Box Score The Waterloo Warriors men's basketball team may have lost a heartbreaker in overtime in their 2016-17 home opener, but they showed more about themselves in how they even got to that point.

The Warriors erased a seven-point deficit with under four minutes to play, but were outscored 14-9 in overtime to fall 95-90 to the Toronto Varsity Blues in their season-opening game on Saturday afternoon at the Physical Activities Complex.

Ben Davis (Mississauga) led the Warriors with 27 points on 10-12 shooting, while rookie Nedim Hodzic (Waterloo) added 19 points in his OUA regular season debut. Toronto's offense ran through Devin Johnson, who scored a game-high 28 points despite going only 8-21 from the field.

The Warriors outrebounded the Blues 40-30 on the day, and their balanced attack on the boards limited Toronto's second chances all day – Hodzic, Jon Ravenhorst (Sarnia), and Simon Petrov (Waterloo) tied for the team lead with 8 boards. Meanwhile, Toronto's Manny Sahota grabbed 12 rebounds for the visitors, while chipping in with 17 points.

The back-and-forth affair was tied at halftime before the Blues took a five-point lead into the fourth quarter, and by the time there was 3:26 remaining in the game, Toronto had extended their lead to 79-72. But a Davis jumper capped a 9-0 run by the Warriors, and gave the hosts an 81-79 lead with 18 seconds to play.

But the Blues wouldn't surrender, as Johnson buried a jumper to tie things just three seconds later, and the Warriors were unable to drain a winner at the buzzer. In the extra session, Toronto opened up on a 12-4 run and never looked back, securing the five-point victory.

Waterloo isn't back in action until Friday, November 18, when they face the York Lions. Tip-off Is scheduled for 8pm.