The York University Lions men's basketball team won in dramatic fashion 97-93 in overtime against their city rival the University of Toronto Varsity Blues on Friday evening (Feb.26) at the Tait Mackenzie Centre.
The Lions had six players finish in double figures on Friday night, and of the six
Nathan Culbreath (Kingston, Ont.) emerged as the games top scorer finishing with a double double of 26 points and 10 rebounds. The Lions bench contributed 37 points, with
Brandon Ramirez (Scarborough, Ont.) being the main spark plug off the bench with eleven points and eight rebounds, six of which were offensive.
The Lions faithful welcomed back third year forward
Daniel Tulloch (Mississauga, Ont.) who has sat out the majority of the season with an injury. The support seemed to ignite the Lions as Tulloch made an immediate impact scoring five quick points.
After the Lions went down early in the game, the energy in the building helped the Lions close the gap and take the lead.
Tommy Hobbs (Anchorage, Alaska) has proved to be an offensive threat and on Friday he continued his tear. Hobbs finished the game with 17 points, four assists, and eight rebounds while shooting 63% from the field. Joining Hobbs in filling the stat sheet was third year guard Phillip Gillen (Hamilton, Ont.) who pitched in 16 points, seven assists, and five rebounds.
The Lions offensive surge in the first half carried them into halftime with a 38-32 lead. As the third quarter began it was apparent that the Varsity Blues wouldn't go away quietly, and the attack was led by Devon Williams who hit multiple shots, five of which were from long range tying the game at 57's. In the fourth quarter the Lions and Blues exchanged baskets as they game stayed close into the final minutes.
As the clock began to trickle down Hobbs received a pass in transition and went hard to the rim, making the basket with an and-one opportunity that he knocked down, to give the Lions a two-point lead with 29 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. The Blues came right back and scored a bucket of their own to tie up the game. The relentless Lions inbounded the ball and charged up court, with
Gene Spagnuolo (Maple, Ont.) gathering the ball and droving the lane for a nifty scoop shot, that regained the lead for the Lions. With 13 seconds left in the game the Blues threw the ball into the post for Devin Johnson, and after a number of opportunities he picked up a loose ball and got off a shot that dropped sending the game into overtime.
In the overtime period the two sides once again exchanged buckets, until Culbreath took control of the game and scored five points in under 30 seconds, putting the Lions up 87-83. The Blues began to intentionally foul in the dying moments of the game, challenging the free throw ability of the Lions. The Blues strategy would fail, as the Lions came up clutch and propelled them to their first win on home court this season.
With the win, the Lions tied the Blues for third place and the final playoff spot in the OUA East with both teams playing Saturday (Feb. 27) in their regular season finales. The Varsity Blues will travel to Kingston, Ont., to take on the Queen's Gaels, while the Lions are back on home court to welcome the Ryerson Rams to the Tait Mackenzie Centre for an 8pm tip off.
