WEEKEND RECAP: #1 Ottawa falls to #3 Queen’s, battles to key win over Ontario Tech

The U SPORTS top-ranked Gee-Gees men's basketball team split their first weekend at home of the New Year, dropping a one-point 96-95 thriller to #3 Queen's on Friday, before defeating an 8-2 Ontario Tech team 75-65 on Saturday.

Without the services of Cole Newton (injury) and Jacques-Mélaine Guemeta (illness), Ottawa faced a tough test against their rivals in the nationally third-ranked Gaels. Despite two runs including building a lead as high as 15 points, Ottawa could not fend off the Gaels, who surged back to steal the narrow win at Montpetit Hall.

The Gaels outrebounded the Gee-Gees 43-33 and scored 13 second-chance points, which contributed substantially to the loss. Queen's also hit 15 threes on the night, including a key shot late in the game that gave them the final one-point lead. 

Dragan Stajic finished the night with 20 points, nine assists, and three steals. Justin Ndjock-Tadjore added 17 points and five rebounds, while Brock Newton (16 pts. / 7 reb.), Kevin Otoo (14 pts. / 7 reb.), and Khalifa Koulamallah (14 pts. / 4 ast.) rounded out scorers in double-figures.

On Saturday, the Gee-Gees reversed a nine-point halftime lead for the Ridgebacks to earn a 10-point 75-65 win to close the weekend. The turnaround, spurred by a strong third quarter where they outscored Ontario Tech 24-13, boosted the Gee-Gees to a key win to retain first place in the OUA East.

Otoo led the way with 19 points and three rebounds, while Brock Newton (17 pts. / 9 reb.), Justin Ndjock-Tadjore (17 pts. / 9 reb.), and Koulamallah ( 14 pts. / 6 reb. / 4 ast.) rounded out top-scoring players for Ottawa.

With a Queen's loss at Carleton on Saturday night, the Gee-Gees extended their lead atop the OUA East.

What They're Saying:

"It was huge to bounce back, we needed to know that we had still had the hype, still had the juice, no matter what happened against Queen's, we bounced back today and got the win. It was a tough one, Ontario Tech's a good team with Top 10 wins, but we buckled down, stayed composed, and came out with the W." – Ottawa guard Kevin Otoo.

"It was a bit of an up-and-down weekend, but I'm proud of how the guys responded after last night. We knew these were going to be tough, but we stuck with it and battled. A lot of guys stepped up, especially Justin when we needed him. It's going to give us a lot to build on from here." – Gee-Gees head coach James Derouin.

Up Next: 

The Gee-Gees host OUA East foes Laurentian (1-10) and Nipissing (3-8) next Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and 4 p.m. Tickets for both games are on sale at tickets.geegees.ca and both games will stream live on OUA.tv.