Story by: Martin Timmerman

The Waterloo Warriors twice narrowed the gap to just two points over the final minutes, but could not get a stop at the other end and fell to the visiting Queen's Gaels 86-81 on Saturday night at the PAC. For the second straight night Mike Pereira (Kitchener) led the team with a double-double, scoring 22 points and pulling in 16 rebounds.

The Warriors and Gaels traded leads and a tie game a few times over the opening period until Queen's emerged with a 20-19 lead after the first quarter. Although Waterloo would keep it close over the rest of the game, they never did take the lead again.

The third quarter in particular saw the two teams trade baskets for most of the period until a late flurry for Waterloo brought the game to 61-58 with 10 minutes remaining. Dylan Phillips (Hamilton) hit two threes in the final 30 seconds, but Queen's hit their free throws at the other end.

Pereira's 22 points led the Warriors, with Dylan Phillips (Hamilton) adding 17 points and Jon Ravenhorst (Sarnia) hitting for 14. Sukhpreet Singh led all Queen's scorers with 33 points and also adding 10 rebounds. Andrew Mavety and Ryall Stroud had 12 points each. Waterloo again won the rebounding battle, taking a 37-32 edge in rebounds.

Waterloo ends the fall semester portion of the schedule with a 1-6 record in OUA play. They now take a break for exams and holidays and return to action Wednesday, January 13 when they host McMaster.