The UVic Vikes men's basketball team improved to 9-7 in the competitive Canada West conference with a 71-64 road win over the Winnipeg Wesmen at the Duckworth Centre in Winnipeg.
For the second straight night, #
Ryan MacKinnon# led the Vikes, this time torching the Wesmen with 21 points.
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The Vikes return home to host the Lethbridge Pronghorns on Jan. 21 at 8 p.m. and Jan. 22 at 7 p.m.
A special banner-raising ceremony for the Vikes women's and men's national championship rowing teams will take place just before the Jan. 22 game, after the completion of the women's game at 5 p.m.
On Jan. 15, and for the second consecutive night, the Vikes used a strong fourth quarter to defeat the Wesmen. The Vikes scored 29 points in the final quarter after entering the final quarter trailing 48-42.
The victory completes a weekend sweep for UVic and improves their record to 9-7. Winnipeg's record sits at 2-12.
MacKinnon drained a trio of three-pointers. #
Marco Dolcetti# finished with 20 to add to the offensive onslaught.
Kelvin Smith led the Wesmen with 18 points. Nolan Gooding added 13 and Benny Iko had 12 points and nine rebounds.
Winnipeg held a slim 14-13 lead after the opening quarter and picked up the pace in the second quarter outscoring the Vikes 20-14 to carry a 34-27 lead at halftime. Winnipeg shot the lights out in the first half connecting on 56-per-cent shooting from the field.
In the third quarter, both teams played strong on the defensive side of the ball limiting each team to very few points. Victoria outscored Winnipeg by a slim 15-14 margin to trail 48-42 after three quarters.
Winnipeg held a 60-51 lead 3:15 into the final frame when UVic made their charge. The Vikes went on a 12-2 run in a span of four minutes to take a 63-62 lead. After a pair of Kelvin Smith free throws put Winnipeg ahead 64-63, MacKinnon scored five straight points to give UVic a 68-64 lead with 47 seconds remaining. The Vikes hit their free throws at the end to secure the win.
