VICTORIA - The University of Victoria men's basketball team grew its lead and never looked back, defeating the University of Saskatchewan 87-42 Jan. 26 at CARSA Performance Gym.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Vikes opened the night with 13-straight points from Elias Ralph and Diego Maffia, with two three-pointers and a jumper from Ralph and a three and layup by Maffia for the 13-0 lead with 6:55 to go in the opening period.
- Continuing to forge ahead, the Vikes eclipsed the 20-point mark on a Renoldo Robinson jumper with 2:11 to go, taking a 21-6 lead. Robinson would score again with 11 seconds to go to bring the score to 25-12 for the Vikes at the end of the first quarter.
- Ryan Gallagher pushed the Vikes' lead to 25 in the second quarter, draining a three for the 46-19 lead with 2:50 to go until halftime.
- Though Saskatchewan put the final points of the frame on the board, the Vikes entered halftime with the 48-23Â lead.
- A 6-0 Huskies run opened the third quarter until back-to-back buckets from Ralph swung the momentum back in the Vikes' favour, bringing the score to 54-27 with 7:38 to go in the third.
- A Maffia layup and follow-up three-pointer pushed the Vikes' lead past the 30-point mark, 59-27, at the 6:30 mark of the third quarter. A 7-0 run from Saskatchewan over the final two minutes brought Victoria's lead down to 65-38 after 30 minutes of action.
- Not letting up during the fourth quarter, the Vikes finished on a 9-0 run to claim the 87-42 win.
WORTH NOTING
- Maffia scored a team-high 25 points in his first game since Jan. 12, playing 21 minutes for the Vikes.
- Ralph tallied 24 points in the win on a team-high 11 made field goals. He added eight rebounds and two blocks in the win.
- Griffin Arnatt and Sergio Pereira led the Vikes in rebounds, each finishing with 10 on the night.
- The 45-point win is the second-largest margin of victory for the Vikes this season (50 vs. UBCO, Jan. 6).
- Victoria sits at 10-3 on the year after the win, while Saskatchewan moves to 8-7 after the loss.
UP NEXT
The Vikes and Huskies complete the two-game series tomorrow, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. in CARSA Performance Gym.
Â