One step closer
Men’s basketball crushes Queen’s, advances to OUA East fi nal
THE UNIVERSITY OF Ottawa men’s basketball team knew that a duel with the archrival Carleton Ravens for top spot in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East awaited them. But to confirm their attendance, the Gee-Gees had to fi rst take care of business at home Feb. 27 against the Queen’s Gaels (11-11).
The second-seeded Gees (18-4) accomplished their mission with a well-deserved 77-61 victory against the fourth-seeded Gaels in OUA East semifinal playoff action.
In a game in which they had a steady lead throughout, the Gees got off to a fast start. Led by first-year forward Ryan Malcolm-Campbell, Ottawa honed in on the off ensive glass and scored points in the paint to give themselves an early cushion.
Fifth-year guard Josh Gibson-Bascombe’s ballhandling skills were on display as he executed several skilled moves on his way to recording 11 points in the first quarter. Th e Gees held a sizable 26-13 advantage by the end of the frame.
“When it’s a game like this and it’s do-or-die, [Gibson-Bascombe] does his usual thing. Th at’s why he’s one of the best players in the country,” said Gee-Gees head coach Dave DeAveiro.
Ottawa’s off ense became stagnant in the second quarter as their disorganized attack led to poor shot selection. However, the Gees stepped it up a notch on the defensive side as third-year centre Matt Riendeau contributed three blocks. With second-year guard Warren Ward scoring six of his 20 points late in the second quarter, Ottawa led 38-28 at halftime even with Queen’s star forward Mitch Leger racking up 13 points.
When asked what the key to win was, Ward pointed to the defence.
“Queen’s is a really good team with lots of good shooters and we tried to shut down as best as we can,” he said.
Gibson-Bascombe was hot from long-range as he connected on a couple of treys in the third quarter to add to the Gees’ lead. The star senior finished with 25 points and six rebounds.
Second-year centre Matt Michaud shut Leger down in the second half, allowing Ottawa to lead 59-42 heading into the fi nal quarter.
“I thought we had a pretty good team effort tonight. We had a lot of contributions from [different] players, with Michaud giving good minutes defensively and Malcolm-Campbell finishing strong in the glass. It was a team win tonight,” said DeAveiro.
The fourth quarter was a mere formality as the Gees sank shots with ease thanks to great ball movement. Gibson-Bascombe and fi ft h-year guard Donnie Gibson continued to score from downtown and Queen’s self-destructed on off ence with a multitude of turnovers. In the end, Ottawa won by 16 points and earned the approval of a sold-out home crowd.
The victory propels the Gees into the OUA East finals for a heavyweight showdown against the firstseeded Ravens (20-2), who defeated the sixth-seeded York Lions (6-16) in the other semifi nal 78-65. Though Ottawa lost both games against Carleton in the regular season, the Gees are confi dent that they can win when it matters most.
“Everything comes down to defence. If we defend well against Carleton, we can win the game because they can’t stop us off ensively,” said Ward.
“We just can’t have that one quarter where we don’t score any points. We’ve got to play a full forty minutes [against Carleton],” said DeAveiro.
The OUA East fi nal will be held on March 6 at the Ravens’ Nest at 8 p.m.
