Vikes reclaim CW title with win over UBC

Victoria, BC – The No. 2 University of Victoria captured the Canada West Championship over provincial rivals No. 4 University of British Columbia in an 89-74, February 27 at CARSA Performance Gym.

The home crowd was loud early and pushed the Vikes to an early lead as Cam Slaymaker nailed a corner three, sparking a 9-4 opening run. Dylan Gage, a sparkplug for the Vikes in their semi-final win over Alberta, entered the game and immediately drilled back-to-back threes, forcing a Thunderbirds timeout with Victoria ahead 15-5 at the midway point in the first.

Out of the timeout, Raj Dhadda began to make an impact for the Thunderbirds with his timely shooting. Dhadda, along with Holt Tomie, began to find the bottom of the net to cut into the Vikes' lead. Victoria countered UBC's scoring success with another offensive run to close the quarter. Shadynn Smid and Renoldo Robinson led a scoring stretch that pushed the Vikes to a 29-12 lead after one quarter of play.

The early story for the Thunderbirds' scoring woes was their inability to capitalize on their hard-fought foul shots. UBC was having success finding their way to the line but couldn't dial in their free-throw shooting. As the second quarter played out, Victoria's defensive grip began to tighten. Thunderbirds' turnovers were beginning to mount, and Renoldo Robinson was there to capitalize, stretching the Vikes' lead to 23 points.

Edouard Gauthier began to be an offensive answer for UBC. Gauthier scored five consecutive points to halt the scoring onslaught of Victoria. The Thunderbirds' presence on the offensive glass allowed Nikola Guzina, the Canada West first-team all-star, to get his game going. Guzina and Renoldo Robinson began trading baskets. Robinson was hitting his shot from all over the court, scoring a game-high 20 first-half points, while Guzina's 10 brought the Thunderbirds within reach as they trailed 53-38 at halftime.

The Thunderbirds' energy was different after the halftime break. Holt Tomie was creating offence and shooting UBC back into the ballgame. The Vikes were doing themselves no favours as turnovers were giving UBC fastbreak opportunities, to which they were capitalizing. Tomie's scoring push brought the Thunderbirds within 11, their closest scoring margin since early in the first.

Victoria fought back to even out the scoring, but Tomie would not go away on offence. The Thunderbirds were riding his hot hand, closing the third quarter within 10 as they trailed the Vikes 70-60.

The duo of Tomie and Guzina continued to silence the crowd as their offensive dominance was giving the Vikes' defence fits. With Victoria's three-point shooting dried up, the Thunderbirds were within striking distance as this championship game hit the final stretch.

Renoldo Robinson steadied the ship for the reeling Vikes' offence. Robinson's five points allowed the capacity crowd to get back to their feet. Geoffrey James, the Canada West defensive player of the year, alongside Shadynn Smid, nearly blew the roof off of CARSA as the pair fought for back-to-back, in which both plays led to dunks and stretched the Vikes' lead back to 15 with three minutes left to play.

Victoria's timely scoring in the last two minutes was the difference maker as the Vikes used these opportunities to regain momentum. With the victory, the reigning national champions, Victoria Vikes, captured the Canada West conference title for the first time under Head Coach Murphy Burnatowski.

 Renoldo Robinson was awarded the Championship MVP for his vital 34 points that propelled the Vikes at the right times. Robinson's ability to score at all levels is amongst the best in the nation, and each of those abilities were on full display.

"It was a great win. I'm proud of how the boys came to play and fought the whole game. They are a great team, and we knew it wouldn't be easy. The building was great tonight, really nice to win this one at home. Looking forward to resting up and heading to Calgary so we can work towards bringing home another championship."

The Vikes will head to Calgary for the U SPORTS National Championship with games set to begin Thursday, March 5.

Canada West TV Highlights - Powered by BioSteel