Weekend Recap: #8 Gee-Gees battle through Northern Ontario trip

After a weekend split in Toronto to start the New Year last weekend, the #8 Gee-Gees men's basketball team looked to get back to their winning ways as they were on the road once again to play the Nipissing Lakers and the Laurentian Voyageurs.

In a highly entertaining matchup that went back and forth all the way until the end, the Gee-Gees were able to come away with a narrow 76-73 victory on Friday night over the Nipissing Lakers.

Despite holding the lead the entire fourth quarter, the Gee-Gees still needed some very clutch shooting down the stretch in order to take down a feisty Lakers team. Nipissing has still yet to defeat the Gee-Gees in their nine tries since their inception in the OUA in 2014. Leading the way for the Gee-Gees was first year standout Guillaume Pépin who recorded 18 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. Four Gee-Gees reached double digits in points for the game including another newcomer, Olivier Cadieux, who in just his third game back from an injury that forced him to miss the entire first half of the season, tallied 12 points on a perfect night of shooting.

The Gee-Gees looked to build on their win the previous night as they took on the Laurentian Voyageurs on Saturday night, and while things looked promising in the first half they spiralled out of control in the second half. The Voyageurs overcame an 11-point halftime deficit to upset the Gee-Gees 89-80. Crucial in that second half explosion for the Voyageurs was the play of U SPORTS leading scorer Kadre Grey, who scored 29 of his game high 37 points in the third and fourth quarters. Despite the loss, the Gee-Gees got good offensive production from their starting lineup as four of the five starters scored in double digits, including a 20-point performance from Pépin.

The Gee-Gees will look to get back into the win column this weekend as they host the York Lions and the Queen's Gaels on Friday and Saturday night. Both games will tip-off at 8 pm at Montpetit Hall and can be streamed live on OUA.tv