The York University Lions men's basketball team fell to the Toronto Varsity Blues on Friday afternoon 95-81 at the Goldring Centre.
 
The Lions started off hot leading 10-5 four minutes into the first quarter. Centre Dusan Prelo got his side going, followed by a pair of Prince Kamunga free-throws and back-to-back layups from DeAndrae Pierre. The two sides exchanged baskets for much of the first, but the Blues would take an early lead off of four made three-pointers, to end the quarter 32-21.
 
The Lions outscored the Blues 27-23 in the second quarter, and Kamunga led all players with 16 points at half thanks to six made free throws – he would go on to hit a perfect 12-12 from the charity stripe by the end of the game. The Blues would end the half 55-48.
 
Pierre opened the second half with a layup cutting the Blues lead to five, but Toronto would go on an 8-0 run to extend their lead to 63-50. Layups from MJ Forbes, Pierre, and Joshua Kagande would bring the Lions within four, but foul trouble and made three-pointers would give the Blues a 76-64 lead to close the quarter.
 
A pair of forwards came off the bench for the Lions in Liam Rietschin and Sukhjot Kalsi, dropping six points apiece for their team – Riethschin went perfect on attempts from the floor, while Kalsi hit three of his five shots. The pair accounted for the Lions last 10 points, but the game was in hand for the Blues who came away with the victory.
 
The visiting team held the Blues to 44% from field goal range and 37.5% from behind the arc in the second half, a much better defensive effort considering Toronto was firing 56% from the floor and 66% from three-point range in the first.
 
The Lions now drop to 1-6 on the season, while the Varsity Blues move up to 2-3.
 
The team will return home on Saturday evening to host the Ryerson Rams at the Tait Mckenzie Centre with tip-off scheduled for 8pm.