Epistola, Pepin and Stajic have big games
The Gee-Gees squared off at home against the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks on Saturday night at Montpetit Hall. The Gees were riding a two game winning streak coming into Saturday’s contest while the Ridgebacks looked to bounce back after losing to Carleton University on Friday.
The last time these two teams met, the Gee-Gees easily won 91-60.
The game started close but Ottawa went on an early run that was ignited by steals from Calvin Epistola and Sean Stoqua, making the score 24-6.
Ottawa never looked back and played with the lead for the remainder of the game.
The Gee-Gees finished the first quarter up 25-13, shooting 45 per cent from the field.
In the second quarter, the Gee-Gees maintained their healthy lead thanks to steady shooting from Guillaume Pepin with 5-5 field goals, three rebounds, two steals, and 14 points in 13 minutes of work in the first half.
The Gees played stifling defence, limiting the Ridgebacks to 25 per cent field goal for the first half with eight buckets on 32 attempts. Ottawa collected eight steals in the first two quarters, with Calvin Episola taking three.
The men in garnet started the second half with a 47-23 lead and continued to assert dominance. In the third quarter, Kevin Civil got the crowd excited with a beautiful euro-step layup to make it 68-36.
Civil exploded for 10 points on 4-6 field goals with two of three pointers just in the 3rd quarter.
By the end of the third quarter, U of O had increased their lead to 38, sitting comfortably up 74-36.
In the fourth quarter, Dragan Stajic was locked in, registering 11 points with a triple set of, three pointers. Dragan finished the game with 22 points, leading the Gee-Gees in scoring.
Ottawa surpassed the 100 points marker with two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The Gee-Gees recorded 36 points in the final quarter to secure the win, 110-58. With the win, the U of O men’s basketball team improved their record to 12-3 on the season.
Top performers of the night were Stajic with 22 points and eight boards, Pepin with 19 points, and Musuakala with 15 points and five three-pointers.
“(I’m) staying ready for my time to come, obviously staying confident, and just learning from the vets on the team, being positive and ready to shoot my shot when I get in the game,” said Stajic.
The Gee-Gees will look to stay hot and continue their winning streak when they take on Ryerson on Friday at 8 p.m in Toronto.
Men’s basketball by the numbers
- Board man gets paid: Gee-Gees lead the OUA in offensive rebounds per game with an average of 15.5
- Scoring machine: Ottawa offense ranks third in the OUA with on average 85.9 pts scored a game
- Home court advantage: The Gees are 7-1 at home this season
Read More:
- Gee-Gees dominate Ontario Tech in lopsided victory
- Gee-Gees men’s basketball team splits weekend on the road
- Capital Hoops moving across the city to TD Place
