The York University men's basketball team played their best game of the season against the nationally ranked University of Ottawa Gee-Gees on Saturday evening at the Tait McKenzie Centre and picked up a huge 78-67 win.
The Lions started the first quarter by playing some impressive basketball, picking up a six-point lead at the midway mark. After the first two points came from Gene Spagnuolo sinking two free throws, Nana Adu-Poku added the next eight points for the Lions off two free throws, two lay-ups and a jump shot to lead the Gee-Gees 10-4. With two minutes remaining, DeAndre Pierre nailed a three-pointer to lead the Gee-Gees 17-10. The Gee-Gees added two final points and trailed 17-12 by the end of the first quarter. More details on the York Lions website.
A day earlier, on Friday, Feb. 8, the Lions lost 102-57 to the Carleton University Ravens, the current No. 2-ranked team in the country, at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
In the first quarter of the game, the Ravens led with 23 points and the Lions were able to secure 16. York's Gianmarco Luciani secured the first two points for the Lions and also led the team in points in the first quarter with seven points; however, the Ravens were able to push past the Lions and leave the first quarter with a 23-16 lead.
In the second quarter, the Ravens continued to lead the play on the court and on the scoreboard. They were able to score 23 points and held the Lions to six to end the first half with a 46-22 lead. More details.
Sparling wins gold medal at OUA fencing championships
The York University Lions fencing team took part in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) fencing championships at the University of Toronto over the weekend and the Lions' Adrien Sparling brought home some hardware with an outstanding performance.
Sparling took home the Schwende Trophy as the OUA men's sabre individual champion after a dominant 15-6 victory over Brock's Aaron Olmstead in the final. Carleton's Ghazal Mo placed third, defeating RMC's Gerson Zamor 15-9 in the bronze-medal match. As a result of his win, Sparling was also named as an OUA all-star.
Overall, the Lions finished in ninth place out of 13 teams from across the OUA. The host Blues won the team gold medal, followed by the Carleton Ravens in second place and the RMC Paladins in third. More details.
LePage leads way for Lions with two medals
All-world athlete Pierce LePage led the way for the York University Lions track and field team this weekend at the Spire NCAA Division 1 Indoor Invitational in Geneva, Ohio.
LePage picked up two medals for the Lions. The first, a gold medal with a leap of 7.42m in the men's long jump, which qualified him for the U SPORT championships and leaves him ranked first overall in Canada. He followed that up with a silver medal in the shot put with a season's best throw of 14.01m.
Other podium finishes for the Lions on the men's team included Abdiaziz Ali with the silver medal in the 600m with a new personal best of 1:19:99 and Jason Clare with a bronze medal in the pole vault with a new personal best jump of 4.73m. More details.
Lions sweep Badgers 3-0 on road
The York University men's volleyball team defeated the Brock University Badgers 3-0 on Saturday afternoon at Bob Davis Gym in St. Catharines, Ont.
Despite a close first set, the Lions easily led the Badgers through two more sets to pick up the 3-0 win. During the first set, the Badgers nearly caught up to the Lions near the end of the set; however, York held onto their lead to defeat the Badgers by three points, 25-22. The second set was a breeze for the Lions, taking the set 25-17. Similarly, the Lions won the final set 25-21 to defeat the Badgers.
With the win, the Lions are still sitting in a playoff spot, fourth place, four points ahead of the Nipissing Lakers. The Lions have five games left in the regular season to secure a spot in the playoffs. More details.
On Sunday, the Lions were defeated 3-1 by the McMaster University Marauders at the Burridge Gymnasium in Hamilton, Ont.
The Lions picked up an early 1-0 lead on the Marauders and led throughout the entire first set. The Lions comfortably led the Marauders by six points, 23-17 near the end of the set, and despite the Marauders earning four more points, a kill by Aleksander Grzegorczyk and an attack error by the Marauders led the Lions to take the set 25-21. More details.
Lions score four power play goals to defeat Gaels
The York University women's hockey team picked up a big 4-1 win against the Queen's University Gaels on Friday evening at Canlan Ice Sports.
The Lions had an impressive game scoring four power play goals against the Queen's Gaels, whose goaltender, Makenzy Arsenault, came into the game leading the OUA with a 1.17 goals against average and ranked second with a .947 save percentage. This was York's first win against Queen's since the 2015-16 season when the Lions beat the Gaels 2-1 in overtime.
The Lions had a strong first period despite the Gaels getting on the scoreboard first. At 8:27, the Gaels took a 1-0 lead on the Lions with a goal by Nicole Posesorski. The Lions out-possessed the Gaels for the remainder of the period, keeping the majority of the play in the Gaels' end and taking a total of 10 shots on goal. More details.
The next day, the Lions lost 6-2 to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday, Feb. 9 on the road at Varsity Arena. York's Natalie Dean, with assists from Kara Washer and Ellen Donaldson, scored the first goal of the game to give the Lions a 1-0 lead.
The Lions remained the sole team on the scoreboard for the remainder of the first period; however, in the second period, Toronto's Kassie Roache responded 36 seconds into the start of the second period with a goal for the Blues. More details.
Fotinos makes 49 saves in 2-1 loss to Rams
The York University Lions men's hockey team lost 2-1 to the Ryerson University Rams in their final game of the regular season at Canlan Ice Sports on Sunday, Feb. 10, which began with an on-ice ceremony honouring graduating players Josh LaFrance and Stefano Pezzetta.
The Rams overpowered the Lions in shots in the first period as they fired 18 while the Lions responded with 10 of their own. The game remained scoreless for the first half of the period until the Rams were able to score at 10:54 on a goal by John Carpino. Ryerson, who had a fast-paced start, remained in the Lions' end of the rink for much of the first half of the first period, but Lions goaltender Alex Fotinos did not allow them to extend their lead. More details.
The day before, the Lions lost 5-1 against the Brock Badgers on Saturday, Feb. 9 in St. Catharines, Ont.
At 7:22, Brock's Brandon O'Quinn scored the first goal for the Badgers. A few minutes later, York's Reid Jackman scored the first goal for the Lions, which was assisted by Alex Mowbray and Sal Filice as the teams ended the first period tied 1-1.
In the second period the Badgers were able to add another goal on the scoreboard. The Lions fired 16 shots on goal, none of which were able to find the back of Brock's net. The Badgers shot 11 at the Lions. More details.
Lions toppled by Marauders on Road
The York University women's volleyball team was defeated 3-0 by the McMaster University Marauders on Sunday afternoon at the Burridge Gymnasium in Hamilton, Ont.
The Lions fell in three sets to the Marauders despite an early lead at the start of all three sets. The Lions opened the first set leading the Marauders up until their 10th point, 10-8, after a service ace by Olivia Kim. The Marauders picked up a strong lead on the Lions, 16-10, after earning eight consecutive points. The strong lead led the Marauders to take the set 25-17.
The Lions once again led the Marauders throughout the first half of the second set. The Marauders tied the set 7-7, but the Lions earned five more points to lead the Marauders 12-7. The Marauders picked up their first lead on the Lions 17-16 and maintained their lead to win the second set 25-19. More details.
The day before, the Lions fell 3-1 to the Brock University Badgers on Saturday afternoon at Bob Davis Gym in St. Catharines, Ont.
The Lions made it difficult for the Brock Badgers to pick up a 3-1 win, keeping the game close in all four sets. The Badgers led the Lions 1-0 taking the first set 25-19. The Lions managed to tie the game, winning the second set 25-21. Despite a strong effort by the Lions, the Badgers took the final two sets, 25-20 and 25-17, to defeat the Lions 3-1. More details.
Lions start strong but drop game to Ravens
The York University Lions women's basketball team lost 66-47 to the Carleton University Ravens on Friday, Feb. 8 at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
The Lions began the game by opening up a big lead in the first quarter. The Lions were able to drop 19 points in the first quarter of the game compared to eight for the Ravens. York's Emma Jonas was able to secure eight points for the Lions in the first quarter, including two three-point shots. Katrina Collins-Samuels followed Jonas and was able to drop six points of her own to contribute to York's 19-8 lead over the Ravens. More details.
The next night, the Lions fell 78-50 to the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees on Saturday evening at the Tait Mackenzie Centre.
The Gee-Gees opened the first quarter by putting up seven consecutive points before the Lions were able to get a point of their own. Megan MacLeod got the Lions on the board with a lay-up as they trailed 7-2. Midway through the quarter the Gee-Gees led the Lions 13-4, but the Lions picked up their game and trailed four points, 15-11, with one minute remaining. The Gee-Gees sunk two free throws to end the quarter leading the Lions 17-11. More details.