VICTORIA – The 2017 Guy Vetrie Memorial Tournament came to an end on Sunday, Oct. 1 and it was the visiting University of Concordia Stingers that picked up the final win with a 90-72 victory over the UVic Vikes inside the CARSA Performance Gym.
 
"I thought our compete level was pretty good, we had a few breakdowns but they are an awfully good team," said Vikes head coach Craig Beaucamp. "Overall there were more positives than negatives, we were exposed on a few things this weekend but there were also some good performances."
 
Ken Beulieu led the Stingers in scoring with 15 points and five rebounds, Olivier Simon when three for seven from beyond the arc for 14 points and Jonathan Koud rounded out the scoring with 11 points.
 
For the second game in a row Jordan Charles led the way for the Vikes with 15 points, Hayden Lejeune scored 14 while dealing with foul trouble and Jake Newman scored 12 points while picking up nine rebounds.
 
A back and forth start to the game eventually began to go the way of the Stingers when Adrian Armstrong and Simon combined to go four-for-six from three point range. The Stingers were up 22-13 after the first quarter.
 
The Stingers continued to build on their lead in the second quarter with the Vikes struggling to find their rhythm offensively. With both teams still trying out different lineup combinations in the pre-season, ten different Stingers had points at the half.
 
Most of the Vikes success in the game came by pounding the ball in low before allowing the forwards to twist and turn their way for points. Newman and Lejeune both compiled points offensively while also picking up rebounds.
 
Coming out of the halftime break it was the Vikes that looked the more energized of the two teams, they were able to battle their way all the way back to make the deficit just one point halfway through the third but that was as close as they would get on the night as the Stingers found another gear when they needed to the most.
 
"To play a solid 40 minutes, we had our spurts but then we would make mental mistakes and give up six or eight points in a row off of turnovers," said Beaucamp on what his team can take away from the game. "We were playing a top team and they will make you pay for those mistakes."
 
With Justin Kinnear missing the game and Lejeune getting into foul trouble, first-year Vike Eric Hegadoren played significant minutes in the second half. Hegadoren, a former junior-college baseball player, received raucous applause from both his teammates and the crowd as he put up six points in his ten minutes played.
 
"U SPORTS is a tough initiation for your first games of competitive basketball since grade eight," said Beaucamp. "It's a bit of welcome to the fray, but I thought his compete level was good and there are definitely some promising aspects to his game."
 
The Vikes are back in action on Oct. 5 for an exhibition game against Bishop's University in Langford
 
 
SCORING SUMMARY
CON: 22-17-24-27 : 90
UVIC: 13-14-23-22 : 72
 
SCORING LEADERS
CON: Ken Beaulieu (15), Olivier Simon (14), Jonathan Koud (11)
UVIC: Jordan Charles (15), Hayden Lejeune (14), Jake Newman (12)
 
2017 Guy Vetrie Tournament
Game 1 – Sept. 29  – Concordia 79, Carleton 82
Game 2 – Sept. 29 – Victoria 87, Guelph 63
Game 3 – Sept. 30 – Guelph 61, Concordia 94
Game 4 – Sept. 30 – Victoria 61, Carleton 99
Game 5 – Oct. 1 – Carleton 101, Guelph 70
Game 6 – Oct. 1 – Victoria 72, Concordia 90