Box Score The Varsity Blues men’s basketball team fell to the Ryerson Rams 80-77 in their final game of the regular season on Friday, February 18 at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym.

With the loss, the Blues finish the season with a 14-8 record in second place in the OUA East and will host a quarter-final next Saturday, February 26.

Ryerson last defeated the Blues on Feb. 21, 2003. The Rams (11-11) finished the season with a .500 record in fourth place and will host the York Lions in an OUA playoff on Wednesday night.

The Rams overcame a 10-point halftime deficit, thanks to veteran guard Ryan McNeilly. The Toronto native was a perfect 6-for-6 from beyond the arc in the second half en route to a game-high 27-point performance.

Burnaby, B.C., native Andrew Wasik and fellow fourth-year forward Sean Nickel led the Blues through the first half with a combined 19 points.

Ryerson fought back late in the third, led by back-to-back threes by McNeilly to bring the game within three (60-57) heading into the fourth quarter.

McNeilly extended the Ram’s lead to as many as six points in the final frame and the Blues fought back with a valiant comeback attempt led by veteran guard Anthony De Giorgio. After nailing two three’s in the final two minutes, De Giorgio’s third attempt in the last second of the game hit the rim and the final buzzer sounded in favour of the Rams.

Wasik recorded a team-high 18 points, while De Giorgio had 12 and Alex Hill had 10 in the loss.

GAME NOTES:

As is tradition at every final regular season home game, the Varsity Blues honoured graduating athlete Anthony De Giorgio in a pre-game ceremony.



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