The York Lions Men's Basketball team put on a late-game finish on Saturday evening, using an explosive fourth-quarter surge to pull away from the Algoma Thunderbirds and claim a decisive 92–75 road victory.
York played fast at the start of the game. Daren Clarke hit an early three-pointer and Josiah McKnight scored a dunk on a fast break to give York a 7–0 lead. York continued with points inside from Nickele Harris and Justin Grant, along with a jump shot from Kal-El Alejo. The Thunderbirds shot well from far away late in the quarter, getting three-pointers from Tyson Francisco, Jean-Luc Cubahiro, and Biong Deng. With York's strong shooting and late layups by Jacob Knight and Zion Messam helped York finish the first quarter ahead 21–20.
Algoma scored quickly in the second quarter, outscoring York 25–16. Logan Whitmell started the quarter with a drive to the basket, while Justin Grant kept scoring inside. Elijah Quissua came off the bench and made a big impact by scoring seven points in a row, including a fast-break layup and a three-pointer. Whitmell ended the first half with a three-pointer at the buzzer off a pass from Kal-El Alejo, putting Algoma ahead 45–37 at halftime.
Algoma kept the lead early in the third quarter after Shalome Anyikwa, Oliver Kristoffersen, and Whitmell hit three-pointers, raising the lead to 54–41. York fought back in the middle of the quarter with points inside from Ladainian James and Burak Kurucay to make it close again. Both teams traded scores near the end of the quarter, with Jean-Luc Cubahiro and Alejo scoring inside and Kurucay making late free throws to bring the score to 64–63 for York heading into the fourth quarter.
York took full control of the game in the fourth quarter by attacking the paint and scoring on fast breaks. Grant started the run with a layup and a free throw at 7:57, followed by three-pointers from James and Knight to push the lead to double digits. As Algoma struggled on defense, Nickele Harris stole the ball for easy layups. Grant finished the game with a deep three-pointer in the last minute for Algoma, but York would emerge victorious with a 92–75 win for York.
