Box Score Five different players hit double digits as the Varsity Blues men’s basketball team opened their 2010-11 season with a convincing 87-72 win over the Lakehead Thunderwolves on Friday, November 5 at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym.

Varsity Blues player of the game Anthony De Giorgio tallied 17 points, going 2-for-3 from three-point land and 5-for-7 from the line. The fifth-year guard added a game-high eight assists and six rebounds, while fellow veteran and Toronto native Justin Holmes had 15 points on opening night.

Both Toronto native Alex Hill and Sean Nickel of Kitchener, Ont., recorded 13 points, while fourth-year forward Drazen Glisic of Sarajevo, BIH, had 10 points and led all players with seven boards in the win.

The Blues rallied from a 25-20 first-quarter deficit and held Lakehead to single digits in the second frame. Holmes and Hill rallied the troops towards the end of the first half, combining for 10 points in the last five minutes to gain a 38-34 lead at halftime.

The Thunderwolves, led by fifth-year guard Jamie Searle of Belleville, Ont., fought back to take a three-point lead; however, some handy work from Hill would even the score at 47-47 midway through the third quarter.

De Giorgio then took control and never looked back, draining seven points in just over a minute to ignite a lead that would not extinguish. A Nickel three-pointer capped off the third as the Blues built a 61-54 lead heading into the final frame.

Lakehead attempted a come back and brought the game within two in the first two minutes. Searle and Petawawa, Ont., native Brendan King led the Thunderwolves with 11 of their 18 fourth-quarter points but it wasn’t enough as Toronto regained control with a solid team effort and pulled out the convincing 15-point victory.

The Varsity Blues return to action tomorrow night when they host the McMaster Marauders at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym. Tip off is scheduled for 8 p.m. The game will also be streamed live through www.varsityblues.ca.

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