The York University Lions men's basketball team beat the Lakehead Thunderwolves on Saturday Nov. 23 in Thunder Bay, Ont. in a massive 112-104 win following an exhilarating triple-overtime.
 
York's Gianmarco Luciani led the Lions in points, with a total of 26 throughout the away game.
 
The first period saw the Thunderwolves leading with 18 points and the Lions were two points behind at 16. Luciani was the first to score with a 3-point bucket less than a minute into the quarter. York's DeAndre Pierre then followed with a 2-point shot, giving the Lions an early 5-0 lead over their opponents. The Thunderwolves' Davarius Wright then secured a 3-point shot, putting Lakehead on the board.
 
In the second quarter of the game, Lakehead continued to stay in the lead. Pierre scored the most points for the Lions in the quarter, contributing six of the Lions' 14 points. The Thunderbirds were only ahead by 4 points, giving them a half-time lead of 36-30.
 
In the second half of the game, the Lions were able to redeem themselves from their six-point deficit. In the third quarter, they led by 10 points. Many of the Lions contributed to critical scoring points, notably, Nana Adu-Poku who contributed six points in the quarter, helping the Lions inch ahead of the Thunderwolves to a 56-52 lead.
 
In the fourth quarter of the game with time winding down, Luciani sent the game into overtime with a game-tying three-point bucket in the final seconds. Tied at 78-78, the game headed into the first overtime, where the Lions and Thunderwolves both scored eight points. The Lions thought Luciani had won the game for them when he a hit a miracle shot heaved from his own free throw line, but the officials ruled the basket came after the buzzer which brought them into double over time. Both teams had their chances to win the game but weren't able to connect on a game-winner, which brought them into triple overtime.
 
It was in triple overtime where the Lions were able to secure the win in this hard fought game. Luciani, Adu-Poku, second year Prince Kamunga and Gene Spagnuolo each contributed in points in triple overtime to help the Lions secure their third win of the season with a 112-104 victory.
 
The Lions will be looking to bring this momentum forward in their following game against the McMaster Marauders on Friday Nov. 30 in Hamilton, Ont.