The Varsity Blues men’s basketball team dropped a 90-83 decision to the Regina Cougars in exhibition action on Friday, October 15 at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.

Third-year forward Paul Gareau came off the bench to score a game-high 25 points to secure the win for the Cougars.

The Cougars built up a 13-point lead near the six-minute mark of the third quarter, but saw the lead all but evaporate after a layup by Dakota Laurin cut the advantage to just one point midway through the fourth quarter.

Regina was able to hold off Toronto down the stretch, as rookie guard Brendan Hebert hit a big three for the Cougars and a pair of Jeff Lukomski free throws increased the advantage to seven with 1:23 left in the fourth.

Justin Holmes led U of T with 19 points, while fellow Toronto native Alex Hill had 12 and Drazen Glisic of Sarajevo chipped in with 11.

Gareau was 12-for-14 from the field and also had eight rebounds to go along with his 25 points in just 22 minutes on the floor. Lukomski had 14 points and six assists, while Kris Heshka had 13 points in the win.

The Cougars shot 49.3% from the field compared to Toronto's 39.1%, while the two teams tied with 19 turnovers apiece.

The Varsity Blues return to action next weekend (Oct. 22-24) as they travel to Ottawa to defend their title at the Jack Donahue Tournament.

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Source: Regina Cougars