Gee-Gees keep on ballin’ versus Guelph
The Gee-Gees men’s basketball team was in Guelph on Friday, Nov. 30, taking on the Gryphons to open up a six-game road swing.
The Gees came into this one winning all five of their last matches, and hadn’t lost a game since October, while Guelph was also riding a hot streak after losing their first six contests.
The game got off to a quick start. Less than 15 seconds in, U of O guard Gage Sabean opened up the scoring on a jump-shot, prompting an immediate response from Guelph to tie it 20 seconds later.
Both teams exchanged baskets until the 12-point mark, where Guelph went on a nine-point streak thanks to two three-pointers from Tommy Yanchus.
The Gees would crawl back, scoring eight straight to come within one point of Guelph on the backs of a combined effort from Kevin Civil and Calvin Epistola. At the end of one, the Gryphons led 21-20.
The second quarter was a better one for the Gees, who scored first thanks to a Civil jump-shot to reclaim the lead.
However, Guelph would once again grab the momentum, scoring 10 buckets in a row, giving themselves a 31-24 lead, but the Gees once again came back.
Brandon Robinson and Epistola would both sink three-pointers, and Guillaume Pepin added a couple two-fors to retake the lead and score 17 before the end of the half. They took a small 41-36 lead into the locker room.
From there, Sabean had a killer start to the second half. The Port Williams, NS, native went on a tear in the third quarter, sinking a jump-shot three, and overall controlling the game thanks to his strong play with the ball.
Sabean wouldn’t be the only Gee-Gee to impose himself in the third quarter. Epistola continued to put the team on his back, scoring five points of his own, while Civil also added four in a 21-point third quarter effort from the Gees. Nevertheless, Guelph would actually win the quarter 21-20 in a mirror image of the first quarter to cut the U of O’s lead to only four points.
In the fourth quarter, the Gees and Gryphons traded baskets, with the U of O never leading by more than six at any point, but the Gryphons took the quarter 23-21.
Guelph missed their chance for the win as guard Craig Valeriote would fail to convert on a three-point shot with six seconds left that would have given the Gryphons an 84-83 win. With the miss, the Gees left Guelph with their sixth win in a row, taking this one 83-81.
In the win, Epistola had 21 points and four rebounds, Robinson had 19 points and three rebounds, while Kevin Civil had 16 points and three rebounds.
The Gee-Gees will now travel to Sault Ste.Marie on Sunday, Dec. 2 to take on Algoma at 3 p.m. The Gees will then enjoy a break for exam season and the holidays. The boys in Grey and Garnet will be back on the court early in January to take on the University of Toronto and Ryerson in what promises to be some exciting ball. Grab tickets here.
