VICTORIA – The University of Victoria Vikes men's basketball team are looking to extend their win streak past four this weekend, Feb. 1-2, in their double header against the UNBC Timberwolves at McKinnon Gymnasium. The 11-5 Vikes currently sit one spot back in the Pacific Division of the No. 2 UBC Thunderbirds, who have already secured their playoff spot.
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The UNBC Timberwolves are currently 5-11 and are sixth in the Pacific Division of the Canada West. Looking forward, the Vikes will face the Timberwolves, the Mount Royal Cougars (3-13) and the T- Birds (14-2), each for two games in the next three weekends. The Vikes are on track to join UBC in earning hosting rights in the best of three quarter-final series, Feb. 22-24. The winners will move on to the Canada West Final Four, Mar. 1-2.
Last weekend, Jan. 25-26, the Vikes swept the Thompson Rivers WolfPack with convincing 81-64 and 80-65 wins.
Terrell Evans (Las Vegas, NV) led the team with double digit scoring on each night and has been the leading in scorer in 10 of the Vikes' 16 regular season games. Evans is 11
th on the conference scoring leader board, averaging 16.6 points per game. Evans is also the Canada West leader in steals.
The Vikes will lean on the height of
Chris McLaughlin (Oakville, ON), who had an impressive contribution of 17 points and nine rebounds in the Jan. 26 win over the WolfPack. Consistent ball handling of rookie guard
Kyle Peterson (Edmonton) is likely to be a key factor this weekend, while big shooters
Michael Acheampong (Toronto, Ont.) and
Brandon Dunlop (Victoria, BC) will need to follow through for both games.
The UNBC Timberwolves are led by the senior trio of
Jose Araujo, Sam Raphael and
Francis Rowe. Araujo averages 16.1 points per game and has .418 per centage from beyond the arc. Raphael and Victoria native Rowe are also consistent double-digit scorers averaging 14.5 and 13.9 points per game, respectively.
The Vikes and Timberwolves tip off on Friday, Feb. 1 at 8 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. Both games will take place at McKinnon Gymnasium and will be broadcast live at
http://UVic.canadawest.tv
