WEEKEND RECAP: Ottawa earns season-opening lopsided wins over McMaster and York  

The Gee-Gees men's basketball team appeared to be in mid-season form in their Home Opening wins over McMaster and York. On Friday, Ottawa defeated the visiting Marauders 97-67 in a statement-making opening win. The next night, the Gee-Gees defeated York by a 23-point 88-65 final margin.

In Friday's matchup, the Gee-Gees rode a massive third quarter effort and a smoking hot three-point shooting performance to a big win over a OUA West division contender in McMaster. In the third frame, Ottawa outscored McMaster 32-13, eventually opening a 38-point lead early in the fourth quarter.

Ottawa hit a staggering 15 three-pointers at a 51.7 per cent clip. However, it was not only the perimeter shooting that contributed to the win, but a defensive effort that saw 24 Marauder turnovers turn into 25 points for the Gee-Gees.

Cole Newton led the way for the Gee-Gees with a career-high 25-point effort on five three-pointers. Newton also added three rebounds and four assists to round out his effort. Quincy Louis-Jeune added 19 points and four assists. Guillaume Pépin (17 points / three assists), and Kevin Otoo (13 points / three steals) rounded out Ottawa players in double-figures.

"Tonight was just one of those nights," said Gee-Gees head coach James Derouin after the McMaster game. "It's a great feeling against a really great team. Mac is going to compete to win that division, I firmly believe that. It felt like we couldn't miss at times tonight, but we also have to work on being consistent."

On Saturday, it wasn't quite the offensive effort from the previous night, but one that the Gee-Gees were still able to ride to win comfortably over York.

Outrebounding York 41-29 and forcing 21 turnovers, Ottawa made the most of their opportunity to start the year on back-to-back wins.

Building a lead as high as 31 points in the early fourth quarter, the Gee-Gees eased off the gas for the 23-point final margin. Cole Newton once again led the way for Ottawa with 20 points, and six rebounds in the win. The younger Newton brother, Brock, had 19 points and four rebounds. Louis-Jeune put in an outstanding two-way effort with 18 points, and 7 steals, while Pépin pitched in 10 points and 6 rebounds.

"It's all about finishing game and making sure we're bringing it every single night," said Brock Newton. "At the end of the year, our goal isn't only to start 2-0, it's to finish with a national championship, so we're trying to position ourselves to do that by getting better every day."

Up next, Ottawa will travel to Sudbury and North Bay to take on Laurentian and Nipissing on Friday and Saturday. Both games will get underway at 8 p.m. and will be streaming live on OUA.tv.