Near-slam dunk
photo by Alex Smyth
Statement play: Warren Ward’s first-quarter steal and slam dunk was a statement for the Gees against Western on Nov. 13.
Men’s basketball wallops Western, but wanes against Windsor
“DEFENCE! DEFENCE! DEFENCE!” shouted the bench players of the Gee-Gees men’s basketball team on Nov. 13. With four minutes remaining in the first quarter, Ottawa’s backups were encouraging the starters to defend their 11-7 lead against the Western Mustangs—and clearly, Gee-Gees second-year guard Warren Ward was listening. He promptly stole the ball from a Mustang player and sped down the court towards the basket, throwing down a slam dunk that sent vibrations through Montpetit Hall and lifted the crowd to its feet.
Ward’s 20 points in the first half helped propel Ottawa to an 87-76 win over the Western Mustangs. The Gees couldn’t sustain the momentum a day later, however, losing to the nationally sixth-ranked Windsor Lancers 80-77 in overtime.
Ward’s slam dunk and a three-pointer from fifth-year guard Josh Gibson-Bascombe were the highlights for Ottawa in the first quarter against Western as they led 25-18 at its end. In the second quarter, Ward drained a pair of shots from downtown early on to increase the Gees’ lead. Despite out-fouling Western 12-4, Ottawa built a commanding 49-36 lead by halftime. “We were playing a good, well-coached team,” said Gee-Gees head coach Dave DeAveiro after the win. “If we didn’t have that kind of start, it would have been a different game.”
“That’s how you want to start every game,” added Gibson-Bascombe.
In the third quarter the Gees continued to foul and the Mustangs started chipping away at the lead, narrowing it to 54-52 at one point. But then Western caught the foul bug, allowing Ottawa to widen the lead with free throws. Gibson-Bascombe drained another three-pointer before the buzzer. The Gees led 65-56 after three quarters.
“We knocked down shots and played good defence,” said Gibson-Bascombe.
He nailed another three-pointer early in the fourth to put the Gees up 69-58. Western hurt themselves by fouling and losing the rebounding game, ensuring that Ottawa almost always led by 10. The Gees scored their last six points from free throws to secure the win. Ward finished with an astonishing 30 points while Gibson-Bascombe had 21.
“[Ward] is capable of doing that every night,” said DeAveiro. “But this [performance] kind of teases you. So the next step for [Ward] is to put five or six games like that together.”
Unfortunately for the Gees, that didn’t happen the following night. Ottawa’s shooting went cold and the team could only make 36.6 per cent of its shots, compared to Windsor, who shot 52.4 per cent. Ward’s point total dropped to 13 while Ottawa was seven-for-30 beyond the arc.
The Gees trailed 36-31 at halftime and were down 55-48 after three quarters. Ottawa refused to fold and the team staged a comeback in the final frame. Led by Gibson-Bascombe, who finished with a team-high 25 points, Ottawa tied the game at 70 and forced overtime.
A Windsor three-pointer in the extra frame proved the difference as the Lancers outscored the Gees 10-7 en route to the road win.
Following the weekend results, Ottawa is now 2-2 and tied for second in the Ontario University Athletics East. Their next game is on Nov. 20 at 8 p.m. against the Waterloo Warriors (3-1) at Montpetit Hall.
