VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds (2-0) carried a strong second half performance to a 94-76 victory over the University of Victoria Vikes (1-1) on opening weekend of Canada West action at War Memorial Gym. Victoria held a five-point lead at halftime, but the 'Birds outscored the visitors 27-13 in the third and allowed just 13 points in the fourth quarter to secure their second win of the season on home court.
 
"I think we played with a lot of energy on the defensive end," said UBC head coach Kevin Hanson. "At the start of the second half we got five stops in a row and that seemed to set the pace. It gave us energy on the offensive end and that really sparked us. We weren't happy giving up 45 points in the first half, but we're very happy with the second half. We're still trying to find our identity. It's a different group of guys that haven't played a lot of minutes together. Both Lincoln [Rosebush] and Toni [Maric] didn't play a lot of minutes on Thursday night, but they came out and played really well in the second half. That's the thing with our team – if someone is playing well, we'll stick with them."


 
Grant Audu and James Woods both scored 23 points for the T-Birds, with Audu adding six assists, four rebounds, and three steals. Jack Cruz-Dumont, Lincoln Rosebush and Triston Mathews put up 12 points each, while Cruz-Dumont also racked up nine assists and two steals in the win. Matthew Ellis had a team-high 20 points for Victoria, Diego Maffia had 16 points and six assists, and Scott Kellum tallied nine points and nine assists in the loss.


 
Brian Wallack opened the scoring for the 'Birds in the first quarter and Woods drained a pair of threes for an early 8-2 lead. Maffia scored an and one to make it a three-point game at 10-7 UBC and Audu scored his first triple for a 17-12 advantage. Kellum tied it up at 19-19 on a three with three minutes remaining in the quarter, before Cruz-Dumont found Tristan Matthews for a corner three to end the first with a 24-22 lead.
 
A minute into the second quarter, Matthews stripped Kellum and took it straight to the rim for a three-point cushion at 28-25 'Birds before the Victoria guard answered with a three to knot it up at 28-28. Audu regained a one-point lead with a layup at 41-40, but the Vikes responded with an Elias Ralph three and an Ellis layup to take their largest lead of the game, 45-41, at halftime.

?? MBB | T-Birds regain the lead in the 3rd, now up 68-58 over @uvicvikes with 1 quarter to go! #GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/ebt9K9mknE

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) October 31, 2021

 
Cruz-Dumont cut hard to the rim for a hoop and the harm early in the third quarter to make it a one-point deficit and Woods gave UBC the lead with an up-and-under finish at 48-47 as the two teams continued to trade buckets with the score even at 52-52. Cruz-Dumont then found Rosebush in the paint for an easy finish and the third-year forward followed it up with a three to give UBC a 59-56 edge. After a Cruz-Dumont triple, the 'Birds bigs came up strong defensively to force a Victoria turnover and Rosebush finished the next possession with an emphatic dunk as the T-Birds carried a 68-58 lead into the fourth quarter.
 
UBC opened the fourth quarter with an 11-0 run, as Rosebush and Matthews each scored a triple to increase the lead to 76-58 before Woods added yet another three for a twenty-one-point cushion early in the frame that the home didn't relinquish in the 94-76 victory.
 
The Thunderbirds return to home court on November 5^th and 6^th to host the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades at War Memorial Gym, while Victoria hosts UBC Okanagan on Friday and Saturday in the provincial capital.