OSHAWA, Ont. – Despite staying with the York Lions for the opening half of their first preseason game, the Ontario Tech men's basketball team fell 80-57 on Friday night.
Through the opening quarter the two teams were locked 19-19 with the Ridgebacks trailing by only two at halftime. The second half was a different story as the experience of the York Lions showed as they pulled away with 20-plus points in each of the final quarters.
"I thought the guys came out tough tonight," said head coach
Greg Francis. "As we are early in our process I thought we broke down in the second half. York is a talented group and tested our young team. We definitely have things to work on as we play Concordia tomorrow."
AJ Cummings (Ajax, Ont.) finished with a team-high 14 points for the Ridgebacks, going 5-for-8 from the floor and 3-for-5 from three.
Ammar Hassan (London, Ont.) was two points from a double-double, finishing with 12 boards and eight points. The only other Ridgeback in double-digit scoring was
Rahsean Neil-Simpson (Mississauga, Ont.) with 11.
Saturday night at 6 p.m. the Ridgebacks host the Concordia Stingers at the Campus Recreation & Wellness Centre before next weekend's preseason trip to Alberta for three games in three days.
Overall Record: 0-1
Conference Record: 0-0
Next Game: Saturday, Oct. 5 vs. Concordia Stingers (6 p.m. – Campus Recreation & Wellness Centre)
