VICTORIA, B.C. – The CIS No. 9-ranked UBC Thunderbirds cruised to an 86-67 triumph over the Victoria Vikes on Saturday night at the CARSA Performance Gym. The win improves the T-Birds to a 12-4 record to hold second place in the Pioneer Division, while the Vikes wade in play-off qualification trouble with a 7-9 record.

The weekend sweep helped UBC clinched a playoff spot.
 
UBC had five players in double digits including a 15-point game from each of Taylor Browne (Surrey, B.C.), Jordan Jensen-Whyte (Calgary) and Phil Jalalpoor (Shifferstadt, Germany). Jensen-Whyte also hauled down a team-high seven boards, while David Wagner (Kamloops, B.C.) and Conor Morgan (Victoria, B.C.) each contributed 12 points. The T-Birds dominated the floor, draining nine three-pointers and shooting 55 per cent from the field.
 
The Vikes were led by Mack Roth with 16 points, Jordan Charles with 15 points and Reiner Theil with 13 points. Jordan Charles put away three from beyond the arc, while Theil led the Vikes in rebounds finishing with six. The Vikes struggled under the hoop losing out the offensive rebound war 30-13.
 
Following a big loss last night, the Vikes rebounded well coming out of the gate strong as Theil put up the first six points for the home side. Jalalpoor drained his first three attempt of the night but Victoria's Jordan Charles responded with back-to-back treys of his own to bring the score 12-7 in favour of the Vikes. Despite five points from 6-foot-9 Vike Grant Sitton the end of the frame was all UBC. A. J. Holloway (Tacoma, Wash.) completed a three-point play, while six-straight points from Jalalpoor got the 'Birds back on top up 22-18 entering the second.
 
It was a Thunderbird tear in the second quarter as the powerhouse visitors out-scored the Vikes an impressive 31-16 to grab a dominating 53-34 lead at half time. UBC opened up their largest lead, by 20, throughout this frame as Wagner put up six points, while the T-Birds earned 13 points off Vikes turnovers and had were 62 per cent from the field. Near the end of the half the Vikes salvaged a bit of scoring pride as Jordan Charles dropped his third three of the game, while Theil also hit from beyond the arc. It wasn't enough as the Vikes trailed by 19 at the break.
 
The third quarter saw the Vikes find the hoop better, out-scored just 21-18. Roth provided a bit of a spark for the Vikes but the home side struggled to manage the 6-9 statures of both Morgan and Wagner. The duo helped the T-Birds out-rebound the Vikes 30-22 by the end of the third, while the visitors put up three perimeter shots to silence the Vikes. Back-to-back threes from Vikes Kai Greene and Joshua Charles helped boost morale but the mighty 'Birds charged their way to a 74-52 lead entering the final stretch.
 
The Vikes were unable to overcome the Thunderbirds in the final quarter despite out-scoring them 15-12. The T-Birds' outside shooting continued to wreak havoc for Victoria, who ultimately conceded the 86-67 loss. Up next the Vikes will head to Regina, Feb. 6-7, while the T-Birds will enjoy a bye weekend.

The Thunderbirds are set to host the CIS Men's Basketball Final 8 in March.
 
Get your tournament packages, and single-game tickets, for the CIS Men's Basketball Final 8 now, as the competition is set to take place from March 17-20 at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.