The UFV Cascades men’s basketball team (MBB) saw their season come to a close on Saturday, Feb. 22, falling 106-84 to the top-seeded University of Victoria (UVic) Vikes in the Canada West quarter-finals (QF). The ninth-seed Cascades started off strong, leading by one at the first quarter’s conclusion, but were outscored 18 Points (PTS) by UVic in the second quarter and couldn’t recover to overthrow the undefeated 20-0 Vikes.
Takeshi Croke netted a career high 20 Points (PTS) on a night where he shot a perfect 6-6 from beyond the arc, and 6-9 from the field. CW Second-Team all-star Dario Lopez contributed 18 PTS, 6 Rebounds (REB), and 2 Steals (STL).
Taking on the Vikes is a challenge regardless of whether one or two players are out of the line up. U Sports Player of the Year Diego Maffia has been forced onto the sidelines due to an ACL tear suffered against the Trinity Western Spartans in January. With Maffia sidelined, Renoldo Robinson has picked up the load offensively, scoring 21.5 Points Per Game (PPG). Four Vikes have averaged double digits in scoring this season.
First-year guard Dilveer Randhawa referenced the Vikes’ precision and relentlessness in what makes them a difficult matchup.
“You might get them in the first quarter, like we did,” he said. “But it’s a team that doesn’t go away after one or two quarters … they play hard all four. If you want to beat them, you have to outwork them for four quarters to even have a chance.”
The Cascades secured their spot in Saturday’s QF after a 91-72 win against the eighth-seed Lethbridge Pronghorns one night prior during the play-in qualifier. Friday was a single-game knockout and the Cascades dictated the pace of the match from tip-off.
Randhawa led the team with 20 PTS in 22 Minutes (MIN) off the bench, knocking down 5 Three Pointers (3PT) on 10 attempts. UFV had a sharpshooting night from 3PT range at just under 46 per cent. Angelo Mbituyimana of the Pronghorns put up 27 PTS alone, but the team collectively struggled shooting from the field at approximately 38 per cent on the night.
Randhawa credited his success to a focused week of practice and coordination that flowed into the game.
“It was a good feeling to have a 20 point game in the play-offs, especially against a good team. My teammates found me and I just knocked down the shots.”
Croke and Lopez balanced out the scoring with 15 and 17 points respectively. Croke knocked down three of his four shots from beyond the arc, and Lopez nearly tallied a double-double grabbing 8 boards. Uyi Ologhola provided a commendable boost off the bench, contributing 14 PTS, 4 REB, and 1 Assist (A) in just 16 MIN on the court.
The Cascades wrapped up the regular season with a record of 10-11, good for fifth in the Pacific Division. Lopez’s 18.4 PPG ranked fifth in the conference as the fourth-year forward approaches his senior season. Croke finished the season as the conference leader in Assists Per Game (APG) with 5.4 — a Cascades record — and leaves the program just 13 shy of the highest single season assist total of 121. With a talented roster and an abundance of potential, the Cascades have a strong foundation of experience for the group to build upon next season.
