Shorthanded Bobcats outlast Laval
David Larkins/Wesmen Athletics
A short-staffed Brandon Bobcats squad squeaked by an ill-equipped Laval Rouge et Or.
Sultan Bhatti had a game-high 32 points and the Bobcats withstood a second-half surge from the Rouge et Or to post a 73-68 quarter-final win in the first game of the 54th Wesmen Classic.
Both teams were impacted by winter holiday struggles with the Bobcats only dressing eight players, while the Rouge et Or were without their own uniforms, which didn’t arrive from their flight from Quebec. As a result, the Rouge et Or were forced to play in throwback Winnipeg Wesmen jerseys.
Elisha Ampofo added 17 points for the Bobcats, who will face the Wesmen in a 6 p.m. semifinal on Thursday.
Laval, which was relegated to a consolation semifinal (4 p.m.) against Algoma, got 18 points from Sidney Tremblay-Lacombe and 15 from Ismael Diouf. Saydo Sall added 14 and Steeve Joseph 10.
The Bobcats hit 11 of 28 from three and shot 41.7 per cent from the field. Laval was just 4 of 18 from three and was 44.4 per cent from the field.
