The Ontario University Athletics (OUA) No. 8 ranked York University Lions fell to the No. 9 Laurentian Voyageurs 87-84 on Wednesday (Feb. 25) in the first round of the road to the Wilson Cup Final Four at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
 
After the Lions were behind by eight points for the majority of the game, in the fourth quarter they closed the gap to a one-point difference.
 
The fourth and final quarter was the most electrifying quarter where the Voyageurs barely pushed past the Lions.
 
With the start of the fourth the Lions were down 72-64. With 3:08 on the clock, Nick Tufegdzich (Tecumseh, Ont.) made a jump shot followed by two free throws, inching the score to 81-76.
 
Richard Iheadindu (Brampton, Ont.) kept the points flowing as he chipped in a jump shot and two free throws, cutting the lead to one at 81-80.
 
The Voyageurs David Armolaran fought back with two free throws, widening the Voyageurs lead to three points. The effort was quickly countered by Nathan Culbreath (Kingston, Ont.) who made two free throws and Tufegdzich who slammed in a rebound, bringing the game back to a one point difference.
 
In the final three seconds, Ryan Bennett made a free throw and an offensive rebound led to Sam Hirst getting fouled, but also only making one out of two free throws.
 
The Voyageurs were able to miraculously push through the Lions in the final three seconds of the game, and moving forward in the playoffs to face the No. 1 Ottawa Gee Gees on Saturday (Feb. 28).
 
With the start of the game, the Lions led the first quarter, until the Voyageurs put up three consecutive three-point jumps shots, taking the lead 9-5.
 
The Voyageurs continued to dominate as they made a total of eight three-pointers, five of which were from powerhouse, Ryan Bennett.
 
The Lions put up two three-point jump shots, one jump shot and five free throws in the first to rack up 13 points.
 
Bennett demonstrated why he is ranked fourth in Ontario and tenth in Canada in three-point makes as he led the Voyaguers with 18 points in the first quarter and a 31-13 lead.
 
The Lions caught up in the second quarter as they closed the 18-point gap to a 12. Tufegdzich flaunted his height with outstanding hops to steal, block and rebound the ball as he racked six points for the Lions in the second. Gene Spagnuolo (Maple, Ont.), Culbreath, O'Neil Halstead (Toronto), Iheadindu and Yonathan Kristos (Woodbridge, Ont.) also added points to the scoreboard for the Lions.  The Lions outscored their opponents in the second scoring 23 points compared to the Voyageurs 17 points.
 
The Voyageurs Armolaran also demonstrated his skill as he made two three-point jump shots and one jump shot consecutively. At the end of the half the score was 48-36, with the Lions closely behind the Voyageurs. 
 
The Lions gnawed at the tails of the Voyageurs in the third as they closed the twelve-point gap to eight by the end of the quarter.
 
Tufegdzich added nine points to the scoreboard from two rebounds and three free throws, while both Culbreath and Iheadindu added seven points, each with one three-point jump shot, one jump shot and two free throws.