The BC Lions survived overtime to take down the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 41-38 and earn their fourth win of the season on Thursday night.
Lions’ quarterback Nathan Rourke commanded a fourth-quarter drive that gave the Leos a late lead, but Hamilton clawed its way back to send the game to overtime. There, the defence made a big play by forcing a fumble on receiver Tim White to give the offence a chance to win the game and Sean Whyte closed out the game with a 20-yard field goal.
On a night that the Ticats hosted hometown NBA star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for a special community celebration for the hometown hero for his record-breaking 2024-25 NBA season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, it was Rourke and the Lions who shined as the pivot finished with 408 passing yards and two touchdown passes, one to running back James Butler and one to receiver Jevon Cottoy.
Butler added another major on the ground against his former team and backup quarterback Jeremiah Masoli rounded up the score for the visitors as they move to 4-5 on the season.
Ticats’ pivot Bo Levi Mitchell threw for 305 yards and three touchdowns to receivers Shemar Bridges, Kiondré Smith and Jevoni Robinson. Isaiah Wooden added a punt return touchdown in the first half, his third of the year, as Hamilton dropped its third game of the season.
Defensive lineman Julian Howsare added a fourth-quarter interception, but Hamilton was unable to stop the Lions from finishing the game in overtime.
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The Lions went to work quickly on their first drive with a back shoulder catch from receiver Justin McInnis moving the ball into Hamilton territory. It wasn’t enough for a touchdown, but Whyte made it 3-0 with a 41-yard field goal.
A couple of drives later, Wooden channeled his inner SGA by driving the entire field with the ball in his hands on a punt return and dunk on the opposing end zone to give Hamilton its first lead of the game.
Rourke and the Lions answered with a long scoring march that got going with the legs of Butler and Rourke. The duo combined for three rushes that moved the ball across midfield before the pivot connected with his running back through the air for another first down near the 35-yard line. A false start penalty ended up pushing the Lions back and the team had to settle for another field goal by Whyte that made it 7-6 late in the first quarter.
After a couple of punts by both teams, Wooden was trying to make another play for Hamilton but ended up muffing the punt and giving the Lions possession in Ticats territory. The returner was also injured on the play. The turnover led to no points though as Hamilton’s defence stepped up and forced a quick third down. Whyte came in for his third field goal attempt of the game but missed wide right, his first miss of the season.
After a sequence of punts by both teams, Hamilton’s offence came to life late in the first half. Mitchell completed three straight passes to help Hamilton enter BC’s half of the field before the Lions defence raised the wall and forced the Ticats to attempt their first field goal of the game. Marc Liegghio came in and also missed his first field goal of the season, keeping the score 7-6 in favour of the home team with less than two minutes left on the clock.
There was still time for the Lions to strike. Rourke connected deep with Ayden Eberhardt for a 57-yard gain that set up BC at Hamilton’s 15-yard line with 26 seconds left. From there the Canadian pivot found Cottoy and the big receiver bulldozed his way into the end zone for a 13-7 lead with the point after.
BC kept Mitchell and the Ticats offence to only 60 yards of net offence in the first half. The pivot completed six of nine passes for 56 yards, while Rourke finished the first two quarters with 206 passing yards and a major.
Hamilton came out of the locker room determined to show why their offence has been one of the best in the league in 2025. Mitchell connected with White for 54 yards before quickly finding a streaking Robinson for a 22-yard touchdown. The point after gave the Tabbies a 14-13 lead early in the third quarter.
The Leos responded with a long march of their own. Rourke found Eberhardt streaking down the field once more for a 42-yard gain. The pivot then went no huddle and drew a play-action pass to McInnis to make it first-and-goal. Butler finished the job with a major against his former team.
Mitchell was determined to continue the aerial duel with Rourke and immediately went to work in the following drive. The quarterback threw Kenny Lawler open and the receiver made a twisting catch that went for 40 yards and set up Hamilton inside the red zone. From there the Lions were able to force a third-and-two from the three-yard line, but the Tabbies went for it and converted the touchdown on a three-yard catch by Bridges.
The defences showed up again in the next two drives, forcing the opposing offence to punt the ball away. When it was BC’s turn to punt, however, the Ticats were able to force a turnover with rookie Ronan Horrall knocking the ball loose from the returner. The fumble gave Hamilton a chance to extend lead and they did just that with a 13-yard catch by Smith.
Lions’ returner Seven McGee gave the Leos life with an 82-yard return all the way to Hamilton’s 18-yard line. A 15-yard run by Rourke made it first-and-goal and Masoli closed out the drive with a three-yard rushing major. BC went for two and converted with fullback Riley Pickett to tie the game at 28 late in the third quarter.
The following drive saw Liegghio lining up to attempt another field goal, but the kicker ended up missing his second of the game (and the season) through the back of the end zone to give the Tabbies a 29-28 lead.
Whyte converted a 39-yard field goal with 8:15 left in the game to give BC a 31-29 lead. Liegghio had another chance and put it through the uprights to push the home team ahead once more, 32-31.
BC was driving to retake the lead before defensive lineman Julian Howsare jumped a pass from Rourke to stop their chances and give the offence a chance to extend their lead. Liegghio was once again called upon and did just that, converting his third field goal of the game to make it 35-31 with a little under two minutes left in the game.
Faced with second-and-10 early in the next possession, Rourke escaped pressured and found McInnis for an important first down, before converting an even more crucial third-and-12 with another pass to McInnis. The Canadian quarterback showed off his magic once more by capping the drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Butler to take the lead with 38 seconds left in the game.
That was enough time for Mitchell and the Ticats to move the ball into Liegghio’s range and the kicker split the uprights again to send the game to overtime.
A fumble by White on the first possession in overtime gave the Leos the chance to win and they did so with a 20-yard field goal by Whyte.
The Ticats now travel to Regina to face the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday, August 16, same day the Lions return to BC to host the Montreal Alouettes.