The UBC Okanagan basketball squads were in tough against the University of Victoria in Canada West basketball action over the weekend, as both the Heat men’s and women’s squads were swept away by the Vikes.
In men’s play, the No. 4-ranked Vikes downed the Heat 62-46 on Friday night at the UBCO campus gym.
Still, the Heat had solid defensive showing against the top offense in the league, holding the Vikes 12 points below their season scoring average.
“I think defensively we worked hard,” said Heat bench boss Pete Guarasci. “We weren’t always smart, but I think we worked hard.”
Five-year man Landry Ndayitwayeko was the only Heat player in double-digit scoring with 10, while also grabbing five rebounds.
On Saturday, the winless Heat fell to 0-6 with a 79-60 loss to Victoria.
Yassine Ghomari led the Heat with 11 points and grabbed five rebounds, though he turned the ball over eight times. Ndayitwayeko and third-year Simon Fraser transfer James Lum each chipped in 10 points.
Meanwhile, in women’s play Friday Victoria took down UBCO 89-75.
The biggest thorn in the Heat’s side was the backcourt play of Jessica Renfrew and Jenna Bugiardini, who combined for 37 points and used pin-point passing on the break for easy buckets.
Third-year guard Emily Kanester led the charge for the Heat tonight with 19 points and five rebounds in 30 minutes of floor time.
On Saturday, the Heat slipped to 1-5 with a 68-45 loss to the Vikes.
The Heat, who shot just 25 per cent from the field, were led again by Kanester with 10, while Krystal Schouten had eight points.
Falling behind by as many as 24 points in the first half was simply to big a hill to climb for UBCO.
“It’s tough to get back in the game when you fall behind like that,” said Heat assistant coach Bobby Mitchell. “But I like how we competed in the second half, especially the third quarter. We played with a lot of energy.”
Both the Heat women and men will be on the road this weekend, travelling to Lethbridge Friday to play the Pronghorns, then in Calgary on Saturday to meet the Dinos.
