BOX SCORE

WINNIPEG - In the words of his coach, he was "the Tyler Fidler we always knew he could become" - scoring a season-high 27 points while hauling in 13 rebounds as the Calgary Dinos caught up to the Manitoba Bisons in the standings with a 98-89 win Saturday night at the Investors Group Athletic Centre.

The Calgary sweep of Manitoba puts both teams at 8-10 with two games left in the season and Calgary holding the tiebreaker. The Dinos host the last-place Winnipeg Wesmen next weekend, while the Bisons visit the first-place Saskatchewan Huskies, and Calgary's magic number is two: any combination of Dinos wins and Bisons losses will vault the Dinos into the post-season.

It would be a remarkable feat, considering the challenges that have faced this team in the 2011-12 season. But they're getting hot at the right time, and not just the playoffs but a .500 record are within reach as the season winds to a close next week.

"I was really impressed with our composure this weekend," said a relieved Calgary head coach Dan Vanhooren. "We got pushed a few times, but I though we executed pretty well throughout the whole weekend. Tonight we did a good job limiting our turnovers and upping our assists.

"I don't remember ever winning a game where the other team hit 17 threes, and Manitoba definitely wasn't there to lose - but our guys held in it and stemmed their runs. I am so pleased with how well we played."

A combination of dominating post performances from Fidler and Boris Bakovic along with another strong homecoming from Winnipeg native Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson proved killer for the Dinos in beating Manitoba Friday night. Working the ball inside, they created easy shots and opportunities with their size advantage - similar to how they won on Thursday.

Bakovic would score 22 on the night, and Ogungbemi-Jackson had 21. Keenan Milburn joined the double-digit parade with 16 points.

"If was by far the game of the year for Fidler, and he picked a good time to do it," said Vanhooren. "He made good shot selections, went to the rim with the ball, he dunked over a kid..."

Also similar to the night before was the Bisons late attempts at a comeback. A pair of Stephan Walton threes cut the lead from 15 to nine early in the fourth, but a stagnating offense kept Manitoba from making a real push until late, when they would cut it back to five but eventually fall behind for good.

Walton led the Bisons in scoring with 25 points.

Calgary returns home to close the regular season with a two-game set against the Winnipeg Wesmen. Those games go Friday-Saturday, Feb. 10-11 in the Jack Simpson Gym, with tip-off at 8 p.m. MT. Both games will be broadcast live on CanadaWest.tv.

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