VICTORIA - The University of Victoria men's basketball team opened the two-game series against Thompson Rivers University with a win, 97-79, Feb. 14 at CARSA Performance Gym.

HOW IT HAPPENED  

• Back-to-back Elias Ralph three's opened the Vikes' scoring, resulting in a 6-2 lead for the home side with 8:00 to play in the first quarter.
• Though the WolfPack took an 11-8 lead, a third three-pointer by Ralph followed by a pair of Diego Maffia free throws and a Renoldo Robinson and-one put the Vikes back in front, 16-11 with 4:59 to play in the opening quarter.
• Going back-and-forth in the final minutes of the first frame, the WolfPack scored the final points to hold a 23-21 lead at the end of one quarter of play.
• A second-quarter 10-2 Vikes run ending with a Maffia layup put Victoria back on top with a five-point lead, 37-32, and forced a TRU timeout with 3:50 to play until halftime.
• Ralph's fifth three-pointer of the first half was met by a TRU three to make the score 46-45 in favour of the Vikes at halftime.
• Holding the WolfPack scoreless for over five minutes in the third quarter, 17-straight Vikes points capped by two-straight Robinson layups gave the home side a 66-49 lead with 3:48 to go.
• Keeping a double-digit lead for the final minutes of the third, a Maffia three-pointer from near half court at the buzzer put the Vikes ahead by a score of 76-58 at the end of the third.
• Though the Vikes and WolfPack both scored 21 points in the third, Victoria's earlier-established lead paved the way for the 97-79 victory.

WORTH NOTING

• Ralph led the Vikes with 24 points, scoring 19 of those in the first half and going 6-6 from three-point range. Adding 14 rebounds, he finished with his fifth double-double of the season in 28 minutes on the floor.
• Maffia secured his second double-double in three games with 18 points and a team-high 10 assists, adding two rebounds for the Vikes in the win.
• Arnatt posted 12 points and seven rebounds while Robinson finished with 11 points, four rebounds and a team-high two steals for Victoria. Izzy Helman added 11 points to round out the Vikes' double-digit point scorers.
• The Vikes move to 16-3 with the win, while Thompson Rivers drops to 6-13 with the loss. 

UP NEXT
The Vikes and WolfPack close the Canada West regular season tomorrow, Feb. 15 at 5:30 p.m. in CARSA Performance Gym.