VICTORIA - The University of Victoria Vikes men's basketball team have been training since August and will have their first opportunity to test their talents at this week's UBC Invitational Tournament hosted by the Thunderbirds at War Memorial Gym in Vancouver. The tournament runs Oct. 10-12 and includes Canada West favourites the Vikes and T-Birds, while Montreal's Concordia University, Portland's Concordia University and Laurier will also be in the mix.

FULL SCHEDULE & TICKET INFO  /  LIVE STATS

The Vikes and Thunderbirds were the top two teams in the Canada West last year and built on the already long-standing rivalry. In conference play the Vikes took back-to-back wins on the T-Birds, including a 91-86 conquer in War Memorial Gym that snapped a 12-game UBC win streak, however it was the Thunderbirds who edged the VIkes 72-69 to take the Canada West banner in the conference final.

At the CIS Final 8 the Vikes finished sixth overall after losing to the No. 1 Carleton Ravens in the opening round, defeating the T-Birds in the consolation semifinal and losing to McGill in their final match. Regardless, the Vikes' CIS championship appearance was their first since 2006 and this season they will be looking to make themselves a consistent attendee.

Head coach Craig Beaucamp returns to lead the Vikes squad for his 11th season after he was named Canada West Coach of the Year for the past two seasons. Joining him will be assistant coaches Craig Behan, Phil Ohl and Chris Franklin. Beaucamp's 2013-14 squad sees a high turnover after graduating starters Michael Acheampong, Brandon Dunlop and Pierce Anderson. 

Despite the turnover, the Vikes have a sparkly recruit class that stems from across the country including Jordan Charles (Duncan, B.C.), Pat Pilato (St. Caterines, Ont.) and Junior Sesay (Winnipeg, Man.). In Charles' final season with Brentwood College he was named a AA Island All-Star, AA provincial All-Star and deemed the AA Senior Boys Island MVP. Pilato is a former national champion with the Ontario provincial team and is a two-time Mr. Niagra basketball award winner, an honour given to the top high school boys player in Niagra. As for Sesay, the six-foot-three guard was named the Manitoba Basketball High School Player of hte Year and holds two provincial titles with the Oak Park Raiders.

Not to be outdone, the Vikes still boast heavy existing talent including Canada West Second Team All-Star Terrell Evans, who pulled a lot of the scoring weight in the 2012-13 season, while Chris McLaughlin, Reiner Thiel and Kyle Peterson will bring experience from last year's squad. Also joining the Vikes is third-year transfer Derek Porter who hails from Kennewick, Wash and John Woldu, who had a year-long break after suffering a knee injury.

The Vikes open today, Oct. 10 at 3 p.m., facing the Concordia Stingers (Montreal, Que.) who enter the weekend with an overall record of 1-3. This past weekend the Stingers play in the Nike Tournament, within which they advances to the championship final and lost 77-65 to Laurentian University.

On Oct. 11 at 5 p.m., the Vikes will face the Concordia Cavaliers (Portland, Ore.), who also open their pre-season at this tournament. Last season the Cavaliers maintained an overall record of 15-14 with a conference record of 9-9.

The Vikes will close out the tournament on Oct. 12 at 5 p.m. facing the Wildfred Laurier Golden Hawks, who are coming off a 22-point win over the Memorial University Seahawks. In their three exhibition games the Golden Hawks start with a 2-1 record.

The games will not be web cast live but there will be live stats available at http://canadawest.tv 

Game Schedule

Thursday, October 10th, 2013
3 PM | UVIC Vikes vs. Concordia Stingers (Montreal)
5 PM | Thompson Rivers Wolfpack vs. Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks
7 PM | UBC Thunderbirds vs. Concordia Cavaliers (Oregon)

Friday, October 11th, 2013
3 PM | Concordia Stingers (Montreal) vs. Thompson Rivers Wolfpack
5 PM | Concordia Cavaliers (Oregon) vs. UVIC Vikes
7 PM | Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks vs. UBC Thunderbirds

Saturday, October 12th, 2013
3 PM | Thompson Rivers Wolfpack vs. Concordia Cavaliers (Oregon)
5 PM | UVIC Vikes vs. Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks
7 PM | UBC Thunderbirds vs. Concordia Stingers (Montreal)

ALL GAMES AT UBC WAR MEMORIAL GYM
6081 University Blvd. Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1

Other Information

Tickets
ADULTS - $10
YOUTH (8-18) | SENIOR (65+) | VISITING STUDENTS - $5 *ID Required
FAMILY PASS (2 Adults & up to 3 Youth) - $20
UBC STUDENTS - $2 *UBC Student Card Required
UNA - $2 *UNA Card Required
KIDS UNDER 7 - FREE