The York University Lions men's basketball team returns to home court at the Tait McKenzie Centre this weekend looking to get its season back on track and will host the Nipissing Lakers and No. 7 nationally-ranked Laurentian Voyageurs.
 
The Match-up: York (2-14) vs. Nipissing (6-9) and No. 7 Laurentian (13-2)
 
Game Details
Nipissing – Friday, Jan. 26 @ 8pm, OUA.tv
Laurentian – Saturday, Jan. 26 @ 8pm, OUA.tv
 
Home/Away Records
York – 2-5 at home
Nipissing – 3-4 on the road
Laurentian – 5-2 on the road
 
Current Streak
York – Lost 13
Nipissing – Lost 4
Laurentian – Won 1
 
Last Meetings
The Lions and Lakers have met three times since Nipissing joined the OUA for the 2014-15 season. The Lions won the first meeting 76-47 but the Lakers have won the last two, including last year in a nail-biter by a score of 65-63.
 
The Voyageurs have won three straight meetings with the Lions, including last year by a score of 79-58 and a playoff win in 2015 that represented the second year in a row that York was eliminated from the post-season by Laurentian. The Lions' last win over the Voyageurs came in the regular season in January 2015, an 83-66 victory.
 
QUICK FACTS
 
York

• The Lions began the year with two wins in their first three games but have struggled since and have yet to pick up their next victory. Last week they lost a heartbreaker to Ryerson, cutting a big deficit to just one in the fourth quarter before falling by a score of 83-70. Two days later they were defeated by Toronto by a score of 73-56.
• The Lions sit in the middle of the pack defensively in the OUA, ranking 10^th with 79.2 points allowed per game. They are one of the lowest-scoring teams, with 66.4 points scored per game.
• The Lions have seven games remaining this season and will play the next five at home. After this weekend's contests, they will host Queen's next Friday and Ryerson and Toronto the following week before wrapping up the regular season on the road in the nation's capital to face Carleton and Ottawa.

 
Nipissing

• The Lakers have lost four straight and five of six since the start of the new year, with their only victory coming over the Lions the first weekend of January. Last weekend they were defeated by Ottawa 70-59 and then fell to the top-ranked Ravens by a lopsided 94-66 score.
• The Lakers have fallen back since a strong start in which they won four of their first seven contests. They are current six points out of the final playoff spot in the OUA East with a game in hand over Toronto.
• Like the Lions, the Lakers are also a low-scoring team and they sit just ahead of the Lions in the conference rankings with an average of 70.0 points per game. They are also stronger defensively, sitting ninth with an average of 76.9 points allowed per game.

 
Laurentian

• Laurentian has just two losses this season and both to the top two nationally-ranked programs in the country. They were defeated by No. 2 Brock back in November and last weekend lost to No. 1 Carleton by just four points, the Ravens' narrowest margin of victory this season.
• In their most recent contest last Saturday, the Voyageurs created more space between themselves and third-place Ottawa with a 79-71 victory.
• The Voyageurs are one of the most improved teams in the OUA this season. After finishing with a 9-10 record last year and earning the sixth seed in the playoffs, they are already 13-2 this season and sit second in the division.
• Laurentian is one of the top teams in the OUA in both points scored and points allowed this year. They rank second in scoring with 85.1 points per game and are fifth in defence with only 72.8 points given up.

 
PLAYERS TO WATCH
 
York
 
G Chevon Brown – Has scored more than 16 points in three of his last four games, including a career-high 23 against Toronto last Friday night. He is the team's leader in assists (2.6 per game) and is second in scoring (10.0 points per game).
 
F Brandon Ramirez – The team's leader in scoring (10.5 points per game) and rebounds (5.8 per game) this season. He is ranked 42^nd and 22^nd in the OUA, respectively.
 
Nipissing
 
G Marcus Lewis – Is tied for 11^th in the OUA and leads the Lakers with 16.9 points per game. He is also tied for seventh in the conference and first on the team with 8.1 rebounds per game.
 
G Jaaden Lewis – Ranks second on the team and tied for 17^th in the OUA with 15.2 points per game, and is first and 19^th, respectively, in assists per game (3.1).
 
Laurentian
 
G Kadre Gray – The three-time OUA athlete of the week leads the conference in scoring (24.4 points per game) and assists (6.3 per game) and is tied for seventh in rebounds (8.1 per game). In November, he became the first OUA player since 2013 to record a triple-double.
 
G Nelson Yengue – Ranks second on the team and 14^th in the OUA with 16.2 points per game. He is also 15^th in the conference with 6.7 rebounds per game.