ESKIMOS 35 LIONS 29 OT

VANCOUVER – Mike Reilly connected with Cory Watson on a five-yard touchdown in overtime as the Edmonton Eskimos fought back from 16 points down in the fourth quarter to defeat the B.C. Lions 35-29 on Saturday night.

Reilly also threw a TD to Adarius Bowman and added two more scores on the ground for Edmonton (10-6). Swayze Waters was 1 for 2 on field goals.

Jonathon Jennings threw a touchdown to Bryan Burnham for B.C. (6-10), while long snapper Mike Benson, on a fumble recovery, and backup quarterback Alex Ross, on a one-yard plunge, had the TDs for the Lions. Ty Long was perfect on his two field-goal attempts.

With their playoff hopes already hanging by a thread following four straight losses and defeats in seven of their last eight, the Lions were officially eliminated from playoff contention Friday when the Saskatchewan Roughriders picked up a 30-7 upset victory on the road over the first-place Calgary Stampeders.

Edmonton, meanwhile, clinched a playoff spot last week and fought back from a 29-13 deficit with six minutes to go to force OT.

The Eskimos’ win combined with Winnipeg’s loss earlier Saturday against Toronto means that Edmonton could still finish second in the West and secure a home playoff game.

Notes: Lions wide receiver Marco Iannuzzi announced before the game via Twitter that he plans to retire at the end of the season. … B.C. scratched Chris Williams in favour of fellow veteran wide receiver Nick Moore. Williams was the club’s big free-agent acquisition, but has failed to make an impact after missing the first six games of the campaign coming off a serious knee injury suffered last year. … The Eskimos wrap up their schedule at home against Calgary before travelling to Saskatchewan. … The Lions visit Winnipeg and host Toronto.

(Canadian Press)