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It took six weekends of play, but the University of Victoria Vikes finally have their first sweep.
It couldn鈥檛 come at a better time for the men鈥檚 basketball team, which followed up Friday鈥檚 lopsided 35-point victory over the UBC Okanagan Heat with a 75-65 triumph on Saturday in Kelowna.
The Vikes come home for four straight and six of their final eight in the sa国际传媒 West regular-season schedule, hoping to secure a playoff spot. With the two victories, UVic improves to 5-7 while the Heat remains ice-cold at 2-12.
鈥淲e knew that tonight wouldn;t be easy,鈥� said Vikes coach Craig Beaucamp. 鈥淲e shot the ball so well [Friday].
鈥淔or the most part, we played solid. We gave up a couple of runs in the second half.鈥�
Grant Sitton had a red-hot start to the night, hitting his first three three-point attempts in building up 16 points by the half. He finished with a game-high 24, despite struggling with a charleyhorse injury. Justin Kinnear collected 18 points and 10 rebounds and Claremont grad Taylor Montgomery-Stinson added 12 points.
鈥淗e had a really good weekend and he鈥檚 a guy who has come on for us,鈥� Beaucamp said of Montgomery-Stinson.
The Vikes turned down the Heat early, taking a 23-4 advantage after the first quarter and a 39-26 lead at the half. A 62-45 lead after three disappeared as the Heat closed to 68-62 late.
In women鈥檚 play, the Vikes improved to 8-4 with their fourth straight victory by way of a 75-52 win over the Heat.
Nicole Karstein led the way for a second straight night for coach Dani Sinclair鈥檚 Vikes, following up Friday鈥檚 22 points and 10 rebounds with 17 points and eight boards. Off to a quick 10-3 lead, Karstein had eight of those points before stalling out at 11 at the half.
Jenna Bugiardini finished with 15 points and nine rebounds while Jenna Krug added 12 points.
Unlike Friday鈥檚 back-and-forth tussle, the Vikes took command early and never relented in building up 22-13, 46-24 and 58-41 leads by quarters.
鈥淲inning on the road on a Saturday night is not easy,鈥� Sinclair said. 鈥淥ur girls came out and executed really well from the start and mostly at the defensive end. We were really active defensively.鈥�
As for Karstein, Sinclair was delighted with her weekend鈥檚 work that included 39 points and 18 rebounds.
鈥淲e knew we wanted to try and take advantage inside and she was up to the task,鈥� said Sinclair.
Both Vikes teams will be home to the Lethbridge Pronghorns on Friday and Saturday at the CARSA Performance Gym.
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