In an away fixture played on Friday night (Nov. 27), the York University Lions men's basketball team was edged out 86-83 by the Waterloo Warriors.
 
It was a close first quarter that ended 21-21, but the Lions came out big in the second and third quarters to give themselves a comfortable seven-point lead to head into the final frame.
 
Making a jump shot and a free throw in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, Brandon Ramirez (Scarborough, Ont.) increased the Lions' lead.
 
However, the Warriors' Mike Pereira came up big for his team and leveled the score midway through the quarter with nine points.
 
From that moment on, both teams were neck and neck as fans nervously awaited the outcome. Tristan Newman (Maple, Ont.) made two jump shots, Shane Reader (Toronto) made two three-pointers, and Gene Spagnuolo (Maple, Ont.) made two free throws to regain the Lions' lead in the last two minutes.
 
However, critical points from Warriors' Ben Davis, Dylan Phillips and Pereira, came at the right time and Waterloo ended up taking the game by the close three-point margin.
 
Reader finished the game with 18 points and added four rebounds, three assists and two steals, while Ramirez put up 12 points in just 15 minutes, on 4-of-6 shooting.
 
Pereira collected an impressive 28 points throughout the game. In 36 minutes of play he made 10 of his 15 shots from the field, made eight out of 11 shots from the free throw line, and also grabbed 19 rebounds.    
 
The loss drops the Lions to 2-4 on the season, while the Warriors got into the win column for the first time with the victory.
 
Next the Lions will continue their run on the road and prepare to face the Laurier Golden Hawks at 8pm on Saturday (Nov. 28). The game will take place at Laurier's Athletic Complex in Waterloo, Ont.