VICTORIA - The University of Victoria Vikes men's basketball team had an improved effort - especially on the defensive end of the ball - but ran into a hot shooting Westminster College Griffins squad.

And when the Vikes did put runs together, they'd end them with turnovers reflecting the early stage of the season. The Vikes fell 78-70 to Westminster College, slipping to 1-4 on the season Saturday Oct. 23.

BOX SCORE

"Defensively it was a big improvement for us, and we got a lot of our young players into the game and they looked good," said Vikes assistant coach Craig Behan who, for the second straight night, assumed head coach duties with full-time head coach Craig Beaucamp with the Canadian men's basketball team preparing for the Pan-Am Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. "We still have things to work on but we faced a very good Westminster team tonight."

Terrell Evans (Las Vegas, NV), a transfer from Yakima College, led the Vikes with 18 points. Ryan Mackinnon (Comox, B.C.) had a strong game with eight point, six steals and three assists, but the shining star was freshman Reiner Theil (Vancouver) who notched 13 points and six rebounds along with a steal off the bench. He was five-for-nine from the field. Reese Pribilsky of Victoria added five assists and two steals.

Jake Orchard and Drew Phillips led the Griffins with 14 points each. Phillips was especially effective in the owning half with 10 points. Westminster College shot 19 for 22 from the charity stripe.

His strong outside shooting and ability to drive to the paint caused havoc for the Griffins.

The Vikes shot 39% in the game, but struggled in the third quarter being outscored 24-17. Westminster College led by as much as 17 midway through the fourth quarter, but a run of three-pointers - the Vikes drained eight on the night - allowed them to keep it close late.

The game featured eight lead changes and five times. The Griffins did most of their damage inside the paint, outscoring the Vikes 34-22.