It's easy to be upset about the loss, but there's no reason the Nipissing Lakers men's basketball team should be disappointed in their effort.

The Lakers' season ended this past Saturday on the road in the OUA Playoffs, in the quarter-finals, as they dropped an 87-62 decision to the defending champion and nationally ranked Ryerson Rams.

Nipissing advanced to the quarter-finals thanks to a 77-74 victory over Queens in the opening round of the playoffs, after finishing the season as the sixth ranked team in the OUA, hosting a preliminary round game.

The Lakers hung tough in the first quarter with the Rams, trailing by just two points after the opening 10 minutes.

Nipissing continued their strong play early in the second quarter, but slipped up just before the half as the Rams heated up.

Ryerson ourscored the Lakers 32-19 quarter and held a 51-36 advantage at halftime.

The Rams then out the game away in the third, outscoring the Lakers 20-11, increasing their lead from 15 to 24 heading into the final 10 minutes.

Nipissing tried to fight back, posting 15 points in the fourth, but it was too little and too late against the powerful Rams, who closed the game out, advancing to the next round of the playoffs.

Marcus Lewis led the Lakers with 13 points, Jaaden Lewis had 11 and Justin Shaver had 5 points and 14 rebounds in Saturday's game.

The Lakers made history a number of times this year, posting their best season in terms of wins, they qualified for the playoffs, hosted a playoff game, won a playoff game and advanced to the quarter-finals – all program firsts.

The success of this year's team has put the program in a solid position to move forward and things will only improve as they continue to learn.