VICTORIA – The University of Victoria men's basketball team came up short in an early season test, 88-79, to the University of Calgary Nov. 4 at CARSA Performance Gym.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Working to a 10-point lead in the first quarter, the Vikes went ahead, 19-9, on a Diego Maffia jumper with 2:40 to go in the opening frame.
• Though Calgary pushed back and got as close as five points, the Vikes held the 23-16 advantage after the first 10 minutes of play.
• A 6-0 Vikes run from layups by Maffia, Shadynn Smid and Renoldo Robinson made it 34-25 Vikes with 6:15 until halftime, starting a 14-3 Vikes run over five minutes to take their largest lead of the half, 42-28, with just under 2:30 to play.
• The Vikes led the Dinos, 46-38 at the half.
• Calgary made a push to close the gap to open the third quarter, but an Elias Ralph three and layup followed by a Maffia layup brought the Vikes' lead back to 57-48 with just under five minutes to play in the third.
• The Vikes held a five-point lead at the end of the third, 66-61.
• A 16-point Calgary run opened the final quarter of play, resulting in the Dinos taking their first lead of the series, 68-66, with 8:41 remaining.
• Down by eight with under a minute to play, Maffia made two-of-three free throw attempts to bring the score to 85-79 in favour of Calgary. However, the Vikes were unable to make up the difference in the final 30 seconds and ultimately fell, 88-79.

WORTH NOTING

• Maffia registered a second-straight 30-point night, finishing with 35 points in 31 minutes on the floor, adding three rebounds and a team-high four assists.
• Smid finished with near double-double totals for the Vikes, recording nine points and a team-high 13 rebounds, also adding two steals and two blocks to his performance.
• Ralph added the only other double-digit scoring performance for UVic with 13 points.
• The Vikes and Dinos each sit at 1-1 after the opening series. 

UP NEXT
The Vikes head to the University of the Fraser Valley for a two-game series, Nov. 10-11.