The future of the York University Lions men's basketball team gleaned on Friday night as the packed stands of Tait McKenzie Centre were treated to what the next few years will hold as they pushed the No. 3 nationally-ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees to the brink in a narrow 70-69 loss.
 
Trailing 51-46 after the first 30 minutes of play, the Lions played a strong fourth to nearly steal the upset. Jayden Frederick (Scarborough, Ont.) came out swinging as he scored five points in the opening three minutes of the quarter, and with each basket the Lions were closing the gap.
 
Yonathan Kristos (Toronto) rebounded like a possessed man, and his efforts would lead to multiple layups and an impressive deep three.
 
Two-thirds of the way through the fourth quarter the Lions looked as if they were about to pull off the upset of the year. Julio Vazquez (Toronto) hit a jumper to bring the game within two points with 1:36 left, and on the next possession the ball was fumbled around until Frederick gained possession and went baseline for the reverse layup to tie the game at 66.
 
With 49 seconds left Kristos hit one of his two layups to gain control of the game with a score of 67-66, but Jean-Emmanuel Pierre-Charles would hit a jump hook on the Gee-Gees' following possession to take a 68-67 lead just 16 seconds later. Now it was the Lions turn to hit back.
 
Brandon Ramirez (Scarborough, Ont.) took the ball into the paint with time ticking down. Using his big body, he leaned on his defender and sunk a running underhand layup, giving the Lions the lead for the second time in less than 30 seconds. With just eight seconds left the Gee-Gees would hit two free throws to take a one-point lead again.
 
The Lions had one more chance to steal the victory. On the inbound pass, Frederick pushed off his defender, stared him down and dashed to the basket then passed the ball behind his back to Ramirez, who took the shot with one second remaining. The ball hit the back of the rim and bounced out, preventing the Lions from their biggest win of the year by the narrowest of margins.
 
The Lions looked strong in the opening frame of the game. A trend that has been somewhat constant this season for York has been an aggressive first quarter with a sharpshooting offence and a suffocating defence, and this game was no different. Frederick went straight to work hitting threes and slicing through the paint to sink layups, scoring five points in the quarter to go with George Ivens' (Liphook, England) four. Ivens' utilized his enormous frame to post up and hit his signature turn around jump hook.
 
An impressive first quarter would have the Gee-Gees stunned as the score sat at 20-19 for Ottawa.
 
In the second the Lions looked poised to continue their impressive play, however, the Gee-Gees had a different plan. Ottawa put their passing on full display, and the ball movement helped them hit multiple threes en route to a 10-point lead at the half, at 39-29.
 
The Gee-Gees continued to roll in the third quarter until Frederick took it upon himself to score eight straight points, six of them coming of three-pointers. Ramirez was also inspired by his teammate's offensive surge as he scored four straight points of his own. The Lions late third-quarter push helped counteract a slow start and they trailed by five heading into the fourth.
 
The Lions have one more home game in the regular season, a date with the top-ranked and undefeated Carleton Ravens on Saturday evening at 8pm.