EDMONTON — The Winnipeg Wesmen put up a near-historic defensive effort Friday to get back in the win column.

The Wesmen men's basketball team held the MacEwan Griffins to 21 points after halftime and turned a close game into a blowout in a 73-49 Canada West conference win. 

It was Winnipeg's first road win of the season and improved the team's record to 3-2. 

The 49 points allowed were the second fewest allowed by a Wesmen team in the Canada West era, surpassed only by the 48 surrendered in a 90-48 win versus Trinity Western, Nov. 21, 2015. 

It was the third time in the past 24 years a Wesmen team has held a team to below 50 points, having beating Manitoba 73-45 on Feb. 12, 1998. 

Shawn Maranan had 19 points, six assists and five rebounds to pace the Wesmen, who got 12 points and seven rebounds from Mikhail Mikhailov. Ten Wesmen players scored at least two points. 

The Wesmen were slow to get going, missing all five first-quarter three-point attempts and falling behind 16-12 after a quarter. 

They began to turn things their way late in the second quarter with a 9-2 run capped by a Maranan three led them into halftime up 32-28. 

From there, Winnipeg dominated: The Griffins were held without a field goal for the first 5:29 of the third as the Wesmen tore off a 15-2 run that pushed the lead to 17. 

MacEwan (0-7) was led by Matthew Osunde's 19 points and nine rebounds. Taylor Cook scored 12 off the bench as the pair accounted for more than two-thirds of the Griffins' scoring. 

The Wesmen shot 44.8 per cent from the field and held the Griffins to 15 of 53 (28.3 per cent). 

The teams meet again Saturday at 5 p.m. CT with the game carried live on Canada West TV.