VICTORIA – The University of Victoria Vikes men's basketball team showed why they are ranked No. 3 in the CIS after cruising to a 68-49 win over the Mount Royal Cougars on Jan. 24 at McKinnon Gym. With the win the Vikes improve 13-2 to maintain their Pacific Division crown, while the Cougars drop to 7-8.
 
BOX SCORE
 
Every single Vike that stepped on the floor scored points in tonight's win. Senior Terrell Evans paved the way with 15 points and seven boards while defensive stalwart Reiner Theil had no problems near the hoop with 10 points and seven rebounds.  Chris McLaughlin and Marcus Tibbs also had hefty contributions with nine and eight points, respectively.
 
The Mount Royal Cougars were held to 11 points in each of their opening three quarters but battled back to outscore the Vikes 16-15 in the final frame. Jalen Gardiner and Mangk Akwl were the lone Cougars in double digits with 12 and 11 points respectively. The Cougars were held to 29 per cent from the field.
 
The Vikes took to scoring early and often earning as much as a 14-point lead in the opening quarter. Eight Vikes that stepped on the floor got on the scoreboard, a preview of the Vikes' do-it-by-committee theme for the night. Six-foot-ten McLaughlin was a force to contend with under the hoop despite the best efforts of Mount Royal's Kyle Wilson, who stands at six-foot-six.
 
Despite a late catch-up three and some successful foul shots, the Cougars were out-scored 24-11 after the opening quarter. Cougars guard Jalen Gardiner was the most successful shooter for the visitors, going perfect on all first-half attempts including two perimeter shots.
 
The Vikes were a little sloppy with their turnovers in the second quarter but went on to out-score the Cougars in the second frame 16-11 for a 40-22 lead at half. As the Vikes continued to stretch the lead several Vikes got court time including impressive efforts from Ryan Erikson, Jordan Charles and John Woldu.
 
It was much of the same in the second half as the Vikes gained a 23-point lead near the end of the third and Evans and Theil hit double-digit scoring. It was a low-scoring frame as the home side edged the visitors 13-11 and the Cougars drained two big outside shots to stay in it.
 
Third-year transfer Marcus Tibbs made his way on to the starting line up this evening and showed his worth in the final frame. The shifty Seattle native showed his skill variety at both ends of the court in only his fifth game back since injury.
 
The Cougars continued to show their physicality and ability to drive to the net but were unable to match the Vikes' defence and pace in the other end. Despite edging the Vikes 16-15 in the final ten minutes, the Vikes rolled their entire bench on the court waiting for first year Patrick Pilato to drain a three and complete the cycle of every Vike scoring on the night.
 
The Vikes sealed game one of the double-header weekend 68-49 to improve 13-2, while the Cougars fall 7-8 and will have the chance to bounce back in tomorrow's head-to-head at 7 p.m. at McKinnon Gym. The game will be broadcast live at canadawest.tv.
 
SCORING SUMMARY
MRU: 11-11-11-16  : 49
UVIC: 24-16-13-15  : 68
 
SCORING LEADERS
MRU: Jalen Gardiner (12), Mangk Akwl (11)
UVIC:  Terrell Evans (15), Reiner Theil (10)