Vikes out-last Cinderella UNBC

Written by Mike Still, Bisons Sports Information 

WINNIPEG – Diego Maffia and Elias Ralph combined for six triples in the fourth quarter, most of which came in a 19-7 run in the final five minutes, as the No. 1 seed, two-time defending conference champion Victoria Vikes advanced to the CanWest final once more with an 80-68 win over the Cinderella No. 12 seed UNBC Timberwolves in semi-final action in Saturday at IGAC. 

The T-Wolves had upset the No. 5 seed UBC Thunderbirds and No. 4 seed, host Manitoba Bisons in consecutive nights, and they held a 62-61 lead with 4:45 to go following a Darren Hunter mid-range jumper, but the Vikes responded. 

Head coach Craig Beaucamp called a timeout and rallied his troops, as the Vikes scored 17 points at will, all of which came from Maffia and Ralph, with the latter’s triples facilitated by the former.

The duo combined for 59 points, including ten triples on 31 attempts in the win. Ralph finished with a double-double adding 12 assists while Maffia had four.

“[Beaucamp] stays calm and collected the whole game. You can see it. That just translates to our whole team, we keep that calm and collected mindset,” said Maffia, the Player of the Game.

 “In that last five minutes, we made big plays, we made big shots, we made the right reads. Eli stepped up with two crazy threes, one in the corner, a dagger three. That last 4:45 is our identity. We’re resilient and we stay with it no matter how much we’re up or down by.” 

Senior forwards Spencer Ledoux and Chris Ross combined for 37 points and 17 rebounds in the loss. 

Needing to negate second chance opportunities for UVic’s many lethal shooters, the T-Wolves were up to the challenge, winning the rebounding battle 25-17 entering the half, led by seven from point guard Justin Sunga.

The T-Wolves played a 1-3-1 against the nation’s most best scorer Maffia, with Ross tracking him at the top of the perimeter.

Maffia shot just 1-for-8 from the field in the first quarter and 0-6 from distance, with Sunga collecting five rebounds. 

Ross also grabbed a key board late which led to a Darren Hunter contested layup, part of a mini 4-0 run at the end of the quarter for ‘big game’, which also included a steal as UNBC led 16-9 after one. 

The Vikes forced turnovers on three straight possessions at the end of the first ten, as both teams went almost four minutes without a bucket, including a steal from the Canada West Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Tesfagiorgis. 

UVic, however shot just 18.8 percent from the field, while UNBC shot 38.9 percent led by six points inside from Spencer Ledoux.

Maffia got five quick points to open the second, and the Vikes continued to show why they led the Canada West conference in offensive rebounds, collecting six, led by Canada West All-Star Ralph.

He put back a Renoldo Robinson drive, and followed that up a minute late with his own board and bucket, entering the second half with a team-high nine points and four rebounds.

But the T-Wolves had an answer in the form of Evgeny Baukin. 

The forward out of Russia denied versatile playmaker Griffin Arnatt with a block, and he wowed the crowd with a slam dunk shortly after, as UNBC opened up a seven-point lead at halftime, led by 24 combined points from Baukin and Ledoux, who had five boards and a game-high 12 points, all in the paint. 

Entering the third, Maffia and Ralph combined to shoot 29 times from the field, with just eight makes, while going 0-for-12 from distance. The rest of the Vikes’ roster combined for 14 field goal attempts, and 11 points total, including four from Robinson.

Ross and Josh Gillespie were tasked with guarding Mafia and Ralph, combining for eight rebounds.

Both sides had their chances from the perimeter, but the shots weren’t falling, as the two teams combined to go 2-for-28 from distance. Most of the buckets in the first 20 came from inside, with a total of 44 of the game’s 62 points coming in the paint.

The Vikes held UNBC to one offensive rebound in the third, getting eight themselves as they went on multiple runs, played tight defence and got their outside game going to take a 53-47 lead into the fourth.

Arnatt had five boards in the quarter, and Shadynn Smid also had five, with the former grabbing two offensive rebounds on one possession which led to a Maffia three as part of an 8-0 in the first 2:30 of the third.

Maffia hit two triples, Ralph also had two and Izzy Helman added one, while Arnatt played tight defence with a steal and block while Ralph and Maffia were taking a quick breather.

The play of the third came from Maffia, who dribbled behind his back, causing Ross to go in a circle as the elite shooter nailed a deep triple. 

Ledoux continued to be UNBC’s most efficient scorer, getting inside for six points, while Ross had a long triple, however the T-Wolves were just 2-for-14 from distance entering the final ten. 

A back and forth final quarter was taken over by the Vikes in the final five, with Maffia and Ralph finding each other at will to close things out.

Despite the result, the T-Wolves gained fans across the country with their grit and desire, sticking by each other until the end.

“I think I’m going to remember the teammates,” said Ross, who is set to graduate. “Obviously how fun it was to have something go our way and to win a couple games in a big moments like this.”

Victoria will face the winner of No. 2 seed Calgary and No. 3 seed Winnipeg at 8 pm for the CanWest title.