The York University Lions men's basketball team upset the No. 5 nationally-ranked Windsor Lancers in a close, gruelling battle on Saturday (Jan. 31) with a final score of 89-84 in Windsor, Ont.
 
The win marks their first of the year over a nationally-ranked opponent. The Lions improved to 8-7 with the victory and moved closer to securing a playoff spot in the OUA East Division. The Lancers, who defeated the dominant Carleton Ravens earlier this season, dropped to 8-5 with the loss.
 
After leading for the majority of the game, the fourth quarter proved to be the toughest for the Lions as the Lancers caught up trailed by only two points, at 80-78. After two free throws from Khalid Abdel-Gabar, the Lancers closed the gap to 85-84. Nathan Culbreath (Kingston, Ont.) gave the Lions breathing space as he netted two free throws, and Nick Tufegdzich (Tecumseh, Ont.) ended the game with two final free throws for the five-point win.
 
The last two points sealed a tremendous game for Tufegdzich, who finished with 30 points and 14 rebounds.
 
Tufegdzich led the first quarter with two layups and four jump shots. The Lancers trailed far behind in the first as baskets from Richard Iheadindu (Brampton, Ont.), Nidun Chandrakumar (North York, Ont.), Gene Spagnuolo (Maple, Ont.) and Culbreath gave the Lions a 27-18 lead after the opening quarter of play.
 
The Lancers began to catch up to the Lions in the second as Rotimi Osuntola Jr., Abdel-Gabar and Bradford Parker closed the gap to 36-30, and Evan Matthews highlighted the quarter with a smashing dunk.
 
However, the Lions poured in the points as the frame wound down and ended the half with a commanding 59-37 lead.
 
After the half, Windsor's Mitch Farrell opened up the play with a three-pointer and two jump shots to begin the comeback. The Lancers continued to close the gap on the Lions and narrowed it to 76-67 at the end of the third. They came close to nearly completing the comeback down the stretch, but the Lions held on for the season's biggest win.
 
The Lions have just one game on the schedule next weekend, against the Brock Badgers on Saturday (Feb. 7) beginning at 8pm.