Ottawa, ON -
With both teams having had their national championship hopes dashed the night before, old rivals UBC and Victoria met in the consolation round of the men's basketball CIS Final 8 Saturday afternoon in Ottawa, ON. The Vikes came out on top defeating UBC 71-65
With the game tied at 61-61 with 1:40 left in the game, Victoria big man Chris McLaughlin scored to give the Vikes a two point lead. On the next possession, UBC turned the ball over and Brin Taylor hit a jumper to extend the lead to four with 52.3 seconds remaining. A
Brylle Kamen basket made it a two point game, but Taylor would come through again with two more of his 16 points to put it out of reach. Victoria held on to win 71-65.
"This is the most difficult game of the season you have to play, neither team wants to really be here, but in the end it is an opportunity for young guys to get a lot of playing time," said UBC head coach Kevin Hanson. "Conor Morgan played 35 minutes which bodes well for the rest of his career. To get that much playing time on a national stage like this is a huge learning experience not only for him, but for all our other guys who played major minutes."
The 'Birds played without team captain and fifth year guard Doug Plumb. The Second Team All-Canadian suffered a concussion in the Friday's game versus Acadia after hitting his head off the floor trying to make a diving defensive play. He also needed 10 stitches to fix a gash above his eye.
"Playing without Doug today, our fifth year leader, obviously was tough on us, but also tough on him not being able to finish his final year on the floor," said Hanson.
The first quarter saw the Vikes go on a 7-0 run to take a 15-8 lead. UBC would claw back with a mini run of their own, led by rookie guard Isaiah Solomon, scoring three straight baskets to cut the lead to 15-14. Victoria would lead 18-16 after one quarter of play.
The game went back and forth for the first five minutes of the second quarter, before Victoria once again gave themselves a little cushion going up by as many as six points. UBC though, started to work the ball down low to David Wagner, who poured in six points in the quarter to keep it a two point game at the break, 38-36 Victoria.
Victoria started the second half on an 8-0 run to extend their lead to 10 points. However, the 'Birds would slowly but surely cut into the advantage. David Wagner added another six points in the quarter while Geoff Pippus hit a big three to make it a one point game after three quarters as UBC trailed 52-51.
Brylle Kamen led UBC with 19 points, while Morgan had eight points and 11 rebounds. Fellow rookie Isaiah Solomon finished the night with 11 points, six rebounds and six assists.
Chris McLaughlin was the high point man for Victoria with 20 points.
The 'Birds finish the 2012-13 season with an overall record of 28-8 to go along with the 10th Canada West Championship title in the program's history. As disappointing as this weekend may have been, it certainly was a major accomplishment to reach the CIS Final 8, especially with such a young and inexperienced team.
"Acadia was a heck of team and they were here last year," said Hanson. "They had the experienced guys. It is a different beast at this tournament. Some say you just have to win three games, but those are three tough games to play. Everyone is real good here, especially when you see the depth and the talent of the other teams."
With the win Victoria now plays McGill on Sunday for fifth place.
