Box Score Justin Holmes drained a three with five seconds remaining in overtime to seal an 82-80 Varsity Blues victory over the Ryerson Rams in OUA men’s basketball action on Wednesday night (Jan. 26) at Kerr Hall Gym.

With the win, the Blues improve to 10-5 and remain in second place, while the Rams drop to 6-9 and are in a three-way tie for fourth with Laurentian and Ottawa in the OUA East.

Tied 74-74 after four quarters, the game headed into a five-minute overtime, where Ryerson got out to an early advantage. The Blues surged back with a three-pointer and jumper from veteran guard Anthony De Giorgio, before Holmes sealed the deal with a three of his own in the dying seconds.

Holmes tallied a game-high 22 points, going 6-for-10 from beyond the arc on the night. Andrew Wasik of Burnaby, B.C., recorded 14 points and seven boards, while Drazen Glisic (Sarajevo, BIH) had a team-high 11 boards. De Giorgio and Arun Kumar of Hamilton, Ont., posted 13 and 14 points, respectively, in the win.

The entire game proved to be a catch-up affair for the Rams, with the Blues never holding more than a nine-point advantage in the first half. Up 32-28 midway through the game, Toronto extended their lead to as much as 16 in the third quarter before Ryerson came back in the fourth to outscore Toronto 25-16 and force overtime.

Afeworki Gebrekerestos led the Rams with 15 points, while Jordan Gauthier, Ryan McNeilly, Ola Adegboruwa and Jahmal Jones each had 14 points in the loss.

The Varsity Blues return to the court this Friday, January 28 when they host the York Lions at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym. Tip off is scheduled for 8 p.m.

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