VICTORIA – Unfazed from the result of the first meeting between the two sides, the University of Victoria mens basketball team defeated the University of British Columbia, 90-84 and 96-89 in a weekend series, Feb. 4-5, at CARSA Performance Gym.
 
Game one: Victoria 90, British Columbia 84
February 4, 2022

HOW IT HAPPENED
1st Quarter – UVic 30, UBC 12

• Matthew Ellis would put the Vikes on the board with a jump shot.
• At the halfway point of the first quarter, the Vikes took a 10-point lead on a three-pointer from Scott Kellum, 12-2.
• A three from Ethan Boag would give UVic a 20-point cushion, 30-10, with 30 seconds to play in the half.
• Two free throws by the Thunderbirds in the final seconds would send the game to the second quarter with Victoria ahead, 30-12.

2nd Quarter – UVic 40, UBC 31

• UBC controlled the majority of the second half, cutting the Vikes' lead in half, 37-27, with two minutes until the half.
• A 14-3 Thunderbirds run to end the half, the Vikes were outscored 19-10 in the second quarter, but still held the lead, 40-31.

3rd Quarter – UVic 63, UBC 55

• A put-back from Ellis and three from Kellum opened the second-half scoring, 46-33, with eight and a half minutes to play.
• UBC would go on an 11-2 run to pull within four, 48-44, with just over three minutes left in the quarter.
• Free throws would give UVic some breathing room, as seven of the Vikes' final nine points came from shots from the charity stripe, giving Victoria a 63-55 lead after 30 minutes of play.

4th Quarter – UVic 90, UBC 84

• The two sides traded 7-2 runs to open the final frame. The Thunderbirds would go on a run first, pulling within three, 65-62.
• A pair of free throws from Sergio Pereira began a 7-2 Vikes run, restoring UVic's lead to eight, 72-64.
• Scott Kellum's fourth three-pointer of the night returned the Vikes lead to double-digits, 81-70.
• A run from the 'Birds would pull them within three, 83-80, with under a minute to play.
• Vikes free throws would seal the win, as the home side came away with a 90-84 win over UBC.

 
WORTH NOTING

• With his first basket of the night, Kellum cemented himself in the Vikes basketball record books, taking sole possession of 10th place on the all-time career points list. His 26 total points on the night moved him into ninth place with 1,138 total career points.
• Kellum tallied a team-leading 26 points in the win, adding five rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
• Ellis and Boag finished with 17 and 12 points, respectively, rounding out the double-digit scorers for the Vikes. Ellis went 7-for-7 from free throw line and added four rebounds, while Boag collected six rebounds in the win.
• The Vikes' win snapped the Thunderbirds' 13-game win streak, and gave UBC its first lost in Canada West regular season play this season.

Game two: Victoria 96, British Columbia 89
February 5, 2022

HOW IT HAPPENED
1st Quarter – UVic 28, UBC 15

• Trading baskets to start the game, the Vikes would hold a small, 10-8 lead over the Thunderbirds at the first timeout, with just under five minutes to play in the first quarter.
• Adding six more points out of the timeout to complete a 14-0 run, the Vikes forced a UBC timeout with a 16-8 lead.
• Extending its lead to 28-12, the Thunderbirds would hit a three in the final seconds to make the score 28-15 at the end of the first.

2nd Quarter – UVic 54, UBC 32

• Holding a steady lead over UBC to the first timeout of the quarter, a Scott Kellum three and Ethan Boag jumper right out of the break gave UVic a 41-23 lead at the halfway point of the second quarter.
• Matthew Ellis extended the Vikes' lead to 20 points, 72-27, on a jump shot with one and a half minutes to play in the half.
• Victoria held a 54-32 lead over UBC at the half.

3rd Quarter – UVic 77, UBC 54

• UBC started the third on a run, scoring seven unanswered to cut the deficit to 16, 57-41.
• However, UVic would find a small run of its own, going 6-0 bring the lead back to 23, 75-52, with less than a minute to play in the third.
• The Vikes finished the first three quarters with a 77-54 lead over the Thunderbirds.

4th Quarter – UVic 96, UBC 89

• Holding UVic scoreless for nearly three minutes, the Thunderbirds cut their deficit to 10, 83-73, on consecutive three-pointers with just under five minutes to play.
• Making one last push, UBC knocked down a three and swiped the ball for a breakaway layup in consecutive possessions to pull within six, 95-89, with 34 seconds to play.
• That would be all the Thunderbirds would be able to get, as a free throw from Kellum would seal the win for the Vikes, 96-89.

WORTH NOTING

• The Vikes improve to 9-1 on the season with the pair of wins.
• Ellis scored a team-high 20 points in the win, adding one rebound, three assists and two blocks.
• Dominick Oliveri recorded his third double-double of the season, tallying 16 points and 10 rebounds in 28 minutes of play.
• In total, six Vikes finished with double-digit point totals: Ellis (20), Oliveri (16), Diego Maffia (16), Boag (14), Kellum (12), and Aaron Tesfagiorgis (11).
• Continuing his rise up the Vikes top-10 all-time scoring list, Kellum moved in to eighth place after his 12-point night, now with 1,150 career points.

UP NEXT
The Vikes head to Kamloops, B.C. to take on Thompson Rivers University next Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 9-10.