March Madness dream ends in heartbreak for Canadians Lee, Dubinsky

Along with the unmatched joy of college basketball in March comes an equal dose of dejection.

The latter was the case for Canadians Xaivian Lee and Wilson Dubinsky in their respective conference championship tournaments on Saturday.

Lee, the star junior point guard for Princeton, had his three-pointer at the buzzer rim out as the Tigers lost 59-57 to top-seeded Yale in an Ivy League semifinal.

A two-time Ivy League first-team all-star, the Toronto native had 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the loss. Lee also set an all-time Princeton record for assists in a season with 165.

Meanwhile, Dubinsky led South Carolina State on a furious comeback in the final two before the Bulldogs lost 66-65 to host Norfolk State in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference final.

The senior guard from Ottawa led South Carolina State with 24 points and went five-for-five from three-point territory.

The Bulldogs rallied from nine points down with less than two minutes left to tie it, but Christian Ings’ free throw with 8.9 seconds left allowed Norfolk State to eke one out. South Carolina’s Caleb McCarty, who likely lost track of the score, made the mistake of fouling in the dying seconds to give Ings a chance.

As a result of Saturday’s games, Lee and Dubinsky will not be playing in the national championship tournament.