The York University Lions men's basketball team will need strong play down the stretch to move into a playoff position and they will look to begin the run this weekend when they host the Laurentian Voyageurs and Nipissing Lakers at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
 
The Match-ups: York (4-8) vs. Laurentian (4-9) and Nipissing (5-8)
 
Home/Away Records
York – 3-3 at home
Laurentian – 1-5 on the road
Nipissing – 3-4 on the road
 
Current Streak
York – Lost 1
Laurentian – Lost 3
Nipissing – Won 1
 
Last Meetings
Since the start of the 2012-13 season the Lions and Voyageurs have traded wins and losses, going 3-3 in that stretch. The Lions' most recent victory over their northern rivals came in the 2014-15 season when they posted a dominant 83-66 victory on home court. Laurentian is also the team that last defeated the Lions in the playoffs, winning a nailbiter 87-84 at the Tait McKenzie Centre at the end of the 2015 season.
 
Since Nipissing joined the OUA in 2014 the two squads have only met twice in the regular season and have split their two games, including a dominant 76-47 victory for the Lions in their first ever match-up two seasons ago.
 
QUICK FACTS
 
York

• The Lions are coming off a weekend in which they recorded their biggest victory of the season, a 71-68 upset win over the No. 10 nationally-ranked McMaster Marauders thanks to a last-second three-pointer by Julio Vazquez.
• The Lions were also tied with the No. 8 Brock Badgers at the half last weekend before fading in the second half in a loss. They have now alternated wins and losses for their last five contests.
• The Lions have improved defensively as the season has gone on and currently sit eighth in the OUA with 76.6 points allowed per game. They are also 12^th in scoring with 71.8 points scored per game.

 
Laurentian

• The Voyageurs started the season with a pair of big wins over Western and Windsor but then went on to lose five in a row. They have picked up one win since the start of the new year, a 95-87 result over McMaster, and enter this weekend with three straight losses to Ottawa, Carleton and Nipissing.
• The Voyageurs are at the bottom of the OUA in defence, giving up a conference-high 83.6 points per game this season. They sit in the middle of the pack offensively with a scoring average of 73.7 points per game.
• Following their game against the Lions, the Voyageurs will head out to Kingston, Ont., to face the Queen's Gaels to close out their weekend schedule.

 
Nipissing

• The Lakers started with just one win in their first six contests but have since won four of their last seven, including their most recent game in which they edged Laurentian 69-66. One of their wins was an upset victory over nationally-ranked Brock, and two of their three losses were to No. 1 Carleton and No. 2 Ottawa.
• The Lakers are a strong defensive team and rank seventh in the OUA with 76.5 points allowed per game. They are less solid on the other end of the floor, only scoring 67.8 per game to rank 15^th in the conference.
• Nipissing head coach Chris Cheng is a former assistant with the Lions, spending five years at York from 2008-13.
• The Lakers will come into the Tait McKenzie Centre after a hard-fought match-up against the Gaels, who they face in Kingston, Ont., on Friday night.

 
PLAYERS TO WATCH
 
York
 
G Jayden Frederick – Ranks second on the team and 11^th in the OUA with 16.8 points per game, nearly triple his rookie average of 6.3. He is also 19^th in the conference in rebounding with 6.3 per game.
 
F Brandon Ramirez – The OUA and U SPORTS male athlete of the week earlier this month leads the Lions in scoring (18.3) and rebounding (7.3). He is ranked seventh and tied for 11^th, respectively, in the OUA.
 
Laurentian
 
G Kadre Gray – The rookie guard is leading the OUA in scoring with 23.1 points per game, more than one point better than the rest of the conference. He is also in the top 10 in assists, ranking ninth with 3.8 per game.
 
G Nelson Yengue – Leads the Voyageurs and ranks ninth in the OUA with 7.8 rebounds per game. He is also third in team scoring with 10.9 points per game.
 
Nipissing
 
F Justin Shaver – Is tied for fourth in the OUA in rebounding with 9.1 per game and he is also 19^th in scoring with 14.2 points per game. He leads the Lakers in both categories.
 
G Marcus Lewis – Ranks second on the team in scoring (12.8 points per game), rebounding (6.2 per game) and assists (2.4 per game).