The University of Victoria Vikes handled the University of British Columbia Okanagan Heat 95-51 on Saturday night at the CARSA Performance Gym.
Last night’s game between these two programs was relatively close in the first half. The same cannot be said about the rematch.
The Vikes shot the lights out in the first quarter to the tune of 58.8 per cent. That, and holding the Heat to 25 per cent from the floor in the first 10 minutes allowed the Vikes to climb to an early 29-10 lead.
Last night in the Vikes first game without the Canada West’s leading rebounder, the bigs ran into some trouble against the Heat. Tonight, there was no such trouble.
Vikes forward Matthew Ellis didn’t miss a shot until third quarter. He started 9-for-9 with 18 points, the majority of which came off the left block. Facing up, Ellis used a few shakes and the odd dribble to create enough of an angle to lay it in. He finished with a game-high 22.
His running mate, Hayden Lejeune, was nearly as effective from the other side of the paint. Lejeune used his size to back defenders down and a couple hooks shots to record his 10 points.
The threes were falling last night for the Vikes and they continued to rain down on Ken and Kathy Shields Court.
Diego Maffia led the way with three makes from the land beyond, while Graeme Hyde-Lay and Aaron Tesfagiorgis both sunk a pair. Maffia finished with 16 points, Hyde-Lay recorded six and Tesfagiorgis recorded 11.
Midway through the third, the Vikes established a 73-21 lead.
Not withering away into the weekend was the Heat’s Philip Oklanawon. He dialed up three triples of his own to lead his squad with 10 points.
Imoudu Ibrahim still battled the Vikes’ bigs and hauled down a game high nine rebounds.
The Heat are in Alberta next weekend to battle the Alberta Golden Bears in a pair of games. The Vikes are also on the road next weekend when they take on the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in Saskatoon.
