Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics

EDMONTON – Head meet swivel.

Blink for a second in Saturday's Canada West men's basketball match between the MacEwan Griffins and Brandon Bobcats and you'd miss the finer details of a fast-break video game – a wild, acrobatic shot that somehow kisses in off the glass or a three jarred from the corner or a pass that somehow eludes five or six legs to find an open layup.

Or the highlight of the year candidate like the running prayer that Josh Bell put up from half at the third-quarter buzzer, catching nothing but net.

Ironically, Brandon won the track meet 111-108 when Troy Grant blocked Jake Notice's three-point attempt in the dying seconds.

"Troy's one of the best defenders in the conference, I think," said Brandon head coach Gil Cheung. "He guards twos, threes and does a great job. He contested that three and got that one stop that we needed."

There were few others on either side as the teams proceeded to try to outscore each other. With Brandon shooting 54.2 per cent and MacEwan nearly matching that at 49.4, fans who were sold the whole seat only needed the edge.

"If you look at us, we're not the biggest, most physical team," said Cheung. "So, we had a couple guys injured and then Jaleel (Webb) getting kicked out there – we didn't know that until the second half – we were really small.

"It wasn't a defensive battle at all. It was fun to watch, I bet."

Sure was.

MacEwan interim head coach Ken Schildroth said his squad really came together in a weekend split at the end of a tough season that will end without a playoff berth.

"I was really proud of how hard they worked and the enthusiasm and passion they brought to the game," he said. "They've improved so much.

"The growth of these young men – they're now focusing on winning and that's a really positive development as a team. That's evident by their work ethic and their support for one another."

Fourth-year point guard Deonte Doslov-Doctor was a difference-maker for the Griffins with 26 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals and particularly kept them afloat in the middle of the contest when they trailed by as much as 13. Notice added 21 points, four assists and three steals, while Abdullah Shittu and Dustin Gatzki both drained 14 and Atlas St. Paul-Butler and Abiel Tabufor scored 12 each off the bench.

"I think it was a whole bunch of hard work by a group of men," said Schildroth. "We found some scoring inside and that allowed space for our perimeter players. I thought it was well balanced. Deonte played a phenomenal game as a point guard and found ways to score, kept us in the game. We had a shot to get it done."

After Bell's miracle shot at the buzzer erased some building Griffins' late third quarter momentum by pushing Brandon's lead back to five, it seemed the Bobcats wouldn't be undone by a rally like Friday's when MacEwan ran on air in bucketing 36 fourth-quarter points.

But it should come as no surprise in a game as wild as Saturday's, the Griffins kept storming back. Their last rally from six down with 29 seconds left was nearly epic and complete, closing to within two in just eight seconds on Notice's work from the charity stripe, followed up with a steal and hoop off a full-court press.

The Bobcats survived, though, with the only defensive stop they would need.

"It's a tough, tough time of year," said Cheung. "You kind of see the playoff picture and you know you're out of it. You're on the road, it's a long way to travel, but the guys manned up.

"We lost a tough one in the fourth quarter last night and they showed some composure and got the win tonight."

Grant led Brandon with 26 points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals and that game-winning block. Pookie Saunders scored 23 and Tyvon Cooper 20 as Brandon had seven different players contribute to their 12 three-pointers in the contest.

MacEwan feted graduating senior Harrison Lane before the contest and he rewarded them with 25 minutes of solid work in the final home game of his six-year university career.

"He put in yeoman's service over this game and through his career," said Schildroth.

MacEwan (1-17) will close out the Canada West campaign with a visit to Victoria (8-10) on Feb. 1-2, while Brandon (3-15) heads home to host Mount Royal University (7-11) on the same dates.