RECAP: #1 Gee-Gees continue to roll through competition, take down York, McMaster

The Gee-Gees men's basketball continued to power through their competition with wins over the York Lions and McMaster Marauders during their final weekend on the road in the opening half of the season.

Taking Friday night's matchup against the Lions 86-75, the Gee-Gees locked in their ninth consecutive conference win with a 72-59 score over the Marauders.

The Lions challenged the Gee-Gees in the opening quarter, but Ottawa went on to outscore York 24-18 in the second. Ottawa played a strong final quarter, logging 20 points to keep their lead.

Ottawa point guard, Dragan Stajic lead the way with 18 points, six assists, and four rebounds against the Lions. Brock Newton and Jacques-Mélaine Guemeta followed closely with 14 points each, while Kevin Otoo added 13 points, nine rebounds, and two steals to stat sheet.

Like their meeting with the Lions, the Gee-Gees were challenged early on in Saturday night's game. The Marauders traded three-pointers with Khalifa Koulamallah in the first quarter, before going on an eight-point run to bring things within two.

With only a 38-34 lead heading into halftime, the Gee-Gees still had 20 minutes to work with.

During the third, Ottawa's strength was in transition, their best offensive opportunities coming after creating turnovers. 

Late in the third quarter, a pair of free-throws by Justin Ndjock-Tadjore established a double-digit lead for the Gee-Gees. They took a 62-50 lead into the last quarter.

Scoring quieted down in the fourth quarter, and the Gee-Gees comfortable held onto their lead, taking the win 72-59. 

Newton earned a team high of 17 points while Ndjock-Tadjore followed with 16 points and seven rebounds. While it was a quiet shooting game for Stajic, he contributed nine assists, seven rebounds, and two steals.

Ottawa has one more game to play before the semester comes to a close. Meeting their crosstown rivals, the Carleton Ravens on Wednesday evening at Montpetit Hall, the Gee-Gees have the opportunity to end the opening half of the regular season 10-0. Tickets to the 8 p.m. tip-off against the Ravens can be found at https://teams.geegees.ca/tickets.