The Gaels defeated the University of Toronto Varsity Blues and the Ryerson Rams in back-to-back games this weekend.

On Friday, the Gaels beat the Varsity Blues in a 94-65 game. The Gaels started strong, opening up a 27-17 lead in the first quarter, with a quick six points by Harry Range.

The Gaels won each of the next three quarters, with five players scoring more than 10 points, en route to a big win.

On Saturday night, Queen’s won an 82-73 contest against the Ryerson Rams, their first win against Ryerson since 2010, snapping the Rams’ 20-game winning streak against the Gaels.

The Rams got ahead of the Gaels 21-19 in the first quarter. Queen’s struggled with their consistency early in the game, but they picked up steam during the second quarter and carried it into the second half.

In the second half, the Gaels continued to go back and forth with the Rams, but the Rams still led 63-61 by the end of the third quarter.

“I felt we played pretty hard. We came out a little sluggish, but we found the intensity we needed to play with,” said Head Coach Stephan Barrie in a post-game interview with The Journal. “The rest of the game we played very hard and earned that win. We played 35 minutes of very tough basketball.”

The Gaels made an impressive comeback in the fourth quarter, playing hard and improving their defensive effort, outscoring the Rams 21-10 in the final frame.

“Our guys did a good job of understanding time and score and executing what we needed to do, and most importantly, playing good defense,” Barrie told The Journal.

“To do some of the things we did on defense was the highlight.”

Their strong defensive efforts were the catalyst for their Saturday night comeback, however, improvement is always the next step.

“[We’re going to] come back Monday, look at the film from tonight, and fix the little mistakes that we might still be making,” Barrie said about the next steps for the team.

After the incredible Ryerson game, the Gaels play their last game of the year against the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks at the ARC on Nov. 29.

“We are happy with the progress, but we still have to get better.”