It was another tough night at the office for the Nipissing Lakers men's basketball team, as they came up short against a strong Ryerson Rams team, despite an impressive comeback.

The Lakers trailed for much of the game, but mounted a furious comeback and pulled within a few points late, but were unable to gain any kind traction in the dying minutes and ended up on the wrong side of an 89-79 decision.

Ryerson had a slight lead after a low scoring first 10 minutes of play, up 16-9.

In the second quarter, Nipissing began to claw back and never let Ryerson's lead go farther than a few baskets. But the teams went into the half with the Rams up 43-36.

The third quarter played out much like the last two with Ryerson maintaining their lead and holding an eight point advantage, 61-53, after 30 minutes of play.

With 10 minutes left in the game to mount a comeback, the Lakers pushed and began to gain momentum.

With a minute and a half left, the score was set at 78-77.

Unfortunately, Ryerson strengthened their lead again and secured the win, finshing things off at the free throw line and came away with an 89-79 victory.

The Lakers had a balanced attack, with Jaaden Lewis leading the way with 19 points, Marcus Lewis had 18, Justin Hill added 15 and Kalil Langston had a double-double, with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Nipissing faces Carleton and Ottawa next weekend on the road.