The University of Regina's men's basketball team collected its first Canada West win of the season after scoring a 98-85 victory over Manitoba on Friday night at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.

The Cougars led from almost wire to wire after taking the lead on a Will Tallman three-pointer early in the first and remaining ahead the rest of the game, but that doesn't tell the whole story. The Cougars led by as many as 17 points after going on a 19-4 run in the second quarter, but Manitoba battled back.

The Bisons trailed by 15 at the break and set the tone for the third quarter by scoring the first five points of the half. The visitors went on an 8-0 run capped by a Brett Jewell free throw that made it a one-possession game late in the third, but the Cougars had restored the double-digit less than a minute into the fourth quarter and led by at least seven the rest of the way.

Brandon Tull was an efficient 8-for-10 from the field and led the Cougars with 21 points while playing a game-high 37 minutes. Alex Igual and Jonathan Tull both chipped in with 19 points, while rookie Zach Mihalicz was a perfect 5-for-5 on field goals and finished with 13 points in his home debut before fouling out in the fourth. Travis Sylvestre also added 11 points for the Cougars as four of their five starters hit double figures. Brandon Tull,  Igual, and Will Tallman each had seven rebounds for the U of R.

Amarjit Basi hit four three-pointers and led all players with 23 points for Manitoba, which suffers its first loss of the conference schedule and falls to 2-1 on the year. Jonathan Alexander and Andre Arruda both had 19 points for the Bisons, with Alexander adding a game-high 13 rebounds for a big double-double.

Both teams had two players foul out of the contest, including Mihalicz and Michael Hudson for the Cougars and Justus Alleyn and Basi for Manitoba.

The two teams will meet again on Saturday (8 p.m.) at the CKHS.