RECAP: #3 men’s basketball clinches berth at National Championship with win over Lancers

Finding themselves down by two with under four minutes to go, the Gee-Gees men's basketball team found a way to pull out a back-and-forth affair to secure a spot at the U SPORTS National Championship with a win over the Windsor Lancers in the OUA semifinal. 

The capacity crowd at historic Montpetit Hall was electric throughout and witnessed the 79-74 victory, clinching a spot at the Final 8 Tournament for the Garnet and Grey for the first time since they earned an automatic seed as hosts in 2020. 

Ottawa will face Carleton on the road for the Wilson Cup on Saturday, Mar. 4. 

"Having the atmosphere, the crowd and all the student-athletes here tonight was outstanding," said Gee-Gees head coach James Derouin. "This was probably the most relevant game in this gym since we hosted the Final Four in 2015. Our defence again came through for us. We lean so heavily on our halfcourt defence, and it was huge for us tonight." 

The game was even tighter than the score suggests. 

The visiting Lancers got off to a hot start and led 19-16 at the end of the first quarter. Thomas Kennedy, Windsor's all-star forward, was largely kept in check and the game was tied at 40 at the halftime break. 

Ottawa came out flying in the second half, Kevin Otoo got physical inside with the 6'9" Kennedy and completed a three-point play. Josh Inkumsah punctuated the 7-0 run with a big play inside, and the lead eventually ballooned to as many as 11 points.

Windsor would claw away, with Kennedy and Najee Brown-Henderson doing the heavy lifting. However, Kennedy got into foul trouble, and the Gee-Gees began having more success inside. 

Things were tense in the final minute with Ottawa holding a slim lead, but Kevin Otoo scored twice on the fast break and Cole Newton hit a free throw to seal the game.

The offence was by committee for the Gee-Gees, with all five starters in double figures: Otoo (18 points), Dragan Stajic (17), Guillaume Pépin (14), Imunsah (12) and Newton (10). 

"Don't doubt us. We are underdogs and we have a lot to prove," said Otoo. "We're looking at one goal: the U SPORTS Championship. But we've got our eyes on the Wilson Cup first." 

As expected, Windsor was paced by Brown-Henderson's 29 points and Kennedy's 17 points and 18 rebounds.

The Gee-Gees now shift their focus to the Ravens, as they'll face their crosstown rivals in the Wilson Cup Final for the first time since 2014. Regardless of the result of Saturday's game, Ottawa will be travelling to Halifax for the U SPORTS National Championship, which is being held from Mar. 10-12.

Saturday's Wilson Cup Final is being streamed on OUA.tv.