Courtesy of Tyler Cranston, Brandon University Sports Information

The Winnipeg Wesmen opened the second-half of their Canada West season with an 83-72 road victory over the Brandon Bobcats on Thursday night at the Healthy Living Centre in Brandon.

The Bobcats led 18-15 at the end of the first quarter and were up 36-29 at half-time.

Brandon took an 11-point advantage with just over five minutes to go in the third quarter, before the Wesmen rallied to tie it 52-52 going into the fourth quarter.

It was back and forth down the stretch between the longtime rivals with the contest tied 63-63 at the midway mark of the fourth quarter.

Winnipeg pulled ahead from there as they outscored Brandon 20-9 over the final five and half minutes of the game.

The Wesmen had four players in double figures with Denzel Lynch-Blair leading the way with 25 points as Winnipeg improved to 4-and-5.

Jelane Pryce poured in 15 points, William Sesay had 14 points and Ryan Oirbans posted a double-double with 13 points and 14 boards for Winnipeg.

Earl Thompson Jr scored a game-high 30 points for the Bobcats, who sit with a record of 0-and-7. Troy Grant was next with 18 points for Brandon, while teammate John Paul pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.

The Wesmen and Bobcats meet again on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. in Winnipeg to wrap up their home-and-home series.