TORONTO — The Ryerson Rams couldn't handle the Toronto Varsity Blues' accurate shooting and failed to sink many shots of their own in an 80-73 loss to their cross-town rivals in front of a packed house at the Mattamy Atheltic Centre on Wednesday night in Toronto. 

Ryerson's Tanor Ngom (Dakar, Senegal) led the team with 20 points and 14 rebounds in the contest.

The first quarter saw fairly even play on both sides, but the Rams failed to sink even the most basic shots. The home team would go 6-24 from the floor in the opening ten minutes of the game, and it was the visiting Varsity Blues that led 18-15 at the end of the first quarter. 

The second quarter was a pretty even contest as Ryerson outscored Toronto by one heading into the halftime break. 

The third was exciting as ever, with Toronto pulling away with a 12-point lead near the midway mark of the quarter. Ryerson would go on a run as the clock wound down in the third, bringing the game back within two off the strong shooting of Jayden Frederick (Scarborough, Ont.) and the stellar defensive play of both Ngom and Tevaun Kokko (Markham, Ont.). The Varsity Blues held a two-point lead at the end of the third, but this game was far from over.

Kokko would square up the contest just one minute into the final quarter, but Toronto pulled away with another 12-point lead with just four minutes remaining in the game. The Rams never seemed to re-gain their confidence after losing the lead, going on to be outscored 24-19 in the fourth quarter. 

Toronto would claim the win in this edition of the Battle for the 6ix, taking an 80-73 win against the Rams on Ryerson's home court.

Four Rams had ten or more points in the contest: Ngom (20), Frederick (17), Kokko (15), and Tom Dumont (Montreuil, France) with 13. The Rams struggled to make their shots from beyond the arc, shooting just 19 percent in stark comparison to Toronto's 43 percent. 

"We have to stay positive and not let this game get us down," says Frederick looking ahead to the team's next matchup. "We have to believe in ourselves as a team." 

The Rams will hit the road to wrap up their first-semester schedule against the Laurier Golden Hawks on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m. at the Athletic Complex Gym in Waterloo.