The stage is set at CARSA.
The UVic Vikes will host the UBC Thunderbirds on Feb. 27 with the Canada West championship on the line.
Victoria punched its ticket to the final with a commanding 97-74 semifinal win over the University of Alberta Golden Bears on Feb. 20.
UBC advanced in dramatic fashion, edging the University of Winnipeg Wesmen 92-89 in overtime on Feb. 21.
The Vikes had three players score in double figures against Alberta, led by Canada West first-team all-star Ethan Boag. The Claremont Secondary School alumnus was flawless, shooting seven for seven from the field, hitting both three-point attempts, and making all five free throws in just 20 minutes.
Geoffrey James added 19 points, while Dylan Gage contributed 13 for Victoria in front of a boisterous CARSA crowd of 1,500.
Alberta countered with 15 points from Caiden Kushnir and 14 from Nash Semeniuk.
Victoria’s 10-for-29 shooting from beyond the arc compared with Alberta’s six for 20 proved a key difference.
Vikes head coach Murphy Burnatowski prioritized a quick start after being outscored 26-16 in the first quarter of their quarter-final win over Trinity Western on Feb. 14.
“I was really proud of how we came out of the gates. We’ve been talking about having better starts. I think that was one of our best starts of the year.” Burnatowski said.
“We kept the intensity even through some of Alberta’s runs, which sometimes can be difficult. You’ve got to give a lot of credit to Alberta. They stayed fairly (close) with us, and didn’t take their foot off the pedal. But I was just really proud of how our starters and our older guys locked in and then how our guys often came off the bench and continued to push.”
Looking ahead to the final, it will be a familiar battle.
UVic and UBC have met six times over the last two seasons.
Victoria swept the three games in 2024-25, but the Thunderbirds took two of three in 2025-26. The coastal rivals last faced off Feb. 6 and 7 in Victoria, splitting a weekend series during the final games of the regular season.
Along with playing for conference bragging rights, both UVic and UBC have already earned berths at the U Sports ‘Final 8’ national championship, set for March 6-8 in Calgary.
Victoria and UBC join host Calgary and Acadia (Nova Scotia) as the first four qualifiers.
The Vikes will be looking to defend their national title after defeating the University of Calgary Dinos 82-53 in the 2024-25 national title bout.
Victoria also aims to become only the second team in Canadian history, after Carleton, to reach double digits in national tournament wins.
Before that, the Vikes will chase a Canada West-leading 19th conference title and their fourth in five years. UBC is seeking its first Canada West crown since 2019-20.
Tip-off for the Canada West final is scheduled for 7 p.m. at CARSA on Feb. 27.
READ MORE: UVic tops Trinity Western to reach Canada West final four
UVic freshman hooper honoured by Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame