Box Score The No. 10 Varsity Blues men’s basketball team fell 80-66 to the Queen’s Gaels on Saturday, January 22 at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym.

With the loss, the Blues drop to 9-5 but remain in second place, while the Gaels pick up their third win of the season and are in seventh in the OUA East.

Toronto natives Anthony De Giorgio and Alex Hill as well as Holland Landing, Ont., native Ben Garvin each tallied 12 points in the losing cause. Burnaby, B.C., native Andrew Wasik recorded 10 points and a team-high eight boards, while Arun Kumar had nine points and five steals on the night.

The Blues struggled, shooting 30.2% from the floor compared to the Gaels 50%. Queen’s was also hot from beyond the arc, draining 10-of-19 attempts.

After leading 29-27 at halftime, the Gaels exploded in the third quarter, outscoring the home team 34-18. Queen’s hit six three-points in the last five minutes of the third to build a comfortable 63-45 lead heading into the fourth.

Despite a solid rallying attempt by De Giorgio, including three three-pointers in the opening minutes of the frame, the Gaels held on and maintained their lead until the final buzzer.

The Gaels were led by Dan Bannister’s 25 points. The fourth-year guard and Newmarket, Ont., native went 5-for-6 from three-point land and added six rebounds, four assists and four steals to his stellar performance.

Rookie Matthew Baker of Kingston, Ont. totalled 13 points and seven rebounds, while Vancouver native Chris Barrett had 12 points and six board in the win.

The Varsity Blues return to action next Friday, January 28 when they host the York Lions at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym. Tip off is scheduled for 8 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on SSN Canada through varsityblues.ca.

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