Box Score The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's basketball team overcame a 26-point deficit to defeat the York Lions 80-75 on Saturday night (Feb. 10) at the Tait McKenzie Centre.

A massive reason for the Blue victory over their crosstown rivals was free throw shooting. The team went 29-of-31 from the charity stripe in the second half. Their ability to drill those important shots allowed them to clinch a playoff spot.

The Blues record improves to 11-10 as they are tied  with Queen's for the fifth spot in the OUA East division. 

Sage Usher registered a team-high 14 points and added three rebounds. Evan Shadkami and Nikola Paradina recorded 13 and 11 points, respectfully.

York's Gene Spagnuolo went 6-of-8 from deep for a career-high 28 points. He added six rebounds and four assists in the losing effort.

U of T was cold in the first half. They shot 30 percent from the field, compared to York's 55.6%. The Lions also drained seven three-pointers to be up 40-25 at halftime.

The team continued to fight throughout the contest despite trailing by 26 points in the third quarter. 

Down 63-48 early in the fourth quarter, Toronto sparked a 9-0 run and completed the comeback with a Christopher Barrett three-pointer with 2:45 to go in the fourth. It marked the Blues first lead of the game and they didn't look back.

U of T finishes off their regular season with back-to-back home games next weekend. Up first are the No. 6 Laurentian Voyageurs on Friday night (Feb. 16). Tip off is scheduled for 8 p.m., at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.

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