The University of Calgary Dinos showed why they are the defending U Sports national basketball champions. They don’t seem to have missed a beat since winning the first men’s basketball national title in school history last season. The Dinos, ranked No. 3 in the U Sports national top-10 poll, comfortably defeated the University of Victoria Vikes 87-63 on Saturday in Calgary.
The Dinos remained undefeated at 7-0 in Canada West, while the Vikes fell to 2-5.
The Vikes got off to a good start and led 12-10 after the first quarter, but were done in by a 30-17 Dinos second quarter.
Jordan Charles led UVic with 22 points, while Justin McChesney added 11 points and Scott Kellum nine. David Kapinga of Calgary led all scorers with 20 points.
Meanwhile, the Dinos (4-3) recorded what could be considered a mild upset over UVic (5-2) with a 91-61 drubbing in Canada West women’s hoops play.
Ashlyn Day and Calli McMillan led UVic with 12 points each, while Haily Weaver chipped in 10.
The Vikes shot only 35 per cent from the field.
Kiki Knox and Sascha Lichtenwald scored 16 points each for Calgary.
The Vikes and Dinos teams conclude their weekend set today in the Alberta city.
The UVic teams return home to host the Trinity Western University Spartans next weekend at CARSA Gymnasium.
