Queen's Men's Basketball fell to the Toronto Varsity Blues, 99-96 in overtime in Round 1 of the OUA Playoffs Wednesday night at the Athletics and Recreation Centre (ARC).

With the loss, the Gaels, who entered the playoffs as the No. 5 seed in the OUA with a 15-7 record, were eliminated from the postseason.

Queen's controlled play for the first half of the game, leading by double digits at half time, but the Varsity Blues went on a strong second half run and even led the Gaels by eight points in the fourth quarter.

Powered by strong three-point shooting from Lucas Ponting and Noah Khaja, the Gaels managed to even the score and force overtime. But the Varsity Blues continued their strong offensive play in the added time, and held on for a three-point victory.

Four players scored in double digits for Queen's, including Ponting (Commerce), with 17 points powered by five three-pointers, and Khaja (Arts) with 23 points powered by six three-pointers.

Ollie Engen (Kinesiology) led all Gaels scorers with a game-high 25 points while falling just one rebound short of a double-double with nine.

Ashton Bain (Arts) managed a double-double, finishing with 14 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.

Queen's finished the game shooting 40 per cent from the floor, 35 per cent from three-point range, and 50 per cent from the stripe, while the Varsity Blues shot 49 per cent from the floor, 35 per cent from three-point range, and 60 per cent from the foul line.

Toronto won the battle down low, finishing the game with 60 points in the paint and 18 offensive rebounds, compared to 28 points in the paint and 11 offensive rebounds for the Gaels.

With the loss, the Gaels season is over, but there is still basketball to be played at the ARC. Queen's Women's Basketball, the No. 1 seed in the OUA after a 21-1 regular season, will open their playoff run with a quarterfinal match Saturday at 6 PM at the ARC. Fans can purchase tickets to the game on the Queen's Gaels Tickets Website.