Winnipeg, Man. – The No. 1-seeded University of Victoria men's basketball team will advance to the Canada West playoff final after an 80-68 win over the No. 12 University of Northern British Columbia, Feb. 24 at the Investor's Group Athletic Centre.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Diego Maffia put the first points of the game on the board, and was followed by UNBC's first basket of the night and an Elias Ralph layup for the 4-2 Vikes lead with 8:30 to go in the first quarter.
• The Timberwolves built a 12-4 lead over the next six minutes, until Ethan Boag subbed on for the Vikes and drilled a three in his first offensive possession of the game to bring UNBC's lead down to 12-7 with 2:34 to go.
• A pair of free throws by Renoldo Robinson in the final seconds of the frame brought the score to 16-9 in favour of the Timberwolves at the end of the first quarter.
• Six points by way of two Maffia layups and a Griffin Arnatt put-back brought the Vikes back within one, 16-15, with 8:55 to go in the second quarter.
• UNBC worked its way to a 27-18 lead until a Robinson fast break layup and Elias Ralph tip-in brought the deficit down to five, 27-22, with 4:23 to play until halftime.
• With a Sergio Pereira dunk in the final seconds, the Vikes trailed 33-28 at halftime.
• Maffia's first three-pointer of the night opened the third quarter, pulling the Vikes within two, 33-31, before making a layup to respond to one by UNBC to keep it a two-point game, 35-33, with 8:15 to go in the third.
• Less than a minute later, a Maffia three gave the Vikes the lead, 36-35, with 7:39 on the clock and leading to UNBC calling a timeout.
• Taking a five-point lead on a Maffia jumper, the Vikes went ahead 46-41 with 3:55 to play in the third.
• Izzy Helman's three would put the final points of the third on the board for the Vikes, leading to a 53-47 UVic lead after outscoring UNBC 25-14 in the third quarter.
• Taking advantage of a UVic scoring drought, the Timberwolves made back-to-back three's and a jumper to re-take the lead, 62-61 with 4:45 to play.
• Coming out of the UVic-called timeout, Ralph nailed a three to put the Vikes back on top, 64-62 with 4:36 to play.
• Adding subsequent three's from Maffia and Ralph, along with a Maffia layup, the Vikes re-took the lead, 72-64, with 3:14 remaining in the fourth.
• Another set of back-to-back three's by Ralph and Maffia led to the Vikes' first double-digit lead of the night, 78-66, with 1:48 to go.
• A final driving layup by Diego Maffia brought the final score to 80-68 in favour of the Vikes to send them to their third-straight Canada West final.

WORTH NOTING

• Ralph recorded a double-double in the win, scoring 25 points and grabbing 12 rebounds while also tallying a team-high two blocks in the win.
• Maffia led all Vikes scorers with 34 points, and also tallied team-highs in assists (6) and steals (2).
• Smid added 11 board for the Vikes in the win, while Robinson tallied six points.
• The win secured Victoria's third-straight appearance in the Canada West final, as well a berth to the U SPORTS national championships.
• The Vikes move to 19-3 on the year with the win, and 2-0 in playoff action.

THOUGHTS FROM DIEGO MAFFIA 
"We started off slow, but we stayed positive with it. Our defence was pretty good, we held them to 16 [points] in the first quarter and 33 at the half, and our goal is to hold teams to 15 points per quarter. Realistically, that was good enough for us to win. We stuck together and knew how to handle the pressure. We're a second-half team and know how to respond, and that's exactly what we did."

"We're grateful to be back in the final, it's what we work toward for the entire year. All the long hours in the gym, in the weight room, tomorrow's game is what we work for. We're excited to be here, and excited to do it on the road."

UP NEXT
The Vikes face the winner of Calgary versus Winnipeg in the Canada West final tomorrow, Feb. 25 at 8 p.m. CT.