The Thompson Rivers University WolfPack are coming away from a weekend trip to Victoria without a victory.  

For the second straight night, the Pack were beaten in the final minutes by the host Vikes in Canada West men's basketball play. On Saturday (Jan 25), the score was 73-71.
 
It came down to the wire once again.

Anton Bilous gave the WolfPack a 67-66 lead with three minutes remaining on his fourth triple on the evening.

Coming down the floor, Jason Scully – who was clutch last night for the Vies – canned a three of his own from the corner. He was 0-for-4 from deep before that.

Bilous kept the hot hand working when he drove baseline for the reverse to tie the game at 69.

Draining the game clock, Vikes captain Scott Kellum finished at the rim to put the Vikes up with 26.8 remaining.

In the dying seconds, it appeared that WolfPack freshman guard Brendan Sullivan was going to tie it. Instead, he was met at the summit by Vikes forward Matthew Ellis, who pinned him on the glass.

Ellis was returned to form after being burdened with foul trouble last night. Playing free, he notched his second double-double of the season with 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting, to go with 13 rebounds and three blocks.

For Bilous, it was also a bounce back game. He, along with fifth-year forward Joe Davis entered the weekend averaging at least 17 points per game. Last night they combined for 13. Bilous' late efforts pushed him to 20 points.

Three times, Davis took open jumpers from the top of arc and all three times, they rattled halfway down, only to spill out. The Kamloops kid still managed 13 points and six rebounds.

Sullivan and Vikes local guard Diego Maffia rekindled their high school rivalry this weekend, as Sullivan hails from Mill Bay.

The two rookie guards were going at it. Maffia led the Vikes with 15 points, highlighted by a burst at the end of the third quarter where he and teammate Graeme Hyde-Lay traded off three-straight threes to close the frame.

Sullivan wasn't came alive after a slow start. In the second half, he connected on 3-of-4 three-pointer attempts. A couple slashes to the rim and the island product earned 12 points.

WolfPack fifth-year forward Micheal Rouault attracted a lot of attention last night in the paint and had no issue drawing contact again in the series finale. In the second quarter, he absorbed a whack by Vikes big man Hayden Lejeune. As he was falling out of bounds, the English he put on the ball allowed it to roll in. Rouault was the top rebounder for the 'Pack with nine, while also supplying 12 points.

Despite the loss, Thompson Rivers (11-5) did secure a playoff spot.

COMMENTS BY COACH  SCOTT CLARK:

"It was a very similar game to last night with a playoff atmosphere. There were a number of lead changes and we had a chance at the end . We took it to the basket with a shot to tie or win.  There was nothing much separating the two teams. Again, they were a little better than us today.

We had a number of guys step up.  Mike Rouault was very good today again. Actually all of our guys were. Simon Crossfield came off the bench and gave us some good minutes for a rookie. Brendan Sullivan had a good outing. Joe was good again and Anton---despite being very ill, came up with a character performance."

UP NEXT:

 The WolfPack will head home for their final two regular season games at the Tournament Capital Centre. TRU will entertain the Fraser Valley Cascades on  January 31^st and February 1^st.  It is 'alumni weekend' where former players with the Cariboo College Chiefs, University College of the Cariboo Sun Demons and WolfPack will be honored and celebrated.

Friday's game is also "Donor recognition night" while Saturday will see the WolfPack honor their four fifth year players: Joe Davis (Kamloops, BC), Micheal Rouault (Vernon, BC), Anton Bilous (Cerkassy, Ukraine) and Kyrin Cybenko (Saskatoon, SK).

 Both of the games this weekend will be webcast on a pay-per-view basis on Canada West TV presented by Co-op by accessing: https://cw.yaretv.com/.  

James Matthews will handle the play by play duties of both games this weekend. His analyst will be former WolfPack guard Vince Watson. CFJC TV's Dylana Milobar will be the in game host.
(With help from UVIC Sports Information)