The York University Lions men's basketball team lost 77-68 to the Laurier Golden Hawks on Friday (Nov. 14) at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
 
The Lions came close to recording a dramatic comeback in the final quarter, but the Golden Hawks' defence kept the home team at bay for an away win.
 
Both teams started intensely. The Lions were explosive in the first few minutes as Richard Iheadindu (Brampton, Ont.) opened the game with a three-pointer.
 
Laurier's James Agyeman used his agility to outpace his man and score on the team's breakaways.
 
It was a tight game until the Golden Hawks were awarded three consecutive free-throws to take the lead at the end of the quarter at 21-18.
 
The Lions squandered chances during possession as their three-point attempts were not succeeding. The Golden Hawks were able to extend their lead through a series of mistakes committed by the Lions.
 
Kyrie Coleman of the Golden Hawks recorded a series of blocks that led to points on the other side. In one instance, Coleman blocked a terrific attempt from Othneil Russell (Woodbridge, Ont.). The ball was then played to Luke Allin, who scored a long shot for three points.
 
With less than one minute left in the half, the Lions made a quick hustle for the ball in their defensive half and delivered a long pass ahead to Nathan Culbreath (Kingston, Ont.). Culbreath stumbled to release a lay-up but was able to find the right balance to score the final basket of the half, but Laurier led 41-26.
 
Despite the accurate passes by the Lions, the team was not able to break the opposition's defence in the third quarter. With three minutes left on the clock, the Lions picked up speed with a good ball movement that resulted in rookie guard Tristan Newman (Maple, Ont.) scoring a three-pointer.
 
Nick Tufegdzich (Tecumseh, Ont.) showed signs of a promising offensive leader towards the end of the quarter, but the Lions trailed 51-63 at the start of the final quarter.
 
Tufegdzich recorded a block in the fifth minute that spurred the Lions to increase their offensive intensity. The turnover resulted in Tufegdzich making a dunk that sent the crowd to its feet.
 
The Golden Hawks called a timeout that robbed the Lions of the momentum. Last minute turnovers denied the Lions' dramatic comeback.
 
Tufegdzich achieved a double-double by the end of the match with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Iheadindu finished with 14 points and Culbreath had 12.
 
Laurier's top scorer was Will Coulthard with 19 points.
 
The Lions will be playing against the Guelph Gryphons on Wednesday (Nov. 19) in Guelph, Ont., beginning at 8pm in their next contest.