The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's basketball team dropped a 96-60 decision to the Duke Blue Devils on Friday night (August 17) at Paramount Fine Foods Centre in Mississauga, Ont.
 
The match-up was Game 2 of the Duke Canada Tour, featuring Duke freshmen superstars R.J. Barrett of Mississauga and Zion Williamson of Spartenburg, South Carolina. The Blue Devils topped the Ryerson Rams 86-67 on Wednesday night and will wrap up their trip North of the border vs. the McGill Redmen in Montreal on Sunday.
 
"I think it was a tremendous experience for our players," said Varsity Blues head coach John Campbell. "It's once in a lifetime to play against a program that is so historically significant. Their current roster is really quite something so for our guys to compete against them is really special."
 
Fourth-year forward Nikola Paradina notched a team-high 15 points and added three assists on the night.
 
"I thought we moved really well as a team in the first half," said Paradina. "Everyone got involved, which is why I made good shots and I was feeling pretty good. I think this was a really good experience for our team preparing for the upcoming season."
 
Rookie guard Inaki Alvarez added 12 points and a team-high four assists, while sophomore standout Evan Shadkami recorded 11 points, five boards and three assists in limited minutes. Veteran forward Daniel Johansson added nine points and six rebounds in the loss.
 
"I think Inaki has great potential as a player," added Campbell. "He can really go north-south and get to the basket. I think as his decision making improves and as he adjusts to the level of play, it will make a big difference for him and then he'll be a huge contributor for us."
 
Barrett dropped a game-high 35 points and nine rebounds in front of his hometown crowd, while Williams had 24 points and eight boards in the win.
 
The Blues will have five weeks off before they continue their pre-season schedule, hosting the Dalhousie Tigers on Friday, September 28 at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.

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