KINGSTON, Ont. (February 13, 2016)- The Queen's Gaels men's basketball team battled hard and put together another comeback bid late in the fourth quarter, but came up just short against a hot offence, falling to the Windsor Lancers 93-87 on Saturday evening at the Athletics and Recreation Centre (ARC).
 
Sukhpreet Singh dropped a game-high 30 points, 24 of which came in the second half, and Tanner Graham added 21 points, five rebounds, and two blocks in a losing cause for the Gaels (10-7), who are now slated to finish second in the OUA East division as they cannot catch the CIS No. 1 ranked Ryerson Rams (13-1), but are a single win away from clinching second. For Singh, he now moves past the 1,000 point plateau in his career and should surpass the all-time record of 1,337 set by Mitch Leger should Singh return for a fifth season.
 
Alex Campbell dropped a team-best 23 points for the Lancers (11-6), who are two games up on Western for first in the OUA West division. Windsor shot a potent 53.1% from the field and were over 50% from three-point range in helping extend their unbeaten streak to six games.
 
GAME FLOW
Campbell recorded nine points in the opening quarter, helping pace the visitors to a 22-15 lead through the first 10 minutes of the contest. After Tanner Graham opened the game with a deep three, the Lancers responded by hitting four of five from beyond the arc to help consolidate their seven-point advantage heading into the second.
 
Graham (Kingston) followed his two three's in the first with another jumper early in the second, but the Windsor offence continued to roll, building a 10-point lead near the midpoint of the period, which prompted a timeout from Head Coach Steph Barrie.
 
With Singh (Toronto) in early foul trouble for the second night in a row, the Gaels struggled to find rhythm in their offence, and the Lancers took advantage, building the lead up to 14 before a three from Mike Shoveller (Arnprior, Ont.) stopped an 8-0 Windsor streak.
 
It was the Lancers, however, who would remain hot straight up to the halftime buzzer, as Campbell and Mike Rocca combined for 10 points over the final two minutes of the second quarter, pushing the lead up to 17 at the break. The Lancers shot a formidable 54.3% from the field in the first 20 minutes, compared to the Gaels 31.6% efficiency. The guests also picked up nine second-chance points, while Queen's totaled none even though both brought down four offensive boards.
 
The Lancers accumulated as much as a 20 point lead early in the second half, but the Gaels responded with an 8-0 run that was topped off with another three by Graham, cutting the deficit to 10 with a couple of minutes left in the third.
 
Queen's continued pushing with a stronger offence throughout the period, slicing the Lancer spread down to single digits after Singh found Andrew Mavety (Vancouver, B.C.) for a corner three. The hosts shot an impressive 71.4% (10-14) from the field in the third to start their comeback bid. A buzzer-beating three by Lucas Orlita, however, pushed the lead back up to 11 at the end of the third quarter.
 
The Lancers shooting clinic continued in the fourth quarter, as Windsor knocked down three-straight jumpers from beyond the arc, the last two of which were dropped by Orlita, to maintain their double-digit lead. Queen's continued to make shots throughout the fourth, but could not find any answers for the formidable performance put on by the Windsor offence.
 
The hosts found some life, however, late in the contest, and mounted a significant comeback bid by putting together a 16-5 run that ended with a Singh three-pointer that cut the deficit down to just three points with 20 seconds remaining.
 
After Campbell made 1-of-2 free-throws, Singh missed on his next attempt from range, and the Gaels ran out of time and lost for the first time in the past four matches.
 
FINAL SAY
"I was disappointed in how we played the first half," said Barrie. "We were tentative and hesitant. In the second half our intensity went up significantly and got us back in the game. We were able to keep within striking distance. But it was too little too late. If we had played that way in the first half, the game could have had a different flavour to it altogether. Windsor is always a team that can catch fire; had we played harder and with more intensity in the first half, some of that rhythm that they got probably would have been more difficult to retain, and they maybe don't get as hot for as long, and it's a different game."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
4- Sukhpreet Singh now has 30 or more points in four conference games
20- It was the second game in a row that Tanner Graham tallied over 20 points, and third overall
1-There was only one lead change. After Mike Rocca's three-point basket gave Windsor a 6-5 lead at the 4:00 minute mark of the first, the Lancers stayed in front until the final buzzer
 
UP NEXT
The Gaels head to Algoma next weekend to take on the Thunderbirds in their final road contest of the season. Queen's returns to the ARC on February 26 and 27 to close out the regular season with games against Ryerson and Toronto respectively.