TORONTO, Ont. (January 15, 2010) – Mitch Leger of Kingston, Ont., had 25 points and 13 rebounds to help the Gaels overcome an early deficit and beat the York Lions 81-73 Friday evening. 

Three other Gaels finished in double digits to help the Gaels in the win. Ozren Opacic of Burlington, Ont., was the second leading scorer with 16 points while Dan Bannister of Newmarket, Ont., contributed 13. Baris Ondul of Istanbul, Turkey, was strong both offensively and defensively with 12 points, nine assists and six steals in the game. 

Chris Barrett of Vancouver, who had seven points in the win, was noted by assistant coach Duncan Cowan as "doing all the little things that we needed to do to win the game."

The Gaels struggled in the early minutes of the game as the Lions took a quick lead. By the end of the first quarter the Gaels were down by 14 points as the Lions doubled their score 28-14. The Gaels slowly chipped away at the deficit in the second quarter, and by the end of the half had whittled the deficit to eight. 

Queen's came out strong offensively in the second half of the game as they fought to gain the lead. By the end the third quarter the Gaels were able to tie the game up at 54 points apiece. With the momentum clearly in their favour, the Gaels dominated the Lions in the final quarter to take the lead. The final score in the win was 81-73 for the Gaels. 

David Tyndale of Mississauga, Ont., was the leading score for the Lions with 18 points in the loss. Vadim Razenburg of Richmond Hill, Ont., led his team in rebounds with 13. 

The win improves the Gaels record to 7-5 as they extend their winning streak to five games. The men's basketball team has not lost a regular season game since their loss to the Guelph on November 27, 2009 and moves the Gaels to third in the OUA East Division. 

The Gaels will be back on the court against the Laurentian Voyageurs in Sudbury tomorrow evening. The Gaels also host their first game in the new Queen's Centre January 29 against the Voyageurs.