The York University men's basketball fell on Friday night to the Toronto Varsity Blues by a score of 63-58 at the Tait McKenzie Centre in the first game between the cross-town rivals this season.
 
A three-pointer from Blues guard Evan Shadkami opened the scoring in the game, while Lions forward Gianmarco Luciani had the first points of the night for the Lions with a free throw followed by a nice jumper for an early 3-3 tie. Lions guard Chevon Brown got off to a good start, nailing back-to-back three pointers early in the first quarter as the Lions jumped out in front. The Lions took a 15-10 lead into the second-quarter after a defensive opening frame from both teams.
 
Two quick three pointers from the Blues to open the second quarter put the visiting team in front 16-15, but both teams continued to struggle offensively, and the score was knotted 20-20 with four minutes remaining in the first half. Point guard DeAndrae Pierre gave the Lions the lead with a pair of free throws, but the lead was short lived and the visiting team went into the half with a 30-28 lead. Shadkami led all scorers with a 11 in the first half, while Brown led the Lions with eight points.
 
The Lions came out firing in the second-half, with Luciani nailing a triple and Prince Kamunga draining two from beyond the arc to put the Lions back in front. The Blues battled back though and pulled within one point with four minutes left in the quarter with the back and forth game sitting at 40-39. The game remained close for the rest of the quarter as the Lions took a 44-42 lead into the final frame.
 
The game continued to be played at slow pace in the fourth quarter and the Blues pulled ahead 51-49 on a three pointer by Nikola Paradina with just over five minutes to go in the game. The Blues held a three-point lead with three minutes to go as Lions head coach Nate Philippe called a timeout in an attempt to focus his team for the game's final stretch. With two quick buckets, Toronto pulled ahead by eight before the Lions made a late charge and cut the lead to four on two free throws by Nana Ado-Poku, but that was close as they would get as the Varsity Blues won the game 63-58.
 
Brown had a game-high 16 points to go along with five rebounds and three steals to lead the Lions, while Luciani picked up a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Shadkami led the way for the Blues with 15 points and six rebounds.
 
The Lions are back in action on Saturday when they host the No. 2 ranked team in the country the Ryerson Rams at the Tait McKenzie Centre. Tip-off is at 8pm.