VICTORIA – The nations number two seed Victoria Vikes outlasted the country's sixth ranked UBC Thunderbirds 91-83 in a hard fought Canada West semifinal matchup Friday evening at a sold out CARSA Performance Gym.
 
With the win, the Vikes improve to 19-3 in Canada West regular and postseason play, while UBC ends their season with an overall record of 15-8.
 
"It was a game of possessions," commented Vikes head coach Craig Beaucamp on the game. "We were beat in the first half, but we got after it in the second half, competed, and had guys step up and make big plays for us."
 
Victoria's Renoldo Robinson led all players in the game with a 26-point performance, adding seven rebounds, one block, one steal, and one assist in the win. Dominick Oliveri recorded his seventh double-double of the year with a 14-point, 14-rebound effort for the Vikes in the win.


 
The T-Birds who came into action battling illness and injury to several key players put forth a gutsy road outing and were led by Triston Matthews with 23 points, securing a double-double and team-high 12 rebounds. Sukhman Sandu, Brian Wallack, and James Woods added double-digit scoring performances for the Thunderbirds with 17, 12, and 10 points, respectively. The visitors relied on their depth and rotation which saw 46 points scored off the bench compared to 19 for the hosts.
 
The Vikes opened on an 11-0 run, holding UBC scoreless until the 6:44 mark of the opening frame. Pushing back, UBC used a 6-0 run to cut the Vikes' lead to six, 17-11, with 1:32 to play in the first. After 10 minutes of play, Victoria held a 17-15 lead over UBC.
 
Putting together an 8-0 run, the Thunderbirds took their first lead of the night, 27-25, with 6:03 to play in the second quarter. Back-and-forth for the remainder of the quarter, Victoria's Ethan Boag hit a three in the final seconds to send the game into halftime tied, 43-43.


 
After trading points for the majority of the third quarter, four-straight points by Victoria gave the Vikes a 69-65 lead after three quarters of play. Though the Thunderbirds would try to cut the Vikes' lead down in the fourth, Victoria maintained at least a one-possession lead throughout the final frame to pull away with the win, 91-83.
 
"I think we certainly had what's considered 'playoff basketball,' you couldn't ask for much more than that," noted UBC head coach Kevin Hanson. "UVic is tough with talented players, and they made some plays down the stretch while we had a few mistakes down the stretch, but both teams left their heart on the floor."
 
The Vikes will host the winner of Winnipeg vs. Manitoba in the Canada West finals.