VICTORIA – Elias Ralph and Diego Maffia caught fire in the fourth quarter, hitting eight, three-pointers between them to power the Victoria Vikes past the UBC Thunderbirds 92-80 in a rollercoaster first game of a home-and-home series Thursday in Victoria.
 
Wild shifts in momentum and lead changes were the story on the night, which included a 17- point UBC advantage in the second quarter, however in the end the Vikes outscored the T-Birds 62-31 in the second and fourth frames, most notably 34-19 in the final stanza to secure victory. With the win the U SPORTS No. 2 ranked Vikes improved to 4-1 while the 'Birds fell to 4-3 on the Canada West season.
 
Fifth-year forward Brian Wallack led the way for the visitors with a double double, 18 points and 10 rebounds, Micah Jessie added 17 points while Tobi Akinkunmi added 16 points and nine rebounds in the setback.


 
Maffia, the U SPORTS leading scorer poured in 26 points while Ralph added 25 points for the Vikes as both heated up from beyond the arc late in the proceedings to seal the deal for Victoria.
 
UBC came out ready to play in what was their fifth-straight road game, displaying good energy efficient shooting and stout defence en route to opening up a 10-point lead thanks to a three-pointer from rookie Adam Olsen making it 26-16 with 1:39 to go in the first frame. The 'Birds stayed sharp to close it out on a 7-0 run over the last two minutes of play to be on top 30-16 after the opening quarter.
 
Early in the second quarter, the T-Birds saw their lead increase to its largest margin of the night at 17 points thanks to a Jesse Layup that made it 35-18. Shortly thereafter however the visitor's offence would stall while costly turnovers entered the T-Birds game. At the same time the Vikes found their rhythm to go on an 14-0 run capped by an Ethan Boag three-pointer to pull within three-points at 35-32 with 3:41 until halftime while forcing a UBC timeout. Griffin Arnatt would later make another shot from beyond the arc to give the Vikes a 44-42 advantage seconds before the break.
 
The T-Birds responded in the third stanza by going on a 12-6 run and would be in front 54-50 following a free throw from Wallack with five minutes to go in the quarter, Akinkunmi scored a layup to keep UBC in front 61-58 after three.
 
The script would be flipped in the final quarter as after a rest in the late stages of the third period, Maffia made an immediate impact by scoring eight straight points thanks to hitting two, three-pointers on back-to-back possessions followed by a kiss off the glass in the lane for a 66-61 Vikes advantage. The T-Birds would respond again with a Jessie three-pointer, Akinkunmi free-throws and a James Woods jumper to take the one-point edge at 70-69 with six minutes to play. In those final six minutes it was Ralph who caught fire from distance hitting on four-consecutive three-pointers before another from Maffia to give UVic a ten-point lead at 84-74 with a minute and a half to play. Another dagger from distance from Ralph who finished 5-9 from three-point land on the night, eventually securing the 92-80 win for Victoria.
 
The two teams' meet for a rematch on Saturday in the second half of the home-and-home series scheduled to tip off at 6:00 p.m. from War Memorial Gym. The game is part of UBC's Courtside Basketball Festival, featuring special half-time entertainment, a live DJ, games, prizes, giveaways and much more.

Tickets, which include access to all Courtside events, can still be purchased here. Stream all T-Birds regular season basketball on Canada West TV.