By Xavier Eeswaran
The Ryerson Rams men’s basketball lost to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues 80-73 on Nov. 27 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
With the loss, the Rams snap their 13-game win streak against the Varsity Blues, with their last loss dating back to 2013.
The Rams are now 4-5, tied for second last in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Central Division.
Toronto guards Christopher Barrett and Evan Shadkami led all scorers with 24 points apiece.
“I didn’t expect (Barrett) to be so quick, he hit a lot of threes on us,” said Rams guard Jayden Frederick. “We needed to close out better on him and actually contest his shots, he [made] a lot of open threes.”
Barrett and the Varsity Blues torched the Rams with multiple triples on the night, shooting 43.2 per cent from the three-point line. Barrett and Shadkami combined for 30 of their 48 points from beyond the arc.
“We have to give them more respect as shooters,” said Frederick. “They had a lot of open shots. It was too easy for them.”
On the other hand, Ryerson could not get their three-point attempts to fall, shooting a dreadful 19.4 per cent three-point percentage on 36 attempts.
Rams point guard Tevuan Kokko, led the OUA in three-point field goals made before tonight’s matchup but struggled from the deep shooting 0-8 from three.
The Varsity Blues were in full control for the majority of the 40-minute game, leading for over 37 minutes.
“We have some young guys, and I too am to blame. I lost my man a couple times because we were so focused on getting them out of the paint,” said Frederick.
Ryerson did, however, have four players in double digits as first-year guard Tom Dumont dropped 13 points on 5-9 shooting. Kokko finished the game with 15 points, three steals and five steals.
Rams centre Tanor Ngom led the way with 20 points and 14 rebounds in 25 minutes of action.
“Our main guys, Tanor, Kokko, those guys got in it for the second half of the game, they started off slow, but got into it,” said Frederick.
Closing out the first half of their season on the road in Waterloo against the Laurier Goldenhawks, the Rams look to get back to .500 with a road win.
“We’re gonna come in there with confidence, not cockiness, we’ve lost two games in a row, we do want to win we just gotta play it smart.”
UP NEXT: The Rams take on the Laurier Golden Hawks at the Athletic complex on Nov. 30. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m.
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