It was the kind of basketball competition you expect to face in March.
The University of Victoria Vikes got a taste of it in early fall as they met two of the best men鈥檚 university teams in the country, concluding with a 90-72 loss Sunday afternoon against the Concordia Stingers of Montreal in the annual Guy Vetrie tournament at CARSA gymnasium.
That followed a 99-62 loss the night before to the seven-time defending U Sports national champion Carleton Ravens. The Ottawa-based dynasty has won 13 of the past 15 national titles, and is 9-2 this year against NCAA Div. 1 opponents, including two victories over Vanderbilt and one over the Alabama Crimson Tide.
鈥淭his was our opening preseason weekend, while both Carleton and Concordia have played quite a few NCAA Div. 1 teams [Canisius, Northeastern, New Hampshire, Siena, Hofstra] already, so they were a little bit ahead of us in game experience,鈥� said Vikes head coach Craig Beaucamp.
鈥淚t was something to build on.鈥�
Beaucamp touched on consistency as something that needs improving.
鈥淲e were ahead after one quarter against Carleton, and within one point in the third quarter against Concordia, before the Stingers shot ahead by 10 in a two-minute span,鈥� added the Vikes bench boss.
鈥淲e showed flashes but we have to play well the full 40 minutes.鈥�
The highpoint for UVic on Ken and Kathy Shields Court was opening the Guy Vetrie tournament with an 87-63 victory over the Guelph Gryphons.
鈥淲e have no fifth-year players and this is going to be a two-year project to make a big run, not that we don鈥檛 want to do that this season, as well,鈥� said Beaucamp.
Six-foot-four, fourth-year player Jordan Charles from Duncan led UVic with 15 points against Concordia while Hayden Lejeune added 14 and Jake Newman 12.
Charles also led the way against Carleton with 14 points while Mason Loewen added 13 points and four assists and last season鈥檚 sa国际传媒 West rookie of the year Scott Kellum 10 points and four rebounds.
Loewen is the high-leaping former Claremont Secondary star returning home after three seasons of NCAA Div. 2 hoops in the U.S.
鈥淭here was pressure on Mason Loewen, because of coming back, but he had a good weekend and is becoming a leader for us,鈥� said Beaucamp.
The Vikes continue the pre-season Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Belmont Secondary gymnasium against the Bishop鈥檚 University Gaiters from Lennoxville, Que., and Sunday against the University of Waterloo Warriors at UBC War Memorial Gym.
VIKES WRAP: Rookie Leina Dueck scored her third goal of the season as the UVic women's field-hockey team blanked Calgary 1-0 Sunday to move to 2-1-1 in sa国际传媒 West while the Dinos fell to 0-4. Dueck also scored in UVic鈥檚 1-0 victory Saturday as the Vikes swept the two-game set in Calgary. . . . The Vikes harriers set a blistering pace over the weekend as the UVic women won the Charles Bowles Invitational cross-country meet in Salem, Oregon, while the UVic men placed second to Mt. San Antonio College. The Vikes will host the U Sports national championship meet Nov. 12 in Victoria. UVic coach Brent Fougner, in a statement, described the weekend as a 鈥済reat start to the season for both teams.鈥�
