SHERBROOKE, Que. - The Bishop's Gaiters men's basketball team will head to British Columbia this weekend in search of their first wins of the 2017-18 campaign. The Gaiters (0-2) will take on the University of Victoria on Thursday night in Langford, B.C., followed by two games in Vancouver at the UBC Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
 
Bishop's dropped a pair of home games last weekend to OUA foes, falling 81-66 to the Queen's Gaels on Friday night, followed by an 85-70 setback at the hands of Ottawa on Sunday.  Joany Castor-Thadal led the Gaiters over the weekend with 15 points per game. Abdul Kamane (Montreal, Que./Vanier College) averaged 11.5 points per game last weekend and led the squad with seven boards per game.
 
Thursday's game, set to tip off at 10 p.m. (7 p.m. local time) will mark the first trip to Langford, B.C., one of the Western Communities near Victoria, for the Gaiters, as the game is being played at Belmont Secondary School instead of on campus at UVic. The Vikes (1-2) hosted the Guy Vetrie Invitational last weekend, picking up an 87-63 win over Guelph before losing 99-61 to Carleton and 90-72 to Concordia. This will be the third trip to Vancouver Island for the Gaiters this decade, Bishop's notching a 59-52 win in 2012 and falling 67-63 in 2014 to the Vikes.
 
On Friday, the Gaiters head across to Vancouver for the UBC Invitational. Their first game is set for a 10 p.m. tipoff (7 p.m. local) against the host Thunderbirds. This will be the first non-conference action of the year for UBC, who dropped three exhibition games against NCAA Division I opponents on an August tour of Costa Rica.
 
The Gaiters road swing concludes on Saturday at 8 p.m. (5 p.m. local), as they take on the Alberta Golden Bears, who, like UBC, get non-conference play underway this weekend. Bishop's and Alberta last met three years ago, a 79-69 U of A win in Victoria, B.C. The teams first met in 1998, when the Gaiters downed Alberta 75-67 in the CIAU quarterfinal on the way to their national championship.
 
After this weekend, the Gaiters will continue non-conference play in Ottawa at the House-Laughton Invitational from Oct. 13-14.