WINNIPEG – The UNBC Timberwolves mens basketball team’s storybook journey through the Canada West playoffs will conclude Sunday in a battle for third place. Saturday night in Winnipeg, the #12 ranked UNBC Timberwolves put a genuine scare into the nation’s top-ranked Victoria Vikes, but ultimately fell by an 80-68 score. Spencer Ledoux led the way offensively with 24 points for UNBC while the two-time reigning Canada West Player of the Year Diego Maffia bagged 34 for Victoria.
The TWolves had upset the No. 5 seed UBC Thunderbirds and No. 4 seed, host Manitoba Bisons in consecutive nights, and held a 62-61 lead with 4:45 to go following a Darren Hunter mid-range jumper, but the Vikes responded.
Maffia and Elias Ralph combined for six triples in the fourth quarter for the Vikes, most of which came in a 19-7 run in the final five minutes. The duo combined for 59 points, including ten triples on 31 attempts in the win. Ralph finished with a double-double adding 12 assists while Maffia had four.
Senior forwards Spencer Ledoux and Chris Ross combined for 37 points and 17 rebounds in the loss.
Needing to negate second chance opportunities for UVic’s many lethal shooters, the T-Wolves were up to the challenge, winning the rebounding battle 25-17 entering the half, led by seven from point guard Justin Sunga.
The T-Wolves played a 1-3-1 against the nation’s best scorer Maffia, with Ross tracking him at the top of the perimeter.
Maffia shot just 1-for-8 from the field in the first quarter and 0-6 from distance, with Sunga collecting five rebounds.
Ross also grabbed a key rebound late which led to a Darren Hunter contested layup, part of a mini 4-0 run at the end of the quarter for ‘big game’, which also included a steal as UNBC led 16-9 after one.
Victoria shot just 18.8 percent from the field, while UNBC shot 38.9 percent led by six points inside from Ledoux.
Maffia got five quick points to open the second, and the Vikes continued to show why they led the Canada West conference in offensive rebounds, collecting six, led by Canada West All-Star Ralph who entered the second half with a team-high nine points and four rebounds.
But the T-Wolves had an answer in the form of Evgeny Baukin.
The forward out of Russia denied Griffin Arnatt with a block, and then wowed the crowd with a slam dunk shortly after, as UNBC opened up a five-point lead at halftime, led by 24 combined points from Baukin and Ledoux, who had five boards and a game-high 12 points, all in the paint.
Entering the third, Maffia and Ralph combined to shoot 29 times from the field, with just eight makes, while going 0-for-12 from distance. The rest of the Vikes’ roster combined for 14 field goal attempts, and 11 points total, including four from Robinson.
Ross and Josh Gillespie were tasked with guarding Mafia and Ralph, combining for eight rebounds.
The Vikes held UNBC to one offensive rebound in the third, getting eight themselves as they went on multiple runs, played tight defense and got their outside game going to take a 53-47 lead into the fourth.
Ledoux continued to be UNBC’s most efficient scorer, getting inside for six points, while Ross had a long triple, however the T-Wolves were just 2-for-14 from distance entering the final ten.
A back-and-forth final quarter was taken over by the Vikes in the final five, with Maffia and Ralph doing the brunt of the damage.
When the final horn sounded, the resilient TWolves gathered at their bench and embraced one another before shaking the Vikes hands at center court. Todd Jordan’s club can hold their heads high knowing that they captured the imagination of a City, a region, and all of Western Canada thanks to their grit and desire, sticking by each other until the end.
“I think I’m going to remember the teammates,” said Chris Ross afterwards. “Obviously how fun it was to have something go our way and to win a couple games in a big moment like this.”
The UNBC Timberwolves will now wrap up the weekend with a third-place showdown against the Calgary Dinos at 4:00 pm PT Sunday night.