The York University Lions men's basketball team hung on down the stretch for an exciting 83-78 victory over the visiting Waterloo Warriors at the Tait McKenzie Centre on Friday night to win their second straight game to start the season.
 
Jayden Frederick (Scarborough, Ont.) led the way with an impressive double-double, putting up 25 points and 11 rebounds to lead all Lions in both categories.
 
Nidun Chandrakumar (Scarborough, Ont.) looked loose in the first quarter when he stormed the key and flipped the ball behind his back for a no-look assist. The very next offensive possession he drained a deep three to keep the Lions in contention with a very efficient Warrior offence.
 
Matthew Carating (Mississauga, Ont.) set the bar high when he pick-pocketed a Waterloo player and advanced the ball into their end. From here he dribbled inside, posted up and spun back to the outside hitting the shot with a floater off the glass while also drawing the foul.
 
Even with all of the Lions' success the Warriors were accurate with their shots and the quarter ended with a score of 22-20 for the Lions.
 
In the second quarter the Lions looked to build off of a solid first period of play. Frederick blew up in the second as he scored 11 off of his clean shot selection and execution at the charity stripe. The Lions would move on to outscore the Warriors 21-14 in the second quarter and the half would end with a score of 43-34.
 
With a comfortable lead entering the third quarter the Lions were looking to pad it with their explosive and relentless play. Chandrakumar put four points up in the third quarter to help the Lions move into the quarter with a 62-51 lead.
 
The Warriors dug deep inside themselves to rally back from an 11-point deficit and take the lead with approximately two minutes left in the game. Frederick combated this when he fought threw swiping hands to lay in the basket to make the game 77-76 for the Lions.
 
The Lions clung to a three-point lead with a minute and thirty seconds left until Brandon Ramirez (Scarborough, Ont.) hit two more free throws to push the lead to five points. With 32 seconds left and the lead back to only three for the Lions the crowd stood, anxiously waiting for something to push the Lions over the hill and get their second straight win. The Warriors made things interesting late, but the Lions found away to get the win.
 
Frederick was one of four Lions to finish in double digits in scoring. Ramirez put up 17, while Chandrakumar had 13 and rookie Ammar Hassan (London, Ont.) had 11 points.
 
The Lions will play again on Saturday night (Nov. 19) when the Laurier Golden Hawks travel to Toronto to try an end their undefeated streak. Tip-off is 7pm.