VICTORIA – Closing out its 2022 home slate, the University of Victoria men's basketball team fought to an 84-59 victory over Thompson Rivers University, Feb. 22, inside CARSA Performance Gym.
HOW IT HAPPENED
1st Quarter – UVic 17, TRU 7
- Nearly two minutes passed before points were put on the board, but Matthew Ellis ended the skid with a jumper for the 2-0 Vikes advantage.
- Continuing on a 9-0 run, Ethan Boag drained a three for a 9-0 lead with 4:05 remaining.
- Finding a response, the WolfPack pulled back within five, 12-7, with just over two minutes to go.
- Adding another three from Boag and a layup from Scott Kellum, the Vikes finished the first quarter ahead, 17-7.
2nd Quarter – UVic 35, TRU 28
- Diego Maffia opened the scoring in the second quarter, knocking down a three for the 20-17 Vikes lead in the opening seconds.
- Continuing to push ahead, a pair of free throws from Boag gave the Vikes its largest lead of the game to that point, 27-13, with just over four minutes remaining.
- Outscoring the Vikes in the final minutes of the half, a three from Thompson Rivers in the final seconds pulled the visiting side within seven, 35-28, at the half.
3rd Quarter – UVic 53, TRU 52
- The WolfPack capitalized on a 11-4 run to open the second half, pulling even with the Vikes on a free throw, 39-39, with 6:52 to go.
- A short time later, TRU took its first lead of the game on a three, 44-41, with five and a half minutes to play in the third.
- Back-and-forth for the remaining minutes of the third, Kellum's free throws would be met with a Thompson Rivers jumper to cut the Vikes' lead to just one, 53-52, at the end of three quarters of play.
4th Quarter – UVic 84, TRU 59
- Undeterred by the closeness, UVic forged a 10-0 run over the first two minutes of the final quarter, with a Maffia three forcing a TRU timeout with the Vikes ahead, 63-52.
- Continuing to pull away, Victoria took a 20-point lead on a three from Aaron Tesfagiorgis, 79-59, with a minute and a half to play.
- Outscoring the WolfPack 31-7 in the final 10 minutes of play, including a 16-0 run over the final four minutes, the Vikes came away with the 84-59 win.
WORTH NOTING
- The win moves the Vikes to 15-1 overall on the season, and also gives them the series sweep over TRU in 2021-22, going 3-0 against the WolfPack.
- Posting a strong defensive showing in the opening and closing frames, the Vikes held TRU to just seven points in both the first and fourth quarters.
- Kellum led the way for the Vikes with 19 points, five rebounds, and four assists, while Maffia was just behind with 16 points, four rebounds, and four assists.
- Dominick Oliveri grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds, while adding six points and a steal in the win.
UP NEXT
The Vikes close out the Canada West regular season on the road, heading to UBCO, Feb. 24, and UNBC, Feb. 26.