Varsity Blues edge rival Lions 72-70 on School Day

Second-year guard Sage Usher drained a jumper with 21.6 seconds remaining to help the University of Toronto Varsity Blues to a 72-70 victory over the York Lions on School Day Friday afternoon at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.

With the win, the Blues improve to 2-4, while the Lions drop to 3-5 in the OUA East division.

Fourth-year forward Devin Johnson led all players with 24 points, while adding seven rebounds and two steals on the day. Usher had 12 points and six assists, while forward Miroslavic Jaksic recorded 11 points and six rebounds.

Veteran forward Manny Sahota notched 10 points, with Daniel Johansson adding eight points in the victory.

York got out to an early 6-0 lead but the Blues went on an 8-2 streak to even the game at 8-8. A Chase Ruttenberg three-pointer gave U of T a narrow 19-18 advantage after the first quarter.
A seven-point second quarter from Usher paced the Blues as they led 33-32 at halftime.

The game went back-and-forth in the third quarter. Some late work from Johnson and a layup at the buzzer from Miroslav Jaksic put Toronto up 53-49 heading into the final frame.

Toronto led by as many as eight, but York battled back to even the game at 61-61 with 4:30 remaining. The two teams traded baskets until the bitter end and a final jumper from Usher with 21.6 seconds to go sealed the win at 72-70.

Third-year guard Shane Reader led the Lions with 17 points and seven assists, while Tommy Hobbs had a double-double of 16 points and 10 boards in the loss.

The Varsity Blues return to action next Friday, January 15 as they host the Queen's Gaels at Goldring Centre. Game time is set for 8 p.m.

Source: Toronto Varisty Blues