The York University Lions men's basketball team lost 84-77 after a well-played, hard-fought game against the second-ranked team in the country the Ryerson Rams on Saturday at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
 
York's Prince Kamunga started the game off with a three-point shot within the first 45 seconds  Nana Adu-Poku supplemented Kamunga's points with two points of his own with a jump shot to score the first points for the Lions.
 
Ryerson soon responded to York's early 5-0 lead by scoring two jump shots in a row of their own. York's Deandre Pierre was able to contribute four points in the quarter, helping the Lions maintain their lead over Ryerson, while Gianmarco Luciani was also a great contributor for the Lions in the first quarter as well as the entire game. Though both teams remained close in points throughout the quarter, the Rams were able to momentarily pull ahead of the Lions as they led 18-15 until Luciani made a three-point shot with one minute remaining to tie the game 18-18. Luciani was then able to score another two-point shot right before the end of the quarter to give the Lions an early 20-18 advantage over the Rams.
 
In the second quarter of the game the Lions battled to maintain their lead against Ryerson. Guard Gene Spagnuolo made two free-throws to help the Lions continue their lead, followed by a three-point shot by Nicolas Duncan. The Rams were one point behind the Lions (when Duncan hit his three-pointer, which was followed by a loud cheer from the crowd. With a little over three minutes to spare, Luciani scored another three-point bucket to give York a 27-24 lead over the Rams. York's Chevon Brown, Luciani and Adu-Poku helped keep York's lead throughout the remainder of the quarter.
 
By the end of the first-half, the Lions led the Rams by five points and took a 43-38 lead into the locker room.
 
In the third quarter of the game, the Lions were able to maintain their lead over the Rams though Ryerson scored 19 points and York scored 18. The Lions and the Rams continued to go back-and-forth in the quarter, while Brown heated up for the Lions, scoring nine points including a big three-point shot to keep the Lions in the lead. The Lions went into the final frame with a 61-57 lead over the Rams.
 
With one quarter remaining it seemed as though the Lions had the momentum and may be able to pull off a huge upset. However, the Rams were able to dig deep and make some key baskets as the clock wound down. They outscored the Lions 27-16 in the fourth and were able to escape with a 84-77 win.
 
Brown led the Lions with 19 points, followed by Luciani with 14 and Kamunga with 12. Myles Charvis led the way for the Rams with 24 points while Filip Vujadinovic had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
 
With the loss the Lions drop to 5-9 on the season while the Rams improve to 13-1. The Lions will be playing the Ottawa Gee-Gees next Friday, Jan 18 in Ottawa, Ont. at 8pm in their next game.