The Lions men’s basketball season came to an end with a 68-53 loss to No. 3 seeded St. Francis Xavier University in semifinal action at the 2004 CIS Men’s Basketball Final 10, Saturday night at the Halifax Metro Centre.
York had to play almost the entire game without veteran leader Tom McChesney, who was forced to leave the game with a sprained ankle in the second minute of play. The Lions leading scorer and a first team OUA All-Star, he would attempt a comeback later in the first half, but was unable to continue.
McChesney’s replacement, second-year point guard Mike Di Claudio, recorded four assists while playing a season-high 37 minutes.
Both teams struggled offensively in the first half, especially in the final minutes as no points were scored during a six-minute span. StFX was ahead 20-19 at the break.
The Lions offence would score 11 points in less than three minutes to take a 30-25 lead, however, a 10-0 run by the X-Men gave them a 49-39 advantage with 8:17 on the clock and St. FX would never look back.
Jordan Foebel led the Lions with 16 points, while fifth-year forward Ryan French recorded his second double-double of the Championship tournament with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
York was making its seventh trip to the CIS Men’s Basketball National Championship and its second in three years. The Lions advanced with a 56-43 win over RMC in the OUA East Division Semifinal on March 5th. York finished the regular season in third place with a 13-9 record and an overall mark of 22-16. For more on the game including player statistics, click here.