Box Score Third-year forward Alex Hill continued his hot streak with a 28-point performance, but it wasn’t enough as the Varsity Blues men’s basketball team fell 73-62 to the Ryerson Rams on Wednesday night at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym.

The loss drops the Blues to 5-8 and in a tie with Laurentian for fourth-place, while the Rams improve to 6-7 and move into sole possession of third place in the OUA East.

Hill was 13-of-14 from the free throw line and added nine rebounds to his game-high point tally.  Burnaby, B.C., native Andrew Wasik added 16 points and four boards, while Drazen Glisic (Sarajevo, BIH) had eight points and six rebounds in the loss.

“We didn’t shoot the ball well tonight,” said Varsity Blues associate head coach Rick Dilena. “We played with energy but it has to be a more consistent effort.”

The Rams got out to an early 10-4 lead, highlighted by a two-handed dunk from second-year guard Jordan Gauthier.  The Blues rallied, led by a nine-point quarter from Hill, but still trailed 17-13 after the first stanza.

Ryerson opened the second on a 7-2 run, and the teams traded baskets from there. The Rams shot 52% from the floor and tallied nine points off turnovers to take a 40-31 lead into the locker room.  Hill accounted for over half (19) of U of T’s first-half points, while Rams leading scorer Jahmal Jones had 15 at halftime.

The Blues narrowed the gap to bring the game within four (49-45) at the midway point of the third; however, the Rams remained poised and maintained a five-point lead (56-51) heading into the fourth.

Ryerson took control to start the final frame, going on a 14-4 streak to put the game out of reach and notch their sixth win of the season.

Jones ended the night with a team-high 24 points and eight rebounds.  Bjorn Michaelsen had 16 points, while Gauthier added a double-double of 13 points and 10 boards in the win.

The Varsity Blues are back in action this Friday, January 20 as they head to Sudbury, Ont., to take on the Laurentian Voyageurs. Tip off is set for 8 p.m.

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