It’s just like old times with the University of Victoria Vikes men’s basketball team back in the U Sports national top 10 after a spell away from those heights.
The resurgent Vikes, ranked No. 5 in sa国际传媒, continued to roll with their 15th consecutive win in a 99-71 victory over UBC-Okanagan (3-15) late Thursday night in Kelowna to move to 16-1 in the sa国际传媒 West conference.
UVic again received strong backcourt play as a quartet of guards led the scoring.
Fifth-year helmsman and career Vikes all-time top 10 scorer Scott Kellum had 20 points, touted sophomore natural-shooter Diego Maffia 16, emerging Aaron Tesfagiorgis got 14 and highly-recruited six-foot-six rookie Elias Ralph from Okotoks, Alta., scored 12.
Forward Dominick Oliveri, with Kellum a part of UVic’s Washington state pipeline, had another monster night on the board with 12 rebounds.
The key juncture was the 32-15 third-quarter surge for the Vikes. All players dressed for the game touched the floor for UVic.
The Vikes are in Prince George tonight to conclude the regular season against the University of Northern British Columbia Timberwolves (6-11).
The sa国际传媒 West playoffs begin next week with Calgary and Lethbridge hosting the opening rounds.
In women’s sa国际传媒 West play in Kelowna, the UVic Vikes (10-7) outlasted the University of British Columbia-Okanagan (7-11) by a 63-55 count behind the 19 points of fifth-year shooting guard Calli McMillan.
Forwards Ashlyn Day and Aleah Ashlee scored 10 and eight points, respectively, in the game, in which points proved precious with UVic shooting 36 per cent and UBC-O 28 per cent.
UVic outscored UBC-O 20-11 in the second quarter and that was the difference in the contest.
The Vikes close out the regular season tonight against the UNBC Timberwolves (8-9) in Prince George.
