LIONS 27 ARGONAUTS 25

TORONTO (CP) – Jonathan Jennings and the B.C. Lions took advantage of the Toronto Argonauts’ meltdown to solidify their run for the final West Division playoff spot.

Jennings threw two TD strikes and a two-point convert as B.C. capitalized on untimely Toronto penalties in a wild 27-25 road win over the Argos on Friday night to spoil Ricky Ray’s 2015 starting debut.

B.C. (7-10) remained third in the West but eliminated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (5-11) from playoff contention. The Montreal Alouettes (6-10) are also contending for a crossover but must beat the Edmonton Eskimos on Sunday or the Lions will clinch a post-season berth for the 19th straight year.

“Oh, it was an ugly win, yeah,” said Lions coach Jeff Tedford. “But it’s a win.

“I think it did a lot for us just to keep playing, keep believing in what’s going on. Somebody will make a play and that’s kind of what happened.”

Jennings finished 21-of-33 passing for 259 yards with two TDs and two interceptions. He now has 15 TD strikes in his six starts with B.C, which finishes its regular season next Saturday hosting Calgary (12-4).

Toronto finished with 14 penalties for 152 yards.

“We struggled to keep our composure when a call goes against us, I think that’s what you saw,” said Toronto head coach Scott Milanovich. “That’s the reality of football, whether it was the right or the wrong call doesn’t matter, you can’t lose your composure.”

Ricky Ray’s first start of the season for Toronto came before a Rogers Centre gathering of 14,236 after crowds of 3,401 and 3,741 watched Toronto’s two home games at Tim Hortons Field.

Ray, in his 13th CFL season, spent the first half of the campaign recovering from off-season shoulder surgery before serving as Trevor Harris’s backup. He finished 26-of-38 passing for 227 yards with a TD and interception but was sacked six times.

Ray was generally pleased with his play but also offered some self criticism.

“I have to do a better job of getting the ball out of my hands and getting through my reads quicker,” Ray said. “Some drives I felt pretty good but others it was a case of seeing some things late or not entirely clearly and I couldn’t pull the trigger.”

Toronto (9-8) remains third in the East Division, two points behind the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (10-6) and Ottawa Redblacks (10-6), who meet Saturday at Tim Hortons Field before finishing the regular season at TD Place.