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Four players hit double digits as the University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's basketball team came away with an 85-84 victory over the first-place Queen's Gaels on Friday night (Jan. 15) at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.

With the win, the Blues improve to 3-4 and move into a tie for third place, while the Gaels drop to 6-2 and sit second in the OUA East division.

First-year guard Devon Williams led all players with 23 points, including four three-pointers, while adding six rebounds and two assists on the night.

OUA leading scorer Devin Johnson added 16 points, a team-high seven rebounds, three assists and three steals, while fellow fourth-year forward Manny Sahota had 16 points, six rebounds and two assists. Sophomore guard Sage Usher had 14 points and four assists in the victory.

The Gaels got out to a great start, leading the Blues 25-11 after the first quarter. Toronto bounced back with a monster second quarter though, opening on an 11-0 run, highlighted by two three's from Sahota and Williams, to bring the game within three (25-22) midway through the frame.

A Chase Ruttenberg three with 3:13 remaining in the half gave Toronto their first lead of the game (29-28).  Eight second-quarter points from Johnson and a last second three from Sahota would be the difference as Toronto took a 37-31 lead into halftime.

The Gaels rallied to even the score at 50-50 halfway through the third quarter. The two teams traded baskets, but the Gaels took a five-point lead (65-60) into the fourth quarter.

With Toronto trailing 77-72, Devin Johnson came up with a huge block on the Gaels and Sage Usher ran it down the court for the and-one layup. Then, all tied up at 82-82, Sahota grabs the huge rebound off an Usher layup attempt to put the Blues ahead for good.

Fourth-year Gaels guard Sukhpreet Singh led all players with 24 points, while adding six boards and a game-high six assists. Andrew Mavety had 11 points, while Tanner Graham notched 10 in the loss.

The Varsity Blues are back in action next Friday, January 22 as they host the No. 9 Ottawa Gee-Gees at Goldring Centre. Tip off is set for 8 p.m. The game marks the ninth annual Think Pink doubleheader.  For more information on how you can support the Think Pink, #BleedBlue campaign, visit varsityblues.ca/thinkpink.

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