RECAP: Jacques-Mélaine Guemeta hits game winning bucket to complete 19-point comeback over the Carleton Ravens

The Gee-Gees men's basketball team welcomed the Carleton Ravens to Montpetit Hall for their first meeting of the season. In what proved to be an instant classic, the Gee-Gees overcame a 19-point deficit to earn a 79-78 win.

"Man, what game," said Ottawa head coach, James Derouin. "It was just an amazing game, the crowd, selling out, it's special."

The undefeated Gee-Gees were pressured immediately as the Ravens were first to score, draining a couple of buckets for a quick 5-0 start. Carleton had control throughout the opening quarter, taking a 29-16 lead after the first 10 minutes.

Dragan Stajic stepped on the court and put up a pair of three-pointers to give the Gee-Gees some energy in the second quarter, but not much went in favour of the home team for the remainder of the first half. 

Carleton outrebounded Ottawa by a notable 34-16 margin and eventually took the half 45-32.

Throughout the third, the Gee-Gees tried to chip away at the lead the Ravens built in the first quarter, but it wasn't until the final few minutes that the Gee-Gees fire really lit up.

Khalifa Koulamallah turned a steal into two points and put up a three-pointer before Jacques-Mélaine Guemeta finished the sequence with a dunk.

Things got loud. The energy in Montpetit Hall was unmatched.

Down 63-53, the Gee-Gees had 10 minutes to turn things around.

They wasted no time. Ottawa went on a 15-0 run before Carleton was able to hammer in a three-pointer. The Gee-Gees managed to flip the script and build a five-point lead, but the Ravens kept things tight, tying the game at 68-68 with 4:15 left to play.

Carleton reclaimed the lead, getting ahead by six points in the final minutes, but Ottawa wasn't ready to back down. Kevin Otoo went on a run, logging a steal and a couple of baskets to bring the Gee-Gees back within one, Koulamallah was next driving to the basket and laying in the ball.

"Carleton always tries to phase us," said Otoo. "But not now, that narrative is over."

With 10 seconds on the clock, the Ravens drained a jumper to get up 78-77. A foul on the shot sent the Ravens to the line for a free-throw, the crowd was thunderous, and the missed free-throw gave the Gee-Gees one last chance.

It was Guemeta who took the shot, taking a couple dribble to create space for himself in the paint.

He knocked it down, and the Gee-Gees put away the Ravens 79-78.

"It feels incredible," Guemeta said. "We have a chip on our heart since losing semi-finals last year. This year, we win game after game, but the goal is the national championship and that's what we have on mind and what we have on our heart, and we just keep grinding for that."

Otoo finished with a game-high of 23 points, five rebounds, and four steals. Koulamallah followed with 17 points and three steals, while Stajic added 12 points.

"We've been on the road for at least four week of the semester and coming home for this last game, sold out, I have to give it up to the crowd," Otoo said. "I love when the crowd gets into it, it gives me energy, it gives my team energy."

The Gee-Gees will be playing a non-conference tournament in Quebec City at the end of December before returning for OUA action in January. They'll be back in Montpetit Hall on Jan. 5^th, 2024 to take on the Queen's Gaels at 8 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase at https://teams.geegees.ca/tickets.