VICTORIA – The University of Victoria men's basketball team earned a berth to the U SPORTS Final 8 with a 97-85 win over the University of Manitoba in the Canada West bronze medal game, March 7 at CARSA Performance Gym.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Bisons lead after first quarter, pull closer in second

• The Bisons led through the first quarter, eventually taking a 19-10 lead resulting in a Victoria-called timeout with four and a half minutes to play in the opening frame.
• A put-back from Shadynn Smid pulled the Vikes within five, 24-19, with just over two minutes to play, but Manitoba would hold its lead for the final minutes and take a 30-25 lead into the second.
• Making a second-quarter push to catch the Bisons, three-pointers from Griffin Arnatt and Aaron Tesfagiorgis along with three Renoldo Robinson free throws gave the Vikes their first lead of the night, 41-40, with 5:31 to play until halftime.
• The Vikes and Bisons went shot-for-shot for the remaining minutes of the second quarter, with Manitoba putting the final points of the frame on the board to hold a 56-54 lead at halftime.

Vikes take lead in third, don't let up in fourth

• Continuing the back-and-forth scoring at the start of the third quarter, the Vikes found a bit of separation near the halfway point, scoring 12 points to the Bisons' three using an Ethan Boag three, six points from Robinson, and a Sam Maillet layup and free throw to take a 75-66 lead with two minutes to go in the third.
• A Maillet layup with just over one minute to go sealed the 77-68 lead for the Vikes at the end of the third.
• The Bisons attempted a comeback early in the fourth, pulling within one, 78-77, at the halfway point of the final frame.
• Unfazed, a Robinson layup, Tesfagiorgis three, and Maillet layup put the Vikes back up by nine, 90-81, with 1:36 to play.
• A dunk from Smid put the final points on the board for the Vikes, sealing the 97-85 win to capture the conference bronze medal.

FROM THE COURT – Sam Maillet
"Huge win for us obviously, it was a must-win game to get to nationals. We weren't ready to be done yet. We had a great week of practice coming in, and our focus was just getting back to who we are. We felt like we weren't ourselves last week, so just wanted to get back to that. I was proud of how we did that, especially in the second half tonight. It felt like we made some big plays. It felt great to get the bid nationals and come away with the win."

WORTH NOTING

• Renoldo Robinson led the scoring efforts for the Vikes with 26 points in the win. He tied for the team-highs with six assists and two steals, and added five rebounds in 35 minutes on the floor.
• Newly minted Canada West Defensive Player of the Year Sam Maillet tallied a season-high 17 points for the Vikes, adding a team-high six and assists and two steals along with four rebounds.
• Three additional Vikes finished with double-digit scoring nights: Ethan Boag (16), Aaron Tesfagiorgis (12), and Shadynn Smid (10).
• The win secured the Vikes' fourth-straight appearance the U SPORTS Final 8.
• Victoria now holds a 22-1 record on the year (20-0, 2-1).

UP NEXT
The Vikes await seeding for the U SPORTS Final 8, set to be announced Sunday, March 9. Tournament action begins Thursday, March 13 at the University of British Columbia.