The York University Lions men's basketball team beat the visiting Algoma Thunderbirds 85-81 in overtime on home court at the Tait McKenzie Centre on Friday night. The game was a back and forth contest that went into extra time after the Lions led in points in the first two quarters and the Thunderbirds were able to make a comeback and tie up against the Lions in the second-half.
 
In the first quarter of the game, the Lions led with 18 points as the Thunderbirds were behind the Lions by six points. York's Chevon Brown's had four points in the quarter while fellow guard. DeAndrae Pierre also scored four points, the last two being a jump shot with just 13 seconds remaining in the quarter.
 
The second quarter saw another lead from the Lions who scored 20 points against the Thunderbirds who had 16. York's Brendon Chevannes was able to score four points for the Lions in the quarter, giving the Lions a 38-28 lead against the Thunderbirds going into half-time.
 
In the third quarter, the Thunderbirds were able to make a big comeback as they scored 26 points in the quarter compared to the Lions who remained in the single digits and added nine points to their score. The catalysts for the Thunderbirds comeback were Nicholas Gehlen, who registered 14 points as well as David Bokanga who added nine points.
 
The Thunderbirds took possession of the game for the first time as they led 54-47 against the Lions.
 
In the final quarter, the Lions redeemed themselves and scored 24 points against Algoma who had 17. York's MJ Forbes added five points for the Lions, which contributed to the Lions getting their momentum back. By the end of the quarter, the Lions and the Thunderbirds were tied, forcing them to go into overtime after a score of 71-71.
 
In overtime the Lions secured their win outscoring the Thunderbirds 14-10. Algoma's Gehlen and Nathan Riley were able to score the most points for the visiting team with 17 points each, while Brown led the Lions with 14 points followed by Nicolas Duncan who had 12.
 
The Lions will be back on the court on Saturday when they play the Guelph Gryphons at 8pm at the Tait McKenzie Centre.