The Brock Badgers men's basketball team had their season come to a close on Saturday, Mar. 9 as they were defeated 71-61 by the No. 1 seed Victoria Vikes in the U SPORTS consolation semifinal.

After an up-and-down regular season, the Badgers come away from the year with an OUA silver medal and their second appearance at the U SPORTS Final 8 in the last three years.

"The season could have gone a lot of different ways," said head coach Willy Manigat. "It was inconsistent in a lot of ways but what had mattered most was that they believed and bought into what we were trying to get them to buy into from September 6, and it's a credit to them as human beings.".

Freshman guard Davanté Hackett was named Brock's player of the game after totalling 14 points, 13 rebounds, five steals, two assists and one block. This was the first career double-double for the Brampton native.

The Badgers fell behind early due to some red-hot shooting from the Vikes. Freshman guard Nemanja Sarkanovic had a nice basket in transition early on, and both Georges Mfwamba Ngandu and Nils Gesmann scored on the inside, but Victoria hit four three-pointers in the frame to open up a multiple possession lead. Kevaughn Ellis and Hackett both hit three-pointers late in the quarter to give the Badgers a little momentum heading into the second. Victoria led 23-14 at the end of the first.

Brock was able to use some of the momentum from the first quarter early on in the second. Isaiah Bujdoso opened up the quarter with a beautiful euro-step layup and then hit a step-back three-pointer right after to bring the Badgers to within four, forcing a Vikes' timeout. Out of the timeout, Victoria began to rain three-pointers again as they connected on five of them in the second frame to extend their lead to double digits. Sarkanovic and Andrew McKenna both converted tough drives to the basket late in the quarter, but Victoria led 43-31 at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Badgers were pushing hard to bring the game close, but every time they had a little momentum, the Vikes would hit a three-pointer and end it. Jordan Tchuente had a huge poster dunk partway through the frame, and Ellis and Hackett both hit three-pointers, but Brock could not lessen their deficit as Victoria led 61-43 heading into the fourth.

The Badgers were strong in the fourth quarter but there wasn't enough time on the clock for them to make a full comeback. Michael Okeke hit a three-pointer and six other Badgers scored in the frame, but the Vikes' lead was never in danger as they took the contest 71-61.

"Only eight teams make it to the national championship. This team believed enough to be one of those eight teams, and as a program this is the second time in our last three years we've been at nationals," Manigat added. "We got to figure out how to take the next step, but I've been saying to my staff and players, the only way to take the next step is by always being in this position where you're always a threat to get there. These guys believe that."