Basketball teams on the air and on campus this weekend

The York Lions basketball teams will play four televised games at the Keele campus this weekend.

Rogers York Region TV begins its eight-game Lions men’s basketball schedule on Friday, Jan. 11, at 6 and 8pm, with York’s doubleheader against the Queen’s Golden Gaels. The men’s game will air live on Rogers York Region at 8pm, while the women’s game will be shown on tape-delay at the conclusion of the men’s contest. On Saturday, Jan. 12, 6 and 8pm, Rogers York Region will cover the York doubleheader against the RMC Paladins.

The Lions women’s basketball team remained atop the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East standings after beating the Carleton Ravens and the Ottawa Gee-Gees in the nation’s capital this past weekend. Laura MacCallum (left), third in OUA scoring, averaged 16.5 points for the Lions in Ottawa. The Lions have not lost a league or OUA playoff game against an OUA East opponent since Feb. 19, 2005. 

The men’s basketball team, meanwhile, continued to struggle, losing against Carleton and Ottawa to fall to 1-9 on the season. Still, the Lions are tied for the Laurentian Voyageurs for the final playoff spot in the OUA East. Lions star Tut Ruach (right) had 20 points in both of the losses in Ottawa.

Hockey also is on tap this weekend at York as the men’s hockey team plays its first home game of 2008 against the Concordia Stingers. The Lions salvaged the final game of a three-games-in-three-days trip through Eastern Ontario and Quebec this past weekend with a 5-4 win over the Ottawa Gee-Gees. Jerry Clarke had a goal and two assists for the Lions.

In volleyball action, the Lions men’s volleyball team played host to the 29th annual Excalibur Classic this past weekend at the Tait McKenzie Centre. The Dalhousie Tigers became the first team from Atlantic Canada to win the title with a 3-0 win over the Queen’s Golden Gaels in the final. The Lions finished seventh in the eight-team event. The Lions begin the 2008 portion of their regular season schedule with matches at Waterloo and Laurier Friday and Saturday.