Men’s basketball team currently holding third place in OUA East division
The Nov. 24-25 weekend offered up an exciting series of back-to-back home games, as the Gee-Gees men tackled two tough teams from the OUA West division.
On Friday, Nov. 24, they faced the fourth-place McMaster Marauders, and were back on the court the next day to take on the second-place Brock Badgers.
The Gee-Gees started the series strong, putting early pressure on the Marauders—their early 13-6 lead forcing a timeout from the opposition, before McMaster bounced back to prevent the gap from widening for the remainder of the half.
As the second quarter got underway, the Marauders began to find their feet, making it a three-point game halfway through and forcing two timeouts from the Gee-Gees. With their plan reassessed the local boys surged ahead, and by the end of the quarter they gained a comfortable lead.
They rode this momentum to the end, extending their lead to 103-78 by the 40-minute mark. The top scorer for the game for the Gee-Gees was fifth-year veteran Brandon Robinson, who nailed four for five from beyond the three-point line.
Coming off their victory over the Marauders, the Gees faced a more challenging opponent in their next game versus the Badgers, who claimed an early lead in the first quarter.
After a brief timeout with just under five minutes left in the quarter, the U of O went on the attack, going from trailing 12-7 to a tight 21-20 lead at the end of the first with freshman guard Kevin Civil contributing 14 points.
Despite the renewed efforts, the Badgers leveraged their strength under the hoop and regained a nine-point advantage going into the third.
The Badgers’ lead stayed consistent through the third, until high-flying shooter Gage Sabean put up three consecutive threes for the Gees, forcing a Brock timeout.
Despite the timeout, the Gee-Gees managed to hold their gains into the final quarter, trailing by just four points.
The final quarter saw some tight defensive play from the U of O, who stalled the opposing offence to allow Civil to tie the game with six to go. Neither team was able to score for the next minute until a three from Guillaume Pépin finally put the Gee-Gees in the lead and shifted the momentum in their favour.
From there they continued to increase their lead on the Badgers, and despite the Badger’s best efforts to rally in the final minutes, the Gee-Gees clinched the 94-91 victory.
Gee-Gees head coach James Derouin said he was pleased overall with his squad’s performance, especially against a veteran team like Brock.
“The potential for this team is continuing to grow. Our young players like Kevin and Guillaume … they played well,” Derouin said.
The Gee-Gees will return home on Jan. 18 for back-to-back home games facing the York Lions and the Queen’s Gaels the next day.
