KELOWNA, BC - Eight threes from Victoria freshman Scott Kellum powered the University of Victoria Vikes past the UBC Okanagan Heat men's basketball team, with a final score of 81-46 in the UBC Okanagan gymnasium on Friday night.

Kellum, Victoria's freshman guard, was the driving force for the Vikes in the game, having already scored 21 points by halftime - shooting (6-8) from  long distance.

"We made extra passes and he got open shots and he hit them -- it was just a bunch of credit to his teammates who moved the ball," said Vikes head coach Craig Beaucamp. "I think every shot that he shot form the three point line was an open three. Obviously he's got to make those shots but somebody has to move him the ball for that to happen." 

"He's obviously been one of our best players on both sides of the ball and obviously tonight he was really good shooting it but he also did a lot of other really good things."

Individually, Kellum had the best performance on the night, finishing with a game-high 28 points. Behind him for the Vikes were Taylor Montgomery-Stinson and Justin Kinnear, who each finished with 12 points.

"We shot well again obviously and moved the ball quite well in the first half," said Beaucamp. "That was the biggest thing."

For the Heat, Buzz Truss led the home side scorers with 13 points. Aldrich Berrios and Mitch Goodwin rounded out the top three in scoring for UBCO, with eight points apiece. Berrios and Austin Penrose led the Heat in rebounding, each finishing with five boards.

With two and a half minutes left in the first quarter Victoria had already gone up by double digits, and from that point on the Heat would only cut the lead to single digits once. By the end of the first half, the Vikes were already well in control. 21 points from Kellum, a rebounding advantage of 20-12, and a 29-point second quarter pushed the visitors to a 51-25 lead at the break.

The second half saw the momentum stay firmly on Victoria's side. Kellum continued to shoot the lights out, the rebounding advantage was consistent, and the Heat's shooting slump simply couldn't cut into the Vikes' lead.

The Heat only managed to score once in the final two minutes of the third, and thanks to a Grant Sitton layup with 20 seconds left, the Vikes took a 29-point lead into the fourth.

The final quarter started with Victoria going on a 7-0 run to the 5:00 mark as Kellum contributed four on a three-pointer and a made free throw. The first Heat basket of the fourth quarter came courtesy of a Noma Obaseki layup with 3:40 left to play. Buzz Truss would add three free-throws, providing the rest of the Heat's five points in the final 10 minutes of play.

As a team, the biggest factors for Victoria were their rebounding and passing. They finished well ahead of the Heat in both rebounds (47-32) and assists (19-8).

As a result, the Heat now hold a Canada West record of 2-11, and Victoria improve to 4-7.

The night also helped raise Kids Sport BC, a foundation that helps to address the challenges faced by many families when registering their children in organized sport.

"Immensly," said Beaucamp when asked how important it is to support charities like Kids Sport. We're just at a higher level but somebody had to give somebody a chance at some point and we're just the fortunate ones that get to this level. There's a lot of grassroots sports and athletics along the way that need some support.

"Kids Sport does an awesome job of supporting young people who don't have the same advantages as others."

The Heat and the Vikes will play again tomorrow night, with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m. in the UBC Okanagan gymnasium.

SCORING SUMMARY 
UVIC: 22-29-19-11: 81
UBCO: 14-11-16-5: 46

SCORING LEADERS
UVIC: Scott Kellum (28), Justin Kinnear (12), Taylor Montgomery-Stinson (12)  
TRU: Buzz Truss (13), Mitch Goodwin (8), Aldrich Berrios (8)