The York University Lions men's basketball team let a big lead slip away late in an 80-75 loss to the Toronto Varsity Blues in its last regular-season home game at the Tait McKenzie Centre on Saturday night.
 
After a dominant 22-13 opening quarter for the home squad, the Lions continued to pour it on and led by 26 points in the third at 50-28 half way through the frame. But the Blues mounted a furious comeback from there, at one point scoring 14 straight points and coming all the way back to take the lead at 71-70 with 1:38 left in the game.
 
The Blues never trailed after that, holding off the Lions down the stretch to pick up the victory. Toronto clinched a playoff spot with the win, improving its record to 11-10, while the Lions dropped to 2-19.
 
Gene Spagnuolo led the Lions with 28 points in the game and added six rebounds and four assists. Ricky Hudson finished with 13 points, three rebounds, one assist and one block.
 
Toronto had four players reach double digits in scoring. Sage Usher led the way with 14 points and added three rebounds and two assists. Evan Shadkami contributed 13 points off the bench, while Nikola Paradina and Reilly Reid chipped in with 11 and 10, respectively.
 
The Lions will finish the season next weekend on the road against the No. 1 nationally-ranked Carleton Ravens and the Ottawa Gee-Gees on Friday and Saturday, respectively.