VICTORIA – The University of Victoria Vikes men's basketball team will waste no time testing themselves against the best in the CIS as they travel to Ottawa this weekend, Oct. 18-20, for the 24th Annual House-Laughton Tournament. The Vikes will be pitted against last year's national champions and hosts the Carleton Ravens, as well as the CIS finalists, the Lakehead Thunderwolves. In addition the Vikes will open against the Bishop's Gaiters, members of the RSEQ conference.
FULL SCHEDULE
Last season the Vikes made their first appearance at the CIS Final 8 since 2006 after
Craig Beaucamp was named Canada West Coach of the Year for the second-straight season and the Vikes posted went 16-6 in the regular season. The Vikes had a 3-1 playoff record that booked them a ticket to the Carleton-hosted national championship where they went on to finish sixth overall.
The Vikes graduated key starters
Michael Acheampong,
Pierce Anderson and
Brandon Dunlop but gained talent in freshmen
Marcus Tibbs,
Junior Sesay and
Jordan Charles. Following last week's 3-0 showing at the UBC Invitational tournament, Tibbs was second in scoring in the wins over the Concordia Stingers and Concordia Cavaliers with 11 and 16 points, respectively.
The Vikes have also had a heavy scoring hand from veteran
Terrell Evans, who led in scoring in all three pre-season match ups, totalling 77 points over three matches including 37 points in the 102-94 win over the Cavaliers. Returnees
Chris McLaughlin and
Reiner Theil have also been strong contributors in the paint.
SCOUTING THE CARLETON RAVENS
The Vikes clashed with the powerhouse Ravens twice last season, losing 87-63 in the pre-season Guy Vetrie Memorial Tournament and 83-46 in the opening round of last year's CIS Final 8. Despite the scoring margins, the defending national champions were heavily favoured, as they walked their way to a 92-42 win at the CIS final over Lakehead for their third-straight and ninth overall national banner. The Ravens return the talents of Tyson Hinz, Clinton Springer-Williams and brothers Philip and Thomas Scrubb. Philip Scrubb was named the 2012-13 CIS Player of the Year, while brother Thomas was named the championship MVP and to top it off, head coach Dave Smart was named CIS Coach of the Year.
SCOUTING THE LAKEHEAD THUNDERWOLVES
Last season the Thunderwolves impressed the country with a second-place finish in the OUA West Division after a 14-7 conference record. Lakehead downed Cape Breton 74-61 in the opening round of the CIS Final 8 before edging Ottawa 66-62 to make it to the CIS finals for the first time in 36 years. The T-wolves return fifth year Greg Carter, last year's Defensive Player of the Year, for his fifth and final season as well as Joseph Jones who was named to last year's Tournament All-Star list. Last season the Vikes were bested 80-71 by Lakehead in a single-header exhibition match up.
SCOUTING THE BISHOP'S GAITERS
The Vikes and Gaiters met only once last season in an early pre-season match up that saw the visitors take the 59-52 tilt at McKinnon Gym. The Gaiters finished their regular season 10-6 and in the post-season lost 77-74 to eventual CIS Final 8 qualifier and RSEQ champions the McGill Redmen. The Bishop's squad, however retains all but one of their core players, losing only Tim Hunter to graduation, who averaged 30.7 minutes and 9.9 points per game. His role on the starting line may be filled by RSEQ Player of the Year, Mike Andrews, who led the team in scoring with 15.3 points per game.
HOUSE-LAUGHTON TOURNAMENT / SCHEDULE
Times listed below are local EST time.
Oct. 18 | 6 pm : Bishop's vs. Victoria
Oct. 18 | 8 pm : Lakehead vs. Carleton
Oct. 19 | 6 pm : Lakehead vs. Victoria
Oct. 19 | 8 pm : Bishop's vs. Carleton
Oct. 20 | 12 pm : Bishop's vs. Lakehead
Oct. 20 | 2 pm : Victoria vs. Carleton
