Victoria – The University of Victoria Vikes men's basketball team is set to entertain rivals the UBC Thunderbirds at the CARSA Performance Gym this weekend, Jan. 29-30. The Vikes are sitting seventh in the Canada West Pacific Division standings at 7-7 while the T-Birds are comfortably in second place with a record of 10-4.
 
The excitement surrounding this weekend set between west coast rivals is sure to be amplified on Jan. 29 as UVic hosts the 9^th Annual Shoot for the Cure in partnership with the CIS Women's Basketball Coaches Association and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.
 
"No matter the team and the occasion, these are two important games for us as there are only six games in total remaining in the regular season," said Vikes head coach Craig Beaucamp. "UBC is a team that has good depth in the guard and forward positions and that's not a common thing to see in this conference."
 
Among that depth in the T-Birds side is fourth year Jordan Jensen-Whyte, who is the leading offensive producer for UBC with an average of 15.9 points per game. As a team, the T-Birds are among the best in the CIS when it comes to offence, shooting 44.7 per cent and averaging 82.8 points per game. Third year and Victoria-product Conor Morgan has made a large contribution for the T-Birds defensively with an average of 7.4 rebounds per game.
 
A change in the CIS history books could also be on the cards this weekend with T-Birds head coach Kevin Hanson needing just one win to pass legendary Vikes coach Guy Vetrie for career wins with 246.
 
The Vikes were forced to chase the Winnipeg Wesmen from behind in both games of a weekend sweep last weekend, Jan. 22-23. The Vikes trailed at the end of the first quarter in both losses to Winnipeg, calling for a much more urgent start from the Vikes this weekend against rivals UBC. The Vikes are 6-0 this season when carrying a lead into the second quarter.
 
Third-year Vikes guard Jordan Charles has heated up over the past three games, including adding 16 and 13 points, respectively, for the Vikes in last weekend's losses to Winnipeg. Charles will look to connect with fifth year Reiner Theil, who put up 15 points and four rebounds in a 77-64 loss to the Wesmen on Jan. 23.
 
"We're focusing on taking this weekend one game at a time and coming out strong in the first quarter," said Beaucamp. "There has been a strong correlation for us this season between having a positive start in the game and coming away with the win."
 
This weekend's action between the Vikes and T-Birds gets underway with Shoot for the Cure night on Friday, Jan. 29 at 8:00 p.m. at the CARSA Performance Gym, while the two teams will rematch on Jan. 30 at 7:00 p.m. All games are available with pay-per-view video and stats at uvic.canadawest.tv while free live stats can be found at canadawest.org.
 
This year the Vikes will once again be partnering on game night with CTV Vancouver Island, 107.3 Kool FM and CFAX 1070 to bring a variety of activations throughout the evening. The CBCF will be hosting a 50-50 raffle at the game, while the Vikes varsity student council have arranged for the Bottle Depot to be on site collecting empty recyclable drink containers with proceeds going to the CBCF. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to show their support and win prizes, while social media posts can be tagged with #SFTC during the game.