VICTORIA, B.C. – The University of Victoria Vikes men's basketball team were unable to sweep the CIS No. 7-ranked Calgary Dinos at home on Nov. 21. The Dinos defeated the Vikes in a very close game that ended with a 79-75 scoreline to improve to a 4-2 record, while the Vikes have their undefeated record dashed to 5-1.

BOX SCORE
 
Fourth-year Vikes forward Grant Sitton, who contributed 18 points to the scoreboard, led the Vikes in scoring while the trio of Mack Roth, Reiner Theil, and Brandon Dunlop posted 16, 12 and 12 points, respectively.
 
"The score kind of flattered us to be honest," said Vikes head coach Craig Beaucamp after the loss. "(Calgary) were well deserving of the win and we came out for the second night again flat in the first quarter. We weren't solid I didn't think and we don't seem to be able to get any consistent defensive stops together. Full credit to Calgary they are a good and solid team and we knew it would be that way."
 
On the Dinos side, fourth-year guard Thomas Cooper was the team's highest contributor for the second-consecutive night, posting 21 points and seven rebounds. Second years Lars Schlueter and David Kapinga also reached double-digits, logging 19 and 11 points, respectively.  Schlueter knocked down four threes in the game, while the Dinos won the war under the boards 43-37.
 
Coming out swinging from their one point loss the previous night, Calgary opened up the scoring right off the tip off to maintain the lead for the entire first quarter. Roth was the leader on the court for the Vikes, posting eight of the home team's 17 points in the first quarter. Going into the second, the Vikes trailed the Dinos by four points, 21-17.
 
Early quarter momentum for the Vikes made the scoreline even momentarily but the Dinos did not shake, firing back a number of baskets from behind the arc to grow their lead into the double digits. Calgary's Josh Owen-Thomas displayed his composure on the court, as the fifth year posted seven points in the second quarter including a trey right before half-time to give his team an 11-point lead, 41-30.
 
In the third quarter, four straight points early on by Sitton started to give the Vikes offensive momentum. At the same time, Calgary's six-foot-seven forward Matt Ellis was forced to the bench in foul trouble, allowing Victoria to capitalize on his departure. Theil added further offensive stride for the Vikes with a huge block and run down the court for two points before the clock ran out at the end of the quarter. The Vikes outscored the Dinos for the first quarter in the game to trail Calgary 65-53 going into the final frame.
 
Starting the fourth quarter with offensive energy on their side, a three-point basket from Jordan Charles gave Victoria a one-point lead for the first time in the game. The Vikes' lead lasted very briefly as the Dinos responded the other way and managed to extend their lead to nine points with less than four minutes remaining.
 
With the Vikes battling against time, Dunlop dished a trey with less than one minute remaining to lower the margin between the teams down to four points. A foul by UVic on the other side gave Calgary another two easy points but Sitton answered again with less than 16 seconds left. Although the home side battled to the very end, the Vikes ran out of time, falling to the Dinos 79-75.
 
"Positives are we won a game and that's the big thing," added Beaucamp on the split weekend. "Every weekend you need to keep getting the win and the Canada West is very, very competitive. You can't go weekends where you don't pick up a game. Next weekend we are on the road with new challenges against a good Lethbridge team."
 
The Vikes will be on the road next week to take on the Lethbridge Pronghorns in a double-header series, while Calgary will take on the UBC Thunderbirds. The Vikes will clash with the Pronghorns on Nov. 27 at 7 p.m. PT with the game available for live streaming on pay-per-view at canadawest.tv.
 
"You don't get to nationals by ranking," noted Beaucamp after the Vikes' win streak of beating nationally-ranked teams came to an end. "I don't care if you are first or tenth. You have to win your way there so for us right now it's so early in the year (knocking off CIS ranked teams) doesn't really matter that much. The bottom line is we are just trying to get better."
 
SCORING BY QUARTER
CGY: 21-20-15-23: 79
UVIC: 17-13-23-22: 74
 
SCORING LEADERS
CGY: Thomas Cooper (21), Lars Schlueter (19), David Kapina (11)
UVIC: Grant Sitton (18) Mack Roth (16), Reiner Theil (12), Brandon Dunlop (12)