VICTORIA - The No. 1-ranked University of Victoria men's basketball team defeated the No. 2-ranked University of British Columbia, 90-88, on a fourth quarter buzzer-beating shot from Ethan Boag, Jan. 23 at CARSA Performance Gym.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Vikes top 'Birds in first half

• Though a UBC three-pointer opened the game scoring, a pair of free throws from Geoffrey James and a Ryan Gallagher jumper gave the Vikes a 4-3 lead in response with 8:49 to go in the opening period.
• After back-and-forth buckets resulted in a 19-19 tie with three minutes to go, six-straight Vikes points from two Renoldo Robinson jumpers and a Sam Maillet layup gave Victoria a six-point lead, 25-19, with just over two minutes to play.
• Two-straight three's from Robinson in the final 37 seconds gave the Vikes a 10-point advantage, 33-23, but a UBC three at the buzzer brought the score to 33-26 in favour of UVic after 10 minutes of play.
• UBC attempted to re-take the lead in the second quarter, pulling within one point, 48-47, with 3:27 to go until halftime. However, two dunks from Ethan Boag and a layup by Aaron Tesfagiorgis over the next minute brought the Vikes' lead back out to seven, 54-47, with 2:24 still on the clock.
• UBC's final points of the second came on two free throws, and were met by a Boag layup to send the game into halftime with the Vikes ahead, 56-49.

Thunderbirds take the lead in the third, Vikes erase 10-point deficit in the fourth

• Sergio Pereira put the first points of the second half on the board, making two free throws for the 58-49 Vikes lead. However, the Vikes would be hit by a four-minute scoring drought, resulting in a 13-0 run for the Thunderbirds to give the visiting side a 62-58 lead with 4:19 to go in the third.
• UBC remained in front for the final minutes of the third quarter, taking a 71-66 lead into the final frame.
• The 'Birds' lead grew to 10 points, 76-66, in the first 45 seconds of the fourth, until a layup by James with nine minutes to go put the Vikes on the board, 76-68.
• Slowly chipping away at UBC's lead through the fourth quarter, three's from Gallagher and James along with a pair of free throws by Boag pulled the Vikes marked an 8-0 run to pull UVic back within two, 82-80, with 3:48 to play.
• Fouled on his three-point shot attempt, Robinson made all three of his awarded free throws to tie the game, 88-88, with 23 seconds to play.
• Forcing a Thunderbird turnover in the final seven seconds of play, James got the ball to Boag, who got himself inside the arc and knocked down the jumper at the buzzer to give Victoria the 90-88 win.

WORTH NOTING

• Reigning Canada West Player of the Week Renoldo Robinson led the Vikes with 27 points, adding two rebounds and one assist in the win.
• Ethan Boag recorded a career-high 24 points in the win, also tallying five rebounds and two assists.
• Geoffrey James and Ryan Gallagher each tallied season-high scoring totals in the win at 18 and 11 points, respectively. 
• Sergio Pereira posted team-highs in rebounds (11) and blocks (2) for the Vikes, also contributing six points.
• The Vikes move to 13-0 on the year with the win, while UBC drops to 10-4 with the loss.

UP NEXT
The Vikes take on UBC Okanagan Saturday, Jan. 25 at 4 p.m. inside CARSA Performance Gym. Get your tickets here or catch the game on Canada West TV presented by BioSteel.