A shorthanded opponent and an upset down the road combined to give the Winnipeg Wesmen a firmer grip on first place.

Alberto Gordo continued his hot streak with a game-high 24 points and the Wesmen men's basketball team rolled to a 77-47 win over the Lethbridge Pronghorns Friday night at the Duckworth Centre. 

The win, combined with Alberta's upset loss in Regina, gives the Wesmen a two-game lead over the Golden Bears for first place in the Prairie Division with five games to play. 

On Friday, the No. 6-ranked Wesmen put the finishing touches on their fourth straight blowout win. Winnipeg has won its last four games by an average of 24.3 points and have held opponents in the last five games under 80 points. The Wesmen are tops in Canada West and fourth in U Sports in points per game allowed and fifth in the country in turning teams over. 

Gordo, the reigning Canada West player of the week, added seven rebounds, five assists and a season-high four steals. Emmanuel Ugbah, who missed last week's two wins over Regina, came off the bench to score 12 points and Donald Stewart also added 12. 

The Longhorns dressed just eight players and yet hung around in the early goings, trailing 19-16 after a quarter and eventually taking a 23-21 lead 2:17 into the second. Lethbridge, however, was held to just one field goal the rest of the half as the Wesmen closed the quarter on a 21-2 run and opened the third with another 10-2 spurt. All told, the Pronghorns went nearly 13 minutes with one field and two free throws spanning the second and third quarters.  

Kyami Pollard's 15 points led the Horns (6-11) who sit in the seventh and final playoff spot in the Prairie.