VICTORIA – Entering this weekend with a six-game win streak, the University of Victoria Vikes men's basketball team still knows there is work ahead to qualify for the CIS Final 8. Now ranked No. 3 in the country for the fourth-straight week the Vikes will host Thompson Rivers, Feb. 7-8, for two of their final four regular season games.
 
STANDINGS  |  LIVE STREAM & STATS
 
Last season the Vikes finished the regular season standings second in the Division to the UBC Thunderbirds and lost out to their mainland rivals in the championship game of the Final Four. After ousting the T-Birds at the CIS Final 8, the Vikes are on track to better last year's CIS run, 14 points ahead of UBC and six points ahead of Fraser Valley. With the Pacific Division crown still not entirely guaranteed, the Vikes will need to continue to do their home work, first with two home games against the WolfPack.
 
Last weekend, Jan. 31-Feb. 1, the Vikes rolled over Calgary and Lethbridge by over 25-point margins. Chris McLaughlin and Terrell Evans led the Vikes, each with double digit scoring on both nights. With the wins the Vikes are now tied with Prairie Division leader, Alberta, with a 16-2 record and 32 points.
 
The Vikes have boasted the conference's best scoring defence all season allowing an average of 57.2 points per game, while also maintaining the Canada West's second-best field goal percentage of 45.5 per cent. Evans is fifth overall in scoring, averaging 18 points per game, while Thompson Rivers' Ta'Quan Zimmerman is third with 19.3.
 
Off the stats sheets the Vikes have shown a variety of strengths in their line up including the defensive talents of third year Reiner Theil, whose work ethic and grittiness is a pillar of the Vikes' play. The one-two point guard punch of Marcus Tibbs and John Woldu has given the island squad the offensive consistency they need, while second-year Kyle Peterson has started to find comfort in hitting timely big shots.
 
Senior Ryan Erikson is coming off a big weekend after draining 17 points against a competitive Lethbridge side, while Mack Roth has also been a key scorer coming off the bench.
 
The Wolfpack are currently 11-7 and pushing for one of the remaining three available spots for the playoffs. Zimmerman is undoubtedly the player to watch, averaging 19.3 points per game, while Josh Wolfram is second in scoring with 13.3 points per game. Wolfram also leads the team with an average of 7.6 rebounds per game, while former Vike Reese Pribilsky leads the WolfPack with an average of 4.4 assists per game.
 
Last weekend Pribilsky drained 22 points for Thompson Rivers who beat Manitoba 76-60. The following night Tallon Milne had a 21-point game to help the WolfPack pick up their fourth-straight win, this time over Winnipeg, 67-66. Wolfram had double-digit rebounding nights in both games.
 
The Vikes and WolfPack will clash twice this weekend, first on Feb. 7 at 8 p.m., which will also be a night dedicated to KidSport. The teams will duel again on Feb 8 at 7 p.m. Both games will be at McKinnon Gym and will be streamed with live web video and stats at canadawest.tv.

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Friday, Feb. 7 – KidSport Night
The Vikes are proud to be partnering with KidSport for the men's and women's basketball games on February 7th. Fans can participate in the KidSport 50/50 in the concourse and help give the gift of sport to kids in Victoria. KidSport is a national not-for-profit organization that helps remove financial barriers that prevent kids from playing sport by providing assistance for registration fees and sport equipment to children aged 18 and under. Through a confidential application process grants are given so they can play a season of sport. One of KidSport's primary goals is to support a network of 11 provincial/territorial KidSport chapters and 178 community KidSport chapters across Canada in their fundraising and sport activities. Since its creation in 1993, over 400,000 kids across the country have been given the chance to play sport through KidSport grants and sport introduction programming. The Vikes are proud to partner with KidSport.