Rivers TRU
0
67
Final
70
Manitoba MAN
0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Thompson Rivers TRU 19 12 21 15 67
Manitoba MAN 17 18 14 21 70

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | TRU WolfPack

Season-ending heartbreak for ‘Pack in near upset over Bisons

QUICK FIRE
  • The Thompson Rivers WolfPack men's basketball team came within inches of advancing in an incredibly close 70-67 defeat at the hands of the No. 2 seeded Manitoba Bisons in Canada West quarter-final action Saturday night in Winnipeg.
DIFFERENCE MAKERS
  • Playing in what will be the final game of their WolfPack career's graduating forwards Asher Mayan and Simon Crossfield were excellent for the 'Pack. Mayan went 5-8 from the floor to score 14 points while also grabbing six rebounds and dishing out three assists. Crossfield's 12 points came on 4-7 shooting from deep as he also grabbed seven boards and recorded three assists. Steve Stinson added another 14 points for TRU.
  • Mason Kraus and Daren Watts both tallied a game-high 17 points for Manitoba with Watts adding nine rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • The WolfPack led after the opening frame. Graduating players Crossfield and Mayan led the way with six and five points respectively as TRU shot 50 per cent from the floor en route to 19 points. Kraus answered with five of his own for a Manitoba team that forced four turnovers in the frame to make the lead just 19-17 after the opening quarter.
  • TRU dominated the early portion of the second quarter. Mayan tallied four quick points as the 'Pack put together an 8-0 run that saw them jump out to a 27-17 lead. Manitoba quickly found an answer. Led by six from Watts, the hosts scored 18 of the half's final 22 points as they took a 35-31 edge into the halftime break.
  • The WolfPack caught fire from deep in the third, going 7-14 from beyond-the-arc as a team. Four different members of the 'Pack hit a three as TRU outscored Manitoba 21-14 in the frame to hold a 52-49 edge heading into the final frame.
  • The fourth quarter couldn't have been any closer. A jumper from Erin Chamble with five minutes remaining in the game gave TRU a five-point edge. After back-to-back Bisons three pointers regained the lead for Manitoba, Mayan quieted the hometown crowd with a three of his own to restore TRU's lead at 64-62 with just over three minutes remaining. A quick 9-4 Bisons' run that featured four points from Tong brought the score to 68-65 from Manitoba with just 25 seconds left in the match. After Stinson knocked down a jumper with nine seconds remaining to bring the 'Pack back within one, Manitoba edged back out to up three with six seconds on the clock. Needing a three-pointer to send the game to overtime, the 'Pack had a look at it but the resulting effort just bounced off the rim and away from harm, allowing Manitoba to advance by the slimmest of margins.
NOTABLE
  • The loss brings an end to an incredible season for TRU. In the 2024-25 campaign TRU's record of 10-10 in the regular season was the sixth-best mark in program history. They won their first playoff game since the 2016-17 season and came within inches of advancing to the Canada West semifinals for the second time in program history.
  • The game was the final one in the outstanding careers of graduating players Denys Bachurin, Simon Crossfield, Asher Mayan and Evan Smith.
  • TRU entered the playoffs as the seven seed and gave the number two seed Bisons all they could handle in the game.
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