The York University Lions men's basketball team played their graduation game and their final game of the season against the Queens Gaels at home in the Tait McKenzie Centre, falling by a score of 81-63 on Friday night.
 
This game was the Lions final contest of the season and Nick Russell's graduation game. Unfortunately, the Lions fell short of making the playoffs but they still put out an entertaining match. 
 
In the first quarter, the Gaels came out strong as they led early, leading the Lions by eight points. The Lions finally got a basket and a free throw from DeAndrae Pierre. The score was 17-9 when a three-pointer from Prince Kamunga began to close in on the Gaels lead, but they were too far for the Lions to catch up as the Gaels lead the Lions 19-13 at the end of the first quarter.
 
In the second quarter, the Gaels continued to lead the Lions. Kamunga had a great steal and assisted Yacine Loe in his dunk, but Queen's continued to pull away. Later on in the quarter, the Gaels were on a counterattack when Kamunga and Russell came through with a sturdy block. The first half ended with the Gaels still in the lead with 35-29.
 
In the third quarter, the Lions came out explosive and were gaining on the Gaels thanks to Tyler Pryce, who scored a fantastic dunk to keep the fans alive. But the Gaels continued to build on their lead and held a 60-41 advantage after three quarters.
 
In the final quarter, the Lions got a burst of energy and had their best offensive output of the game, outscoring the Gaels 22-21, but it was not enough to close the gap and the Lions finished the season with a 3-19 record.
 
Pierre and Kamunga both had strong games for the Lions, finishing with 23 and 21 points, respectively. They were the only two players to reach double digits in scoring.