CIS Hoops.ca

Victoria (10-4) 72, Trinity Western (5-9) 65 The Vikes bounced back to salvage the second game of the two-game weekend series as 6'6" Tyler Hass came alive in the second half and 6'7" Mitch Gudgeon helped key a game-deciding run. Victoria is in second place in Canada West Pacific Division behind UBC by two games in the loss column. Report from Mike Tucker, Vikes Sports Info... Vikes pick up 10th win of season LANGLEY, BC - The UVic Vikes evened the weekend series with the Trinity Western Spartans, taking a 72-65 road victory Saturday night. Their first win of 2008, puts the Vikes at 10-4 in Canada West play. Vikes forward Tyler Hass scored 11 points of his 13 points in the third quarter alone, leading the Vikes on a 16-6 run. Mitch Gudgeon highlighted the run by throwing down a two-handed slam, and followed by a pair of free-throws, gave the Vikes a 16-point lead with just over a quarter left to play. However, as the Vikes learned the previous night, no lead is truly safe in TWU's David E. Enarson Gym. Trinity Western refused to go quietly and the game got interesting in the final minute of the fourth quarter. Spartans' sharp-shooter Matt Myers nailed a three-pointer despite being fouled, and made the penalty to complete the four-point play. Myers, who finished with 17 points, put TWU behind by just four, 69-65, with 30 seconds remaining. The Vikes were able to respond with two successful free-throws from Brandon Dunlop to keep the lead safe. Unlike Friday night's 66-64 loss, the Vikes capitalized at the free-throw line making 22 of 31 attempts. Dunlop, a second-year guard from Victoria, totaled 15 points and shared the game high with senior centre Rob Kinnear. Kinnear hit a rare three-pointer in the fourth which helped stave off the Spartans attack. The Vikes made eight threes overall, with five coming in the first half. The Vikes led 33-24 at halftime. Trinity Western guard Luke Robinson accounted for the game high with 21 points. Robinson scored five of his points in the final frame, finishing the night shooting 7-for-19, and adding seven 'boards. The Spartans out-shot the Vikes 40.4 percent to 36.8 percent. The victory also gives the Vikes the tie-breaker advantage over Trinity Western, as the Vikes claimed their earlier! meeting at McKinnon Gym. Next weekend the Vikes will play their first home series in over a month. The Vikes host the Regina Cougars (Jan. 11) and Brandon Bobcats (Jan. 12), who sit atop the Great Plains Division. Regina is 7-5, while Brandon is 12-1 and ranked no. 5 in the CIS. The Bobcats defeated the Vikes 77-66 in a pre-season match-up at McKinnon Gym. Plus Jeff Kilpatrick's report from Trinity Western VIKES OUTMUSCLE SPARTANS FOR TENTH VICTORY LANGLEY, British Columbia – The Victoria Vikes won a physical battle with the Trinity Western University Spartans 72-65 at TWU’s David E. Enarson Gymnasium. The teams combined for 44 fouls and 48 free throws, most of them coming in the second half. The Vikes, known for their physical, low-scoring style, forced the run-and-gun Spartans to play their pace, holding them to just 24 points on 28 percent shooting from the field in the first half and led 33-24. UVIC only shot 32 percent, but hit five of 10 three pointers, including two from guard Jeff Cullen (Victoria), who scored all eight of his points in the first half. The fouls and points increased dramatically in the third quarter. Victoria forward Tyler Hass (Victoria) scored 11 of his 13 points in the third, and keyed an 18-6 run resulting in a 52-36 lead. The Spartans closed on a 13-5 run and trailed 57-49 as the teams combined for 49 points and 15 fouls in the quarter. TWU committed nine fouls in that span, resulting in 15 free throw attempts for UVIC. The Spartans surge continued early in the fourth, as they cut the lead to four 59-55 on a Jon Loewen (Abbotsford, B.C.) layup with 6:32 left. Robbie Kinnear’s second three of the night looked to put the game away for UVIC, as they lead 69-61. But on the next play Matt Myers (Tumwater, Wash.) was fouled as he made his fifth three pointer of the game, and his resulting free throw made it 69-65 Vikes with just 27 seconds remaining. UVIC would ice the game with three more free throws to hang on 72-65. Myers finished with 17 points, making five of his seven three point attempts. Luke Robinson (Ahousat, B.C.) lead the Spartans in scoring with 21 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Four Vikes finished in double figures, led by Kinnear and Brandon Dunlop (Victoria), who both finished with 15. The loss drops TWU to 5-9 in the Canada West Pacific Division, and move into a tie with UCFV for fourth place with 10 points. The win tonight moves UVIC to 10-3, and ties them with idle UBC for first place in the Pacific with 20 points. The next game for both teams will be home games Friday, January 11 at 8 p.m. TWU hosts the UCFV Cascades at the David E. Enarson Gymnasium while the UVIC will host the Regina Cougars in Victoria. Game Notes: The Vikes had a whopping 67 free throw attempts in the two games this weekend against the Spartans. TWU had just 37 attempts from the charity stripe…Robinson led the Spartans in scoring for the fifth time this season…The game was broadcast live on GoSpartans.ca.