The York University Lions men's basketball team lost 74-72 to the Algoma Thunderbirds, who fought to the finish to beat the Lions by two points during the intense home opener on Friday night at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
 
The fourth quarter of the game kept the crowd engaged in the action occurring on-court as the Thunderbirds were able to add the 26 points needed to take the win from Lions.
 
York's Tyler Pryce opened the fourth quarter with two points, bringing the score to 58-48 for the Lions. However, the Thunderbirds responded with several consecutive points of their own, each time inching towards the Lions' lead. Within two minutes, Wetuvanga was able to score a total of nine points to bring the game to its second tie at 66-66 with 3:03 remaining.
 
With 1:46 on the clock, Algoma's Nicholas Gehlen's jump shot gave the Thunderbirds their first lead of the game at 68-66. At 1:32, York's DeAndrae Pierre tied the game once again and with 31 seconds remaining he scored two more points to give the Lions a 70-68 lead.
 
But just seconds later, Algoma's Maxime Bellony scored a three-point shot that had the crowd on their feet and shocked at the one point lead Algoma managed to sneak on York with 23 seconds remaining.
 
With 14 seconds left in the game, Wetuvanga, the top scorer of the game with 24 points, got called to the line and made two successful free throws. Then Pierre got fouled behind the arc and had a chance to tie the game but he missed one of the three free throws and could only get it to 73-72 with six seconds left. The Lions fouled Wetuvanga, who made one last free throw with three seconds remaining that would give Algoma the win over the Lions.
 
The Lions opened up the first quarter with Nicholas Russell scoring the first five points of the game, the first being a three-pointer. These were then followed by a two-pointer from Pierre. York led 7-0 until Wetuvanga, the second-year guard, put his team on the scoreboard with two successful free throws.
 
In the first quarter, the Lions were able to score 18 points while the Thunderbirds, who were 5-19 last season, were trailing behind with 10.  York's MJ Forbes contributed six points throughout the first to help the Lions take the first quarter.
 
In the second quarter, the Thunderbirds were able to outscore the Lions as they put down 17 points while the Lions scored 15. By the end of the second period, the Lions were leading 33 -27.
 
The third quarter of the game saw the Lions and the Thunderbirds tie for the first time, as the Lions had previously managed to keep their lead throughout the entire first half. The Thunderbirds opened the third quarter with a two-point shot while York's Joshua Kagande answered with a three-pointer.
 
Two minutes into the third, the Lions were two points ahead of the Thunderbirds and Russell put down a jump shot to give the Lions a slight lead before the Thunderbirds answered with a jump shot and Pierre successfully added two free throws to the scoreboard for the Lions.
 
The Lions led 42-38 until Wetuvanga and Steven Kabongo combined for six points to tie 44-44 with the Lions for the first time in the game.
 
The Lions grinded to take back the lead with a notable seven points from second-year guard Alex Thielen. By the end of the third quarter, the Lions were still winning by a significant 56-48 lead before Algoma turned it up in the fourth and came all the way back.
 
The Lions will be playing the University of Toronto Varsity Blues on Friday, Nov 1 at the Tait McKenzie Centre as they go for their first win of the season. The game begins at 8 pm.