As host of the 2016 CIS men’s basketball championships, the UBC Thunderbirds know they have a free pass to the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre as the national tournament returns to this province for the first time since 1982 when host UVic won at the old Memorial Arena during the Vikes dynasty years.
But the Thunderbirds, with former University of Victoria great Spencer McKay as assistant coach, seem intent on wanting to get there on their own merits. UBC defeated the UVic Vikes 86-67 Saturday night at CARSA to move to 12-4 in Canada West with a top-10 ranking nationally.
“We’ve beat them the last three seasons . . . but this is the best UBC team we’ve faced in a few years,” said Vikes coach Craig Beaucamp, whose team was swept by UBC in the two-game set.
The Vikes, who made it to the CIS tournament the past three seasons and the national Final Four the past two years, are rebuilding and fell to 7-9 and now face a desperate drive to make the playoffs.
“We are trying to stay up in a down time,” said Beaucamp.
“We lost a significant amount of talent from the last few years. We’re not looking for excuses. We’re looking for results.
“There is so much left to play for. We’ve got a good nucleus and can’t lose sight of the big picture. We can still make some noise.”
Former Canada U-18 player Conor Morgan, a graduate of Mount Douglas Secondary, scored 12 points for UBC.
“It’s always great to come back to Gordon Head,” he said.
About the T-Bird’s aspirations, Morgan added: “We have to trust the process and peak in March.”
Mack Roth led UVic with 16 points.
The UVic Vikes women’s team (7-9) greatly enhanced its playoff chances with a 69-57 victory over UBC (6-10) Saturday at CARSA as Nicole Karstein scored 20 points and Jenna Bugiardini 19.
“These wins give us confidence. We’ve come together as a team,” said Karstein, who also hit the basket that beat UBC at the buzzer on Friday.
Vikes coach Dani Sinclair drew inspiration from having UVic coaching legend Kathy Shields watching from the sidelines.
“I look often to her for advice,” Sinclair said.
“Kathy told me to tell the players to just enjoy it and that became my message to the players.”
This had been a difficult season for UVic up to this weekend.
“Your true character comes out when your backs are against the wall,” said Sinclair.
“Our character came out this weekend, especially that of the veterans. [Bugiardini and Karstein] are in their fourth seasons and to see them grow as leaders has been special.”
Both Vikes teams are at Regina next weekend.
