VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (13-6) led the defending conference champion University of Victoria Vikes (16-3) by three at halftime but fell 90-82 at War Memorial Gym to snap their nine-game win streak in their home court finale.
With
Brian Wallack still sidelined with an injury,
Triston Matthews put up a team-high 21 points and eight rebounds for the 'Birds,
James Woods and
Sukhman Sandhu each added 17 points, and
Tobi Akinkunmi had 12 points in the loss. Diego Maffia racked up 31 points for the Vikes, Elias Ralph notched a double-double with 14 points and 12 boards, and Dominick Oliveri tallied 10 points and a whopping 18 rebounds in the victory.
The Vikes opened the scoring with a Maffia bucket from beyond the arc and led 5-0 before a Sandhu layup put the 'Birds on top 7-6 in a tight first quarter. Tied at 20-20 with time winding down, Woods got to the rack for two and a slim lead heading into the second. A Renaldo Robinson take to the rim to cut UBC's lead to 30-26 before the big men, Oliveri and Sandhu, traded dunks to get the crowd roaring at 34-28 T-Birds. Sandhu put UBC up six on a layup with just over a minute remaining in the second, but Jaden Touchie drained a trey to keep Victoria within three at 44-41 and the T-Birds headed into halftime with a narrow 46-43 advantage.
Maffia and Boag each scored a three to lift the Vikes to a 57-53 lead in the third, before Sandhu scored another triple to retake the lead at 60-59, but Touchie hit his second three at the buzzer to end the quarter up 64-62. Victoria pulled away through the first half of the fourth with a 22-6 run and led 86-68 before Akinkunmi stopped the run with a trey. Despite a late push, the T-Birds fell 90-82 in their final home game of the regular season.
Prior to tipoff, Kavie Toor, Managing Director of UBC Athletics and Recreation announced that UBC was awarded
the 2025 U SPORTS Women's and Men's Basketball Final 8 tournaments at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre and War Memorial Gym, March 13-16th 2025.
UBC's playoff positioning will come down to the final game of the regular season on Saturday, February 10
th, as they travel to the island for a crucial rematch with the Vikes at 7:00 p.m. (PT).
