With just four games left in the season, Kenny Hilborn of the men’s basketball team believes that the team is still searching for consistency.
Holding on to the fifth seed with 14 points, the men’s basketball team (7-11) holds a four-point advantage over sixth-seeded Laurentian in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East division. The top six teams of each division will move on to the playoffs.
Seventh-seeded Royal Military College (3-15) and fourth-seeded Queen’s (9-9) visit this weekend.
The York Lions defeated the Blues 75-49 Saturday, putting U of T’s current six-game home stand at 2-2 thus far.
“This would have been a good game to win, especially since it was at home,” said Hilborn. “We need to play more as a team. We did not play as strong as we could have.”
The Lions (14-4), seeded second in the OUA East, led the contest wire-to-wire. Roaring out to an 11-point lead midway through the first half, York used their bigger and longer players to their advantage. They dominated the paint with 6’7 forward Dan Eves and 6’10 centre Jordan Forbel.
U of T cut the lead to eight at halftime, trailing 37-29. Things got worse in the second half, though.
York put the game out of reach with a 14-4 run in the first six minutes of the third stanza. The Lions kept feeding Eves near the basket, helping him reach his 11 rebounds and game-high 26 points off 11 for 14 shooting in 31 minutes.
Forbel ate up the Blues defence when Eves was covered or needed a break. The centre scored most of his points off second or third chances for the Lions and paced the Lions with 17 points and 13 rebounds in 35 minutes.
The Blues were completely outmatched by York’s big men: for every penetration there was a rejection by the Lions’ towering pair. Bothering every shot in the box and using a swarming pressure defense, the Lions forced the Blues to kick the ball out to their perimetre game. U of T failed to meet the challenge, shooting a paltry 27.7% from the floor.
“We are a quicker, more athletic team,” Hilborn continued. “But the shots just would not fall.”
Hilborn was the sole Blues player who reached double figures, scoring 21 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in 40 minutes.
Friday, the Blues defeated the Laurentian Voyageurs 61-51. Hilborn again led U of T with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Guards Mike DeGiorgio and Paul Zyla added 12 and 14 points, respectively, in the victory.
