EDMONTON - Isaac Simon scored a clutch, circus and-one layup with three seconds remaining to lead the Alberta Golden Bears past the Brandon Bobcats in a thrilling 92-89 victory Friday night at the Saville Centre.

It was a stellar contest, from opening tip to final heave, as the fourth-quarter alone saw four lead changes, until the Simon bucket put them up for good. He finished with a game-high 22 points, while three other Bears joined the double-digits on a night where they shot 49.3% from the field. Alberta moves to 4-1 on the year, and sit tied for first place in the division.

Brandon, while disappointed with the final result, played terrific in the loss. At one point they trailed by 14 points, but strong three-point shooting and a phenomenal game from Sultan Haider-Bhatti who led the squad with 17. The 'Cats slide to 3-4, and will look to right the ship tomorrow for their last meeting with Alberta.

Alberta made their first seven shots of the game to open the first, though the Bobcats would actually run out to an early lead due to some efficient shooting off Bears turnovers. However, the hosts would find their groove down the stretch in the frame, going on an 18-10 run to finish the opener up 29-20. Ethan Egert paced all scorers with seven in the quarter, while the Bobcats had three scorers with four points.

The second quarter seemed to be much of the same for the Bears, where the led by 12 at the midway point, but the Bobcats found their groove in the latter half, eventually closing the gap to as low as two, but the Bears last two possession were fruitful to give them a slim 52-46 advantage at the break. Egert and Isaac Simon led the way for the Bears, scoring 12 and 11 respectively, while Sultan Haider-Bhatti, who hit some huge shots in the second, led the 'Cats with nine.

A quick Bobcats run, punctuated by a long two from Travis Hamburger, brought the game to within one, but the Bears would roar back the rest of the way to take a 77-68 lead into what promised to be an exciting finish.

Brandon would strike early in the fourth, opening up the frame with a 12-4 run that saw them down just 81-80 with five minutes to go. The game would remain a one-score game, with some fireworks and close calls, all the way up to an Alberta 89-87 lead with 25 seconds remaining, and a Bobcats possession out of a timeout. A drive from Malik Brown ended in a foul, and with seven seconds left, he hit both shots from the stripe to knot it at 89. Enter Simon, who finished as the games leading scorer, as he drove from the right side to hit a circus layup and-one to cement a Bears 92-89 lead and sent the Saville faithful into rapture. Haider-Bhatti got a decent look with a couple of seconds remaining, but it clanked off the rim in what was the most exciting finish of the year on the home floor for the Bears, who eked out a big three-point win.