The men’s basketball team were dealt back-to-back losses at home this weekend by the Ryerson Rams and University of Toronto Varsity Blues.

Against the nationally-ranked second Ryerson on Friday night, Queen’s found itself in a deficit early, struggling with consistent play and trailing 47-27 at halftime. 

The Gaels picked up their play and found a groove in the third quarter, though, outscoring Ryerson 27-20 in the frame—a run that brought them within seven points of the Rams.

Ryerson ultimately ran away with the game after outscoring Queen’s 17-8 in the final quarter, winning 84-62.

“We got down in a big hole early. We show that we can play good basketball but lack consistency,” Head Coach Stephane Barrie said of his team’s play against Ryerson. “Our league is too good to have these moments. We want to work on attacking that in practices and making strides in those components.”

Similar to Friday’s game, the Gaels lacked consistency against U of T on Saturday. Going down by as many as 14 points before halftime, the team once again fell into an early hole.

“We made too many mistakes—[our] decision-making wasn’t pleasing. We need to work on decision making,” Barrie said. Ten of Queen’s 12 turnovers in the game occurred before the final frame. 

The beginning of the game was the most decisive moment determining the result. Just six minutes in, the Gaels went down 17-7.

After being outscored 41-28 in the first half, the Gaels accelerated and brought themselves within four points of the Blues, but it proved too little too late.

Despite the losing effort, there were many standout performances for the Gaels, led by an efficient Quinton Gray, who scored 22 points in 34 minutes. Fifth-years Jaz Bains and Tanner Graham made several critical shots, combining for four three-pointers in the game.

“The group executed well on offence,” Barrie said. “There were some really good points because of the way the group played in the last two minutes. It was the parts of the game before that that put them in a hole.”

This weekend, the Gaels travel to Ottawa to play the nationally-ranked first Carleton Ravens (12-0), and seventh-ranked UOttawa Gee-Gee’s (9-3). Barrie said the coming week will be an opportunity to work on his team’s tactics against some of the country’s best teams.

“We are going to address the issues [from this weekend] in practice to play better on Friday.”