The Thunderbirds refused to go quietly, but the offensive firepower of the Victoria Vikes was just enough to pull out a 91-81 road win at War Memorial Gym.

While the T-Birds won the rebounding and free throw battle, UVic lit it up from the outside with 15 three-pointers. Diego Maffia scored 14 points in the fourth quarter en route to 25 on the night, while Renoldo Robinson poured in 18 off the bench.

Fareed Shittu had his biggest game of the season with 18 points, five rebounds and three assists. Adam Olsen recorded 18 points and eight boards, although he shot just 6-17 from the field. Brendan Sullivan put up 13 points (his highest total in a UBC jersey) along with four rebounds and two steals.



The first quarter began eerily similar to the start of Friday night's game, with the Vikes jumping out to an early lead with some hot shooting. The T-Birds punched back though, with a 13-3 run capped by back-to-back buckets from Victor Radocaj to take an 18-13 lead.

But UVic would not be denied in the opening quarter, nailing three triples in quick succession to end the quarter with a 27-21 lead.

The Vikes kept the pressure on in the second, stretching their lead out to 42-30 to put the T-Birds in a precarious position. UBC though (as would be a theme for much of the night) clawed their way back into things, with Sullivan and Olsen leading a 15-5 burst to cut the lead to just two points at the end of the half.

UVic responded with a 14-4 run of their own to being the third, putting the lead back up to double digits. The Thunderbirds struggled offensively for much of the frame, and with just a minute left were stuck 10. Needing a spark, they found one in Shittu, who nailed two straight triples to make it 65-61 for the Vikes heading into the fourth.



A good push tied the game at 67 with about eight minutes left, but the Vikes suddenly flipped a switch on the offensive end, ripping off a 14-3 run to take a big lead once again. The T-Birds pushed hard, and cut the deficit down to seven on more than one occasion, but couldn't get over the hump and were left without a win on the weekend.

The Thunderbirds fall to 4-2 with the loss to the still-undefeated Vikes. Next up is another stiff test, when the nationally-ranked Calgary Dinos come to town on Friday, November 22nd, and Saturday, November 23rd.

The Saturday game is part of UBC's annual Courtside festival. Make sure to head to War Memorial Gym on the 23rd to be part of the biggest crowd of the season at a great Thunderbirds doubleheader! To learn more, click Courtside 2024.