The Varsity Blues men’s basketball team dropped an 80-74 decision to the Laurentian Voyageurs in OUA East quarter-final action on Wednesday night (Feb. 22) in Sudbury, Ont.

The loss puts an end to Toronto’s 2011-12 campaign. The Blues finished the regular season in fifth place with a 10-12 record. 

U of T put up a valiant effort in the second half, led in large part by third-year forward Alex Hill.  The Toronto native tallied a game-high 23 points, knocking down three three’s and going 6-for-7 from the line.

Hamilton, Ont., native Arun Kumar was 4-of-7 from beyond the arc en route to a 20-point night, while fifth-year veteran Andrew Wasik (Burnaby, B.C.) recorded a double-double of 13 points and 12 boards in the loss.

Down 63-42 heading into the final frame, Hill opened the fourth quarter with eight consecutive points as U of T went on a 24-10 run to bring the game within four with 1:47 remaining. That would be as close as the Blues would get as the Voyageurs held on for the six-point win. 

Laurentian opened the game with an 18-6 run and held a 30-12 lead after the first quarter.  The Blues battled back to narrow the gap to 11 (42-31) at halftime; however, the home team extended their lead further with a 21-14 third quarter to take the 21-point advantage into the fourth.

CIS leading scorer Manny Pasquale led the Voyageurs with 19 points, while Mike Hull notched 16 points and 14 boards in Laurentian’s first playoff win in nine seasons.

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