The University of the Fraser Valley men's basketball team, facing its first Canada West opponent of the preseason, dropped a 78-62 decision on the road to the Victoria Vikes on Friday.

The Vikes got off to a strong start, reeling off nine consecutive points to grab an early 11-2 lead, but the Cascades hung tough and put together a 7-0 surge of their own in the second quarter to get back to within 27-24.

UFV was within 39-34 at the break, but the Vikes opened the third quarter with another run to extend the lead to double digits, and they kept the Cascades at bay from there.

"I think it was a great first game for us, to see what we believe will be a top-10 team in the country," Cascades head coach Joe Enevoldson analyzed afterward. "It was a great opportunity for us to adjust to their level of physicality, pace and execution. Let's call it rookie initiation to Canada West for a lot of players and coaches. We went around the room afterward and we had nine players playing their first Canada West basketball game.

"It was a good combined team effort, and we saw some great growth. We're going to just grow from here, and I think we'll be really tough when we need to be tough."

First-year Cascade Dylan Kinley, a transfer from Douglas College, paced the UFV squad with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting to go with six rebounds. Veteran point guard Vick Toor chipped in with nine points and four boards, Kyle Claggett had eight points and five rebounds, and Zubair Seyed and Dario Lopez had six points apiece.

Diego Maffia led the way for the Vikes with a game-high 22 points, and Elias Ralph added 13 points for the hosts.

"We got down early 11-2, but we showed great resolve," Enevoldson noted. "At the start of the first and the third (quarters), they jumped on us a little bit. Against a good team, it's tough to exchange baskets."

The Cascades wrap up the weekend with a rematch vs. the Vikes on Saturday, tipping off at 5 p.m.