Langley, B.C. – The University of Victoria men's basketball team held off a last-minute push by Trinity Western University to claim a 93-89 victory, Jan. 12 at the David E. Enarson Gym.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Diego Maffia opened the game scoring with a three, but Trinity Western worked their way to a five-point lead, 11-6, with six minutes to play in the first quarter.
- A dunk by Shadynn Smid and three from Aaron Tesfagiorgis pulled the Vikes even, 11-11, before a layup from Elias Ralph put Victoria in front, 13-11 with 5:08 to go in the first frame.
- Back-to-back three's by Izzy Helman and a Maffia layup brought the score at the end of the first quarter to 28-20 in favour of the visiting Vikes.
- Slowly chipping away at UVic's lead, the Spartans came within one, 39-38, with 4:17 to play in the second quarter.
- Seven-straight Maffia points put an end to Trinity Western's run and put Victoria ahead by 10, 50-40, with 1:39 until halftime.
- A layup by Ethan Boag in the final minute made the score 52-42 for the Vikes at halftime.
- Not letting the Spartans within eight points at any point in the third quarter, the Vikes held a 73-61 lead after 30 minutes of action.
- A Tesfagiorgis three opened the fourth quarter scoring, giving the Vikes their largest lead of the game, 76-61 with 9:37 to go.
- Trinity Western fought back in the final frame, pulling within one, 90-89, with 39 seconds remaining in the game.
- Renoldo Robinson put the game away for the Vikes, knocking down a jumper and making one-of-two free throws when fouled with two seconds to play to seal the win, 93-89.
WORTH NOTING
- Robinson tallied a season-high 18 points and team-high eight rebounds along with two assists and two steals for the Vikes.
- Ralph added a double-digit scoring performance with 15 points, along with six rebounds, two steals and two assists in the win.
- Maffia finished with 20 points, two assists and one steal in 15 minutes on the floor.
- The No. 1-ranked Vikes move to 8-1 on the season, while TWU falls to 1-10 with the loss.
UP NEXT
The Vikes and Spartans close the two-game series tomorrow, Jan. 13 at 6 p.m.