VICTORIA, B.C. – The University of Victoria Vikes men's basketball teams relied on their three veterans of Chris McLaughlin, Marcus Tibbs and Reiner Theil to steer them towards their second-straight victory over the visiting Regina Cougars on Nov. 1 at McKinnon Gym. The Vikes overcame a late Cougars surge to win 78-63 and improve 2-0 after opening weekend, while Regina are now 0-2.
Fourth-year point guard Marcus Tibbs led all Vikes with 22 points, while Chris McLaughlinrecorded a double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds. Reigning Canada West Defensive Player of the Year Reiner Theil pulled down 11 boards, nine of them in the defensive end, while also sinking 15 points.
The Cougars were led by Jonathan Hull who had a game-high 25 points, while Alex Igual finished with 19. The cougars out-scored the Vikes in only the third quarter, 24-14, and conceded 12 second-chance points to the Victoria.
The Vikes led in scoring for both of the opening quarters and point guard Tibbs finished the half with 16 points. Regina's 30-point half was mostly due to third-year guard Igual, who was two-for-two from the perimeter to finish with 11 points.
Multiple contributors on both sides led to a 25-20 first-quarter score in favour of the home team. The Vikes capitalized on eight second-chance points as the Cougars gave up nine turnovers and had only two offensive boards. Six-foot-ten McLaughlin hauled down eight rebounds after the first 20 minutes of play to help the Vikes to a 42-30 edge at half time.
Jonathan Tull put the Cougars team on his back in the third quarter as Regina crawled back from their 14-point deficit to end the third down by two. The fourth-year guard put up 12 points from a variety of shot selections including a three pointer and from the line on an and-one play. The Cougars scored eight unanswered points to trail the home team 56-54 entering the final quarter. The Vikes had eight turnovers in the third frame, a contribution to them being out-scored 24-14.
McLaughlin totaled 11 points in the final stretch, most from the line, to help the Vikes out-score Regina 22-9. Theil also found his offensive strides hitting a three and driving the hoop on two plays to earn seven fourth-quarter points. The Vikes veterans kept the Cougars at bay to grab the 78-63 win and more importantly improve 2-0 in their opening weekend of Canada West play.
Next weekend, Nov. 7-8, Victoria (2-0) will play their mainland rivals, the UBC Thunderbirds, for a double header. Friday's game will tip off at 8 p.m., while Saturday will start at 7 p.m. The Cougars (0-2) will return home to host Manitoba for a pair of games, also on Nov. 7-8. Games will be broadcast live at http://canadawest.tv.
SCORING SUMMARY
REG: 20-10-24–9 : 63
UVIC: 25-17-14-22 : 78
SCORING LEADERS?REG:
Jonathan Tull (25), Alex Igual (19), Brandon Tull (8)
UVIC: Marcus Tibbs (22), Chris McLaughlin (21), Reiner Theil (15)