KAMLOOPS – They were with them every step of the way but in the end the Thompson Rivers WolfPack men's basketball team came up just shy of pulling off the upset after they fell 83-74 to the nationally-ranked UVic Vikes.
 
With the Vikes holding a 15-point advantage entering the fourth quarter, TRU mounted a furious comeback effort. The WolfPack knocked down 21 points in the frame and held UVic – the highest scoring offence in the conference – to just 15. A three-pointer from Simon Crossfield cut the deficit to just six points with three minutes left to play but the Vikes were able to find an answer. A late three from conference leading-scorer Diego Maffia put the game out of reach as UVic held on for the nine-point victory.
 
"I thought we played way better tonight," said Crossfield, a third-year forward. "Last night we started hot, but then we weren't able to sustain that. I thought we did a much better job of sustaining the energy and keeping them off the offensive glass."
 
Crossfield led the 'Pack with 17 points on the night, knocking down five of the ten three-pointers he attempted. Asher Mayan and Denys Bachurin added 16 points apiece with Mayan also tallying eight rebounds.
 
"Guys were doing a really good job of sucking in the defence and hitting me for open threes," said Crossfield on his offensive efforts. "It's all confidence with me, just knowing that when I shoot it the ball is going to go into the net."
 
Maffia led all scorers with 18 points in the win while Trent Monkman (16), Dominick Oliveri (12) and Elias Ralph (12) also hit double-digits.
 
Next up for the WolfPack is a pair of crucial clashes in Prince George. With the window to make the Canada West playoffs shrinking by the weekend, TRU knows that they will need positive results against the Timberwolves.
 
"We know that we can play with anybody when we are playing our best game and we have the biggest games of the year coming up this weekend, so we know we have to perform to give ourselves a shot at the playoffs," said Crossfield.