A season of contradictions for the University of Victoria Vikes men鈥檚 basketball team is perhaps best exemplified by point guard Scott Kellum.
The point guard from Issaquah, Washington, was a revelation last season as he seemed to come out of nowhere to be named sa国际传媒 West rookie of the year. Perhaps because of illness in August, and then having his wisdom teeth removed, he got off to a slow start this season and lost his starting spot. But what a super sub he has become as he rounds back into form.
Kellum scored 27 points, including hitting on 5-of-8 three-pointers, in pacing the Vikes to an 86-76 victory over the University of Manitoba Bisons on Sunday.
But don鈥檛 look for an immediate return to the starting lineup.
鈥淲e have the best sixth man in the conference right now and I don鈥檛 want to fool with that at the moment,鈥� said Vikes coach Craig Beaucamp.
鈥淪cott was sick in August, and had his wisdom teeth out, and got off to a slow start. But he has found his shot and has been returning to consistency.鈥�
The Vikes sophomore, who helped lead the Issaquah Eagles deep into Washington Four-A tournaments during a stellar high school career, found his way to UVic through connections. Former UVic guard Marcus Tibbs was involved as a coach in the same AAU club program in the Seattle area and he recommended Kellum to UVic.
鈥淪cott was the kind of player we wanted in the program: He was a good student with good character,鈥� said Beaucamp.
That holds whether he鈥檚 an award-winning rookie starter or a sixth-man threat off the bench.
Those contradictions keep piling up this season for the Vikes as they swept a two-game road set road in Winnipeg against the highly regarded Bisons after blowing big fourth-quarter leads and being swept at home in CARSA gym the weekend before by Thompson Rivers.
鈥淭hose were winnable games against Thompson Rivers and we knew we had to pick ourselves up off the ground,鈥� said Beaucamp.
鈥淲e have a young team, and maybe the players are more relaxed on the road, but you can only go so far reading into it.鈥�
Jordan Charles scored 19 points for the Vikes on Sunday and Taylor Montgomery-Stinson and Mason Loewen had eight points each.
The seventh-place Vikes, after a 1-3 start, are 8-6 in sa国际传媒 West. The Bisons fell to fifth place at 10-6.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a testament to how close the conference is this season,鈥� said Beaucamp. 鈥淲e鈥檙e middle of the pack at the moment, but both the bottom and top are only a few losses or wins away.鈥�
Meanwhile, the Vikes continued their torrid play in women鈥檚 hoops with a 90-78 victory over Manitoba (8-8) in a sa国际传媒 West scorefest. It was the sixth consecutive conference victory for the tied-for-fourth Vikes (10-4).
It was confirmed Monday, however, that Vikes starter Marissa Dheensaw re-ruptured her ACL the week before and will be lost for the season.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a big hit because Marissa set such a great tone for us this season and a lot of what we did was based on her,鈥� said UVic coach Dani Sinclair.
鈥淏ut we鈥檝e very much had a next-woman-up mentality and everybody has a good understanding of their roles. We will compensate for Marissa by hoping to fill her role with a four-or-five player rotation. Different people have stepped up for us at different times this season.鈥�
They will need to continue doing just that.
Amira Giannattasio led the offensive onslaught Sunday with 22 points, while Kristy Gallagher and Ashlyn Day scored 16 each.
The Vikes men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 teams now begin a five-game home stand at CARSA, starting Friday and Saturday against the University of Northern sa国际传媒 Timberwolves.
