EDMONTON - Adam Paige put up a 20/8/6 line as the Golden Bears bounced back with an exciting 89-84 win over the Victoria Vikes Saturday evening at the Saville Centre.
He was supplanted by a great offensive performance from the Golden Bears, who shot 47% from the field and knocked down 10 three-pointers. Abdullah Shittu finished with 19 points. The Vikes were paced by 21 points from leading scorer Diego Maffia.
The Bears move to 3-3 on the young season, while the Vikes slide to 4-2.
Both teams got off to a hot offensive start in the contest, the Vikes led by Elias Ralph who popped three-of-three free throw attempts in the first five minutes and the Bears led by Lars Ishimwe who had a cool seven points on a perfect quarter from the field. Victoria led for the majority of the back-half of the quarter until back-to-back threes from Ishimwe and rookie Logan Powell gave the Bears a slim 22-18 lead headed into the second. Ishimwe led all scorers with a cool 10 points in the frame.
The second quarter was defined by a couple of runs. At the midway point in the frame the Bears went on a 9-2 run, led by Brandon Meiklejohn and Abdullah Shittu who had five and four points respectively. However the Vikes responded with an 8-2 run of their own spearheaded by fifth-year forward Dominick Oliveri who had four on the streak. With the half winding down, Ishimwe called his own number on an iso and danced his way to a phenomenal, Irving-like circus layup to put the Bears up 39-33 going into the break.
He led both teams in scoring at the half with 12 points. Victoria's leading scorer at the break was Ralph who had nine and included an emphatic block in the first.
The teams showcased their impressive offensive ability in the third, scoring a combined 33 points at just the midway point in the quarter. Leading the way for both squads was the Vikes Diego Maffia, third in conference scoring, who had seven points at the five minute mark in the frame. The Vikes had most of the momentum in the quarter until Ishimwe finished an and-one after getting demolished below the rim that sent the Saville faithful into rapture. A Meiklejohn three shortly after would send the game into the final quarter knotted up at 63.
It was a slow start to the fourth quarter as the game shifted into a defensive struggle. There were just three combined points through three minutes, and while the Bears continued to struggle on the back of Maffia the Vikes went on a quiet 8-0 run to go up eight with six minutes to play. Adam Paige was instrumental in getting the Bears back into the game, as he scored eight straight Bears points, including two threes, to put the game at 74-73 Vikes with three to play. An exciting game deserved an exciting finish, and it certainly got it. An incredible sequence happened with a minute thirty remaining: playing to a raucous "Let's Go Bears" chant in the main gym, Meiklejohn hit a corner three to put the Bears up 80-78. But in the nail in the coffin, with a minute remaining Shittu took an Ishimwe pass on a fastbreak and threw down a thunderous dunk seemingly blowing the roof off of the Saville Centre, 82-78 Bears. And while the Vikes would make it competitive down the stretch, Julian Vaughns would put away four straight free-throws to lead the Bears to the 89-84 victory.
The Golden Bears have a weekend off before travelling to the coast to take on the 2-1 UBC Thunderbirds, while the Vikes return home for a showdown against the 3-2 Trinity Western Spartans.
