The York University Lions basketball teams battled the Brock Badgers on Saturday, senior night at Tait McKenzie Centre in their final games of the 2024-25 regular season.
For the men's team, they were looking to close the season on a high note as they continue to build for the future with a strong nucleus of young talent getting its first taste of OUA basketball this season.
The women's team, meanwhile, had a lot to play for. Entering Saturday tied with the Laurentian Voyageurs for the final playoff spot in the OUA, they needed a win against the Badgers plus a loss by Laurentian to the Lakehead Thunderwolves. If that happened, the reward: a date with the Guelph Gryphons in the opening round for the second time in three years.
Women's Game:
The home side got out to a strong start on a three ball from Ashanti Christian and a bucket from Kiara Leveridge. The two graduating seniors staked the Lions out to a 5-0 lead. It was all York early, as they led by as many as 11 in the quarter, and held a 19-10 advantage through one. Alexis Grewal was a force for the Lions off the bench with seven in the quarter to lead the team.
The Lions continued to take it to Brock early in the second. However, the playoff-bound Badgers showed why they're due to host a Round 1 game, as they finished the quarter on a 21-2 run to overcome a 26-15 deficit. They were led by Angeline Campbell, who poured in 11 points in the frame, while the OUA's leading scorer, Madalyn Weinert put up eight and six rebounds to help propel the visitors to a 26-28 halftime lead.
The Lions, though, refused to go down without a fight. They came out of the locker room on a 9-0, capped off by transfer Ella Okubasu, with Christian and Leveridge also factoring in the run that gave the Lions the lead. However, Brock hit a three the next time down the floor to recapture the advantage. Then, a 4-0 run courtesy of Ruqaya Green made it 41-39 Lions, but the St. Catharines-based squad ended the third on a 10-5 run and led 49-44 after three.
York trailed by as many as seven early in the fourth. They managed to cut it to one late in the game at 55-54 and got a stop inside the final 10 seconds. Leveridge carried the ball up the floor but made a pass that was picked off with under two seconds left. The Lions fouled twice, sending Jamie Addy to the stripe, but she made both free throws and the Lions couldn't pull off a miracle in the final seconds, falling 57-54.
The Lions got the loss they needed from Laurentian, who fell to Lakehead 65-53, but will miss the playoffs due to losing the head-t- tiebreaker with the Voyageurs after Laurentian beat York 68-59 on Nov. 15.
Men's Game
This game had a lot less riding on it from a playoff perspective, but that didn't take away from the playoff-like atmosphere between these two Central Division rivals.
In similar fashion to the women's tilt, the Lions were the better team early. After Brock scored five of the first seven points, the hosts responded with an 8-3 run punctuated by a Travon Hamilton triple to take the lead at 10-8. Reilly Klutchert also hit a three in the quarter to help co-lead the team with five points alongside graduates Hamilton and Elias Panagiotopoulos. York concluded the quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 19-12 lead to the second.
The visitors began to find their game offensively in the second frame, putting up 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting after going just 5-of-23 in the opening quarter. They opened the second on a 13-6 run, tying the game at 25 on a Michael Matas make. While a trifecta from Dante Forchione tied it at 31, the Badgers scored on the final possession of the half to take a 33-31 lead at recess.
It remained a two-possession game for the lion's share of the third quarter, as York knotted things at 39 courtesy of Forchione. Brock went on an 11-5 run thereafter to take a 50-44 lead, but the Lions responded with a 4-0 spurt – including a buzzer-beating three from another graduate, Liam Rietschin – to trim the deficit to two, 50-48, through three.
As was the case all night, separation was hard to come by, as neither team led by more than two possessions all fourth quarter. A second Rietschin three ball tied it at 56 just over two minutes in. A Panagiotopoulos bucket gave York the lead, 60-58, but Brock responded with a three to reclaim the advantage. Panagiotopoulos then drilled a clutch three to put his team up 65-63 with just 2:14 to play, but Brock closed on a 4-0 run including the go-ahead layup with just two seconds left from Matas. A lob play to the rim on the last play by York looking for Rietschin didn't connect, and the Badgers escaped with a 67-65 win.
LOOKING AHEAD:
Both Lions teams now set their sights on next season and will be missing key pieces from this year's squads, but have a good crop of talent to build on as York looks to return to the playoffs in 2025-26.
