WINNIPEG – The University of Victoria Vikes couldn't find their way past a tough and athletic Winnipeg Wesmen side on Jan. 22, losing 77-64 to give the Wesmen the weekend sweep of the Vikes. The win moves the Wesmen to 7-5 and sixth place in the Canada West Pioneer Division standings while the Vikes are now 7-7 on the season.

[BOX SCORE]

Fifth year Reiner Theil's 15 points and six rebounds led the Vikes while fellow fifth year Brandon Dunlop and third year Jordan Charles got in on the action with 14 and 13 points, respectively. As a team, the Vikes shot 38.6 per cent from the field but conceded 16 turnovers to Winnipeg's 10.

Four Wesmen were in double-digit scoring with fifth year Jelane Pryce leading the way with 22 and second year Denzel Lynch-Blair putting up 19. Fourth year Jamar Farley had 18 points and third year Ryan Oirbans had 12. In total, the Wesmen's starting lineup put up all of the team's 77 points while the bench only saw a combined total of 33 minutes on the floor.

"Our players put in a good, strong effort tonight but we turned the ball over a bit too much and didn't get stops we needed at crucial points in the game," said Vikes men's head coach Craig Beaucamp. "That's the way it goes sometimes. If we play like we did tonight, we'll get more opportunities down the road to come away with the victory."

The Wesmen opened up a 10-3 lead to start the first quarter before Theil hit a pair of threes and a two-pointer to close the gap for the Vikes. Lynch-Blair led the Wesmen with 10 points in the quarter, while his teammate Pryce had six points. The Wesmen held a 20-16 lead after 10 minutes.

Victoria took the lead after a 14-1 run to start the second quarter. The Wesmen didn't get their first two-point basket until Farley hit the net with less than three minutes to play in the half. After Farley hit a late three the Wesmen trailed at the half 32-29.

Dunlop led the Vikes in scoring in the first half with nine points and five rebounds, while Theil contributed eight points and three boards.

The Wesmen opened up an 11-2 run to retake the lead in the second half. Two threes from Dunlop and a four points from Thiel kept the Vikes in the game heading into the final quarter. The Wesmen held a 47-46 point lead after Pryce's last second shot for three danced around the rim but didn't drop as the buzzer sounded.

The Wesmen had an offensive charge to start the fourth quarter, outscoring the Vikes 11-2 in the early going to open up a 10-point advantage. Farley hit his fourth three-pointer of the game after fourth-year Vike forward Grant Sitton hit a three of his own to close the gap. After some back and forth, Sitton hit three foul shots to help the Vikes close to within five of Winnipeg at 63-58 in the dying minutes.

Farley hit six points in the dying seconds – four from the foul line – to complete the sweep for the Wesmen.

The Vikes look to rebound back home against rivals the UBC Thunderbirds on Shoot for the Cure night at the CARSA Performance Gym on Jan. 29. The Wesmen have a big task ahead of them as they are set to host the CIS No. 1-ranked Saskatchewan Huskies on Jan. 29-30.
 
Game Summary:
            1          2          3         4         F
UVIC: 16       16         14       18       64
WPG: 20         9         18       30       77
 
Scoring Summary:
UVIC: Reiner Theil (15), Brandon Dunlop (14), Jordan Charles (13)
WPG: Jelane Pryce (22), Denzel Lynch-Blair (19), Jamar Farley (18)