VICTORIA - The University of Victoria Vikes men's basketball team won their second game of the weekend over the Mount Royal Cougars, Jan. 25, rolling to an 80-63 victory to push their season record to 14-2. A strong second quarter propelled the home side to a sizable lead that the visiting Cougars would be unable to overcome.
 
BOX SCORE
 
Four Vikes entered double-digits Saturday, with Terrelll Evans posting 14 points to lead his squad. Marcus Tibbs and Chris McLaughlin added 13 points while Kyle Peterson finished with 12 on the night.
 
Second-year guard Jalen Gardner led the Cougars with 14 points in 21 minutes while teammates Oluwafemi Ogun and Noah Lewis contributed 13 and 10 points, respectively.
 
The Vikes opened up the first quarter of Saturday's game much like their female counterparts, building a healthy 17-10 lead after ten minutes led by Evans with six points and four rebounds. No player on the Cougars side put up more than two points in the opening frame.
 
Evans added another five points as the Vikes pulled away in the second quarter, outscoring the Cougars by a 26-9 margin to lead 43-19 heading into the break. The home side's offence was potent throughout the opening 20-minutes of play, shooting 52-percent from the field compared to the Cougars 27-percent.
 
The Cougars bounced back in the third quarter, scoring 12 points in the opening three minutes of play as they cut the Vikes lead to 52-31. A layup by Vike Chris McLaughlin shifted the momentum back towards the home side, with Vikes Ryan Erikson and Kyle Peterson draining a pair of back-to-back three-pointers to regain a sizable 70-42 lead heading into the final frame.
 
Sensing a second-straight victory, the Vikes worked the clock for the remaining ten minutes with starters McLaughlin and Evans sitting for a majority of the quarter. Despite getting outscored 21-10 in the final frame, the Vikes rolled to an 80-63 victory.
 
With the win, the Vikes move to 14-2 in their season, while Mount Royal falls to 7-9. The Vikes will next head on the road to face Calgary and Lethbridge, Jan. 31-Mar. 1. Both games will be broadcast live on www.canadawest.tv.
 
SCORING SUMMARY

MRU: 10-9-23-10: 80
UVIC: 17-26-27-21: 63