VICTORIA - The University of Victoria men's basketball team downed the University of the Fraser Valley, 91-65, Nov. 2 inside CARSA Performance Gym to open its 2024 home slate.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Vikes never relinquish lead through first half

• From Sam Maillet's opening layup that put the Vikes ahead, 2-0, Victoria never let the Cascades take the lead. Though UFV would tie the game, 2-2, a three-pointer and layup from Diego Maffia in consecutive Vikes possessions provided a five-point cushion, 7-2, that kept the Cascades at bay.
• The Vikes grew their lead to 10 points, 20-10, with 3:51 to go in the opening frame on back-to-back Aaron Tesfagiorgis three-pointers. A Renoldo Robinson layup was met with one from UFV in the final 1:33 of the first quarter to bring the score to 25-16 in favour of the Vikes through 10 minutes.
• An eight-point Vikes run from dunks by Ethan Boag and Shadynn Smid and layups from Maffia and Maillet gave the Vikes a 35-18 lead with seven minutes to go until halftime.
• Scott Morozov's free throw with under a minute to go put the Vikes ahead by 25, 48-23, before five Cascade points closed the second quarter scoring to bring UVic's lead to 48-28 at halftime.

Vikes close out win

• Not taking their foot off the gas in the second half, the Vikes outscored the Cascades 18-11 in the third quarter to hold a 66-39 lead after 30 minutes of play.
• Though UFV edged Victoria 26-25 in the fourth quarter, the Vikes' lead remained intact and led to a 91-65 win.

WORTH NOTING

• Diego Maffia led the game scoring with 27 points, adding three steals, two assists and two rebounds in the win.
• Ethan Boag finished with a double-double of 14 points and career-high 12 rebounds in 23 minutes on the floor.
• The Vikes move to 2-0 on the season, while UFV drops to 0-2.

UP NEXT
The Vikes host the University of Northern British Columbia at CARSA Performance Gym Nov. 8-9. Get your tickets here or tune in on Canada West TV presented by BioSteel.