The University of Regina's men's basketball team's season ended on Friday night with an 88-80 loss to Manitoba as the Bisons completed a two-game sweep of a best-of-three Canada West play-in series at the Investors Group Athletic Centre.

Manitoba went on a 17-1 run in the first quarter and led the rest of the way, though the Cougars made things interesting in the late going. The Bisons went up 72-54 after a Justus Alleyn triple two minutes into the final period, but Regina responded with a 21-7 run which was highlighted by a sequence featuring a triple by Brandon Tull, a steal on the ensuing inbounds pass, and a Johneil Johnson bucket to get the Cougars to within five.

Regina got to within four points after a defensive stop and a Johnson free throw, but the visitors couldn't draw any closer as Manitoba scored on its next three possessions to put the game away.

The series win sends Manitoba off to the Canada West quarterfinals. The Bisons will head to the West Coast next weekend for a best-of-three series against powerhouse UBC, with the winner to advance to the Canada West Final Four.

Alleyn led Manitoba with 20 points, while A.J. Basi added 18 for the Bisons and Keith Omoerah, Ilarion Bonhomme, and Malik Irwin each scored 10. Bonhomme and Omoerah both had nine rebounds for the Bisons. Ultimately, the Cougars weren't able to overcome the consistently hot shooting of Manitoba, as the Bisons were 11-for-27 (41%) from three-point range compared to just 26% for Regina.

Tull scored a team-high 19 points for the U of R, while Travis Sylvestre scored 13 in the final game of his U SPORTS career. Johnson matched Sylvestre with 13 points. Fifth-year guard Matthew Augustine also played his last game for the Cougars, ending up with nine points and three assists for the Green and Gold.

NOTES: The Cougars are expected to return seven of the nine players that saw the court tonight next season, as Alex Igual, Tull, Benjamin Hillis, Brian Ofori, Samuel Hillis, Johnson, and Carter Millar all have U SPORTS eligibility remaining.