Canada West – Men’s Basketball Quarter Finals

In an exciting, riveting, nail-biting and triumphant weekend, the Victoria Vikes Men’s Basketball Team cinched out the Alberta Bears to claim a spot in the Canada West Final Four, on their way to the gold!

On Friday February 20 and Saturday, February 21 the Vikes men’s team killed it and earned a best of three victory, launching not only them, but the entire crowd into an uproar.

After an impressive 77-62 win on Friday and another stellar 81-67 win on Saturday, it was a definite weekend full of hardcore spirit, intense fandom and glorious, glorious basketball.

On both nights, fans were eligible to play “basketball bingo.” If they filled out a line, they could win a prize and be entered to win a VN (Vikes Nation) prize pack. However, if they blacked out their card, they were entered to win a 50” flatscreen TV, sponsored by Hot House Pizza and Pepsi.

Our lucky winner was announced at the Saturday game and Paige Marshall walked away with not only seeing her home team make it to the final 4 but also a brand new TV!

The fans in the gymnasium were incredible! With a nearly sold out crowd on Friday and an overcapacity crowd on Saturday, Vikes Nation brought the energy to propel our team. There was yelling, cheering, horns, cheerleaders, mascots, spirit fingers, signs and energy galore.

To be the last ever Vikes basketball game to be played in the McKinnon Gym, it was a respectable and guided tribute. (Future games will be played in the new CARSA complex.) Check out the video of crowd going INSANE during our timeout chants.

Oh, and take a look at this crowd game as fans in the bleachers ignored the starting line up for the Bears. I just want to acknowledge that this doesn’t make us a bad crowd. Did you know that these types of activities are a norm in the NCAA? It’s all apart of the fan experience and crowd engagement!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzlRat8V6w4&feature=youtu.be

This weekend is going to be big as the Vikes play against the Fraser Valley Cascades. If we win on Friday, March 6 we play for the gold medal and 2015 Canada West title on Saturday! If we lose (which we won’t), we’ll play for bronze on Saturday, March 7. So when the Vikes end up earning a spot in Saturday’s game, we’ll also land a spot in nationals… how exciting!

This is going to be a packed weekend that no one at the University of Victoria will want to miss. Sticky Wicket will be broadcasting and live streaming the games for everyone to come out and enjoy ‘em!

I also want to give a crazy shout out to the women’s team as well. They also made Canada West Final 4! The Vikes women played Thompson Rivers University up in Kelowna in a best of 3 series in a nail-biting third game with a 2 point victory (77-75). They are headed to UBC this weekend (March 6/7) to take the gold!