KAMLOOPS – They fought back from an early deficit and trailed by just one point entering the fourth quarter but in the end the UVic Vikes were too much for the Thompson Rivers WolfPack men's basketball team to handle in an 84-59 loss on Tuesday night.
In what was the second-to-last regular season game of their 2021-22 slate, the 4-13 WolfPack showed plenty of grit to stick with a 14-1 Vikes squad that is currently riding a conference-best 14-game winning streak.
UVic's offence carried the day as they shot 41.9 per cent from the floor as a team and 44 per cent from long distance. The Vikes also used their size down low to win the battle on the glass 57-37.
Asher Mayan scored a game-high 21 points for the 'Pack while playing 37 of a possible 40 minutes on the night.
Daniel Bost went 3-7 from beyond-the-arc for 11 points while
Simon Crossfield nearly recorded the double-double with eight points and nine rebounds.
Scott Kellum and Diego Maffia scored 19 and 16 points respectively for the Vikes with Elias Ralph and Ethan Boag adding 13 and 11. Dominick Oliveri finished with 15 rebounds on the night.
A slow start to the first quarter saw the WolfPack fall behind early. UVic scored 12 of the first 14 points in the game as the 'Pack struggled to score just seven points in the opening frame. TRU's defence did its part however and limited the Vikes to 17 as they trailed by 10 after the first quarter.
Trailing 25-11 halfway through the second quarter, the WolfPack offence finally came to life. TRU outscored the Vikes 17-10 for the rest of the first half buoyed by eight points from
Daniel Bost who knocked down a pair of triples.
The WolfPack continued to claw their way back into the game in the third quarter and outscored the Vikes 24-18 in the frame. A
Gavin Reis three-pointer capped off a 15-5 WolfPack run to start the third quarter as the 'Pack took their first lead of the game with the score 44-41. The teams traded buckets down the stretch run of the third quarter but it was UVic that held a slim 53-52 lead after thirty minutes of play.
Unfortunately for the visitors the fourth quarter belonged to the Vikes. UVic went on a torrid 10-0 run to start the fourth and eventually outscored TRU 31-7 in the final frame to pull away with the victory.
The WolfPack will play their final regular season game of 2021-22 out on the road tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. in Vancouver against the UBC Thunderbirds. That action can be watched live on canadawest.tv.
