The University of Victoria carried its No. 1 seed to the end of the Canada West basketball tournament as the men’s team captured its third straight conference championship.
The three-peat was finalized with a 96-91 win against the University of Winnipeg Wesmen in Manitoba on Feb. 25 – a contest that marked a rematch of the 2023 conference final.
After being down 35-19 after the first quarter, the Vikes outscored the Wesmen in each of the remaining three frames as it was led by clutch performances from Renoldo Robinson and Diego Maffia.
After cutting the deficit in the second, a Robinson floater opened the Vikes’ scoring in the third quarter to bring UVic within four. Maffia hit a three-pointer minutes later to tie the game, but Winnipeg would immediately go on a run to pull ahead once again.
After the Vikes responded, Robinson, who would go on to lead the Vikes with 33 points, put the third-quarter to rest with a three at the buzzer that gave UVic the lead.
The final quarter saw the Vikes extend the lead before the Wesmen managed to pull within one, but timely scores by Maffia, Shadynn Smid and Elias Ralph secured the 18th Canada West win for the UVic men’s program.
After the win, Vikes head coach Craig Beaucamp credited the strong competition at the conference tournament, but said the difference was his key players stepping up with big plays.
“For us to find a way to scratch out three wins in a row is obviously a great accomplishment, but we also have bigger aspirations and would like to (take) another step when we get to the national tournament,” he said in a news release.
The Vikes await their seeding for the U SPORTS Final 8 tournament in Quebec City from March 8 t0 10.
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