Weekend Recap: #6 Gee-Gees drop tight contest to #2 Ryerson, follow Sabean to win over Toronto

The U SPORTS sixth ranked Gee-Gees men's basketball team (13-5) earned a weekend split with a loss to the nation's second ranked Ryerson Rams (17-1) and a win over the Toronto Varsity Blues (7-11).

 On Friday night, the Gee-Gees hosted the Rams and looked to make amends for a 31-point loss they suffered earlier in the month in Toronto to the Rams. Despite falling behind 11-0 early to start, the Gee-Gees fought back to get the game within striking distance, however their comeback bid fell short as the Rams eventually earned a 85-75 victory.

 After being outscored 20-10 in the first quarter, the Gee-Gees played the Rams evenly over the final three quarters, even getting the deficit down to just six points in the fourth quarter. Riding a dominant performance from JV Mukama, the Rams prevented any further comeback attempts en route to sealing the win.

 Four of the Gee-Gees five starters recorded double-figures in the game, including a team high 19 from Gage Sabean, while Guillaume Pépin and Calvin Epistola chipped in with 17 and 15 respectively.

 "It's good to see that we progressed, but we went into this game thinking win or nothing," said Sabean. "We still have a lot of time left to go, but we want to win out and then make some noise in the playoffs."

 On Saturday night, the Gee-Gees hosted the Varsity Blues and controlled the game, finishing with a dominant 94-69 victory, behind a sizzling 31-point performance from Sabean.

 With both teams coming off of losses the previous night, the first quarter was highly competitive as each team looked to take control. However, as the first half wore on, it was clear that the Gee-Gees were taking full control of the contest on both ends of the floor.

 Heading into the locker-room, the Gee-Gees led 46-35, shooting a blazing 58.1 per cent from the field compared to 36.7 per cent from the Blues.

 In the second half, Sabean took over as he scored 22 of his points in the final half, including a sensational 6-8 shooting from the behind the three-point line. His 31-points marks a career high for the third-year guard from Port Williams, N.S, who is currently averaging 14.9 points per game with 43.6 percent shooting on three pointers.

 Contributing alongside Sabean, was a 16-point, seven-assist, and five-rebound performance from first-year guard Kevin Civil coming off of the bench. Fellow first-year Guillaume Pépin scored 13 points and nabbed six rebounds. Mackenzie Morrison finished with 12 points on the night, while Olivier Cadieux rounded out Gee-Gees in double-figures with 10.

Next, the Gee-Gees prepare to take on the Carleton Ravens on Friday night in the annual Capital Hoops Classic at the Canadian Tire Centre.

 "This is what matters right now, how we close the season," said Sabean. "It's going to be a big game against Carleton, and we'll see where we're at there. Basically it's Carleton or Ryerson, we have to beat them if we want to get to Nationals, it wasn't this time, so we have to do it in the future."

 The Gee-Gees will match up with a Ravens team fresh from their first loss of the season at the hands of Ryerson. This will be the first meeting between the teams since the regular season opener in late October. Tickets can be purchased at the client services desk at both the Minto Sports Complex and Montpetit Hall.