The York University Lions men's basketball team sealed an emphatic 87-77 victory over the Toronto Varsity Blues in a game full of spectacular highlights on Saturday (Jan. 24) at Tait McKenzie Centre.
 
The game was preceded by an opening ceremony honouring alumni Matthew Ziobrowski (Thornhill, Ont.), who played for the Lions in the past three seasons.
 
Nathan Culbreath (Kingston, Ont.) opened the scoring for the Lions with a well-taken shot from downtown.
 
The Blues Sage Usher attempted a jump shot but was blocked by Nick Tufegdzich (Tecumseh, Ont.). Tufegdzich followed it up with a steal and a long pass to Culbreath, who made the layup for another basket and drawing a foul in the process.
 
Richard Iheadindu (Brampton, Ont.) attempted a shot from outside the line. Culbreath grabbed the offensive rebound and the basket.
 
Before the first timeout, Iheadindu made a three-pointer to give the Lions an early 13-7 lead.
 
Culbreath continued to impress with a steal and the slam-dunk. O'Neil Halstead (Toronto) made a buzzer-beater shot to stamp the Lion's dominance in the first quarter at 26-16. Culbreath finished the quarter with 18 points.
 
To open the second quarter, Culbreath made another shot from downtown. Culbreath finished the game with an impressive tally of 29 points.
 
Iheadindu drew a foul on the three-point line and converted two free-throws out of three. He proceeded to score another three points moments later.

Despite the energy the Lions displayed on the court, the Blues were able to catch up with their unguarded long shots. By halftime, the Lions lead by a thin lead of 46-40.
 
The Lions took off the third quarter with another run of impressive plays. Tufegdzich linked up well with Culbreath and Phillip Cunningham-Gillen (Hamilton, Ont.) to widen the margin again.
 
Rookie forward Nana Adu-Poku (North York, Ont.) drove in the line for an open slam-dunk as the Lions ended the quarter at 68-52.
 
Miscommunication by the Blues caused discord in the team as they looked to catch up with the home team. Several turnovers aided the Blues in the attacking half, but it was not enough to beat the Lions who won by a 10-point gap at 87-77.
 
Two players from the Lions achieved the double-double. In addition to scoring 29 points, Culbreath also made 12 rebounds. Tufegdzich made 17 points and 17 rebounds, along with four assists, three blocks and a steal.
 
The Blues Julian Clarke led the team with 17 points and five assists. Devin Johnson made 16 points and six rebounds.
 
The Lions will be in London, Ont., for the match against the Western Mustangs on Friday (Jan. 30) beginning at 8pm.