Lancers upset Gee-Gees 85-80, advance to Wilson Cup final

The Gee-Gees quest for a second consecutive Wilson Cup is over as the Windsor Lancers will advance to after upsetting the Gee-Gees on Friday night in the opening game of the OUA Final Four tournament. Windsor's Mitch Ferrell delivered the dagger for Windsor in the fourth quarter on a deep contested three which put the Lancers ahead by five which ended up being the turning point in the game.

When looking at the big picture the Gee-Gees were able to accomplish their game plan and stay neck and neck with in the rebounding category with the Lancers but it appeared to be a question of timing on this night. Windsor was able to come up with more big shots in the final quarter while forcing the Gee-Gees into tough shots. As a team Windsor shot 56.7 per cent from the field in the second half. 

"We really emphasise confidence around the team, so the guys can have the power to go out on the court and make big shots. We had a really good second half in terms of scoring and when you play a team with as many offensive weapons as they have you have to make shots," said Windsor head coach Chris Oliver. 

The Lancers defense was excellent in the final quarter forcing the Gee-Gees to make tough shots every trip up the floor. Ferrell was important in the victory for the Lancers hitting a tough three-pointer with just over a minutes remaining to put his team ahead by five. In the end it would be enough to give Windsor the upset win at Montpetit hall.

Alex Campbell led the Lancers offence with 20 points and eight rebounds on 8-14 shooting from the field. Mitch Ferrell also chipped in offensively with 16 points and five boards. 

"Windsor did a very good job against us on defense. It was small things all game long that killed us but in the end we just didn't play well enough to win this one. We didn't do the things we talked about all week in practice and that's really disappointing. They jumped all over every mistake that we made so we really have to give them credit," said uOttawa head coach James Derouin. 

After the Gee-Gees led for most of the first half, Windsor was able to grind its way back into the game by pounding the offensive glass on the Gee-Gees, bringing the score to 43-40 heading in the half time break. Caleb Agada sat out most of the first half after being assessed two fouls in the first quarter. 

Agada made his presence felt right away out of the break, intercepting a pass and taking it cost-to-cost for the easy bucket, something that has become somewhat of a trademark for the third year forward. The forward finished the game with 15 points. 

The third frame was more of the same as both teams battled hard trying to gain an edge in the game. Johnny Berhanemeskel carried the Gee-Gees offence in the second half, driving the lane while finding his teammates all over the floor, finishing the night with 19 points and seven assists. Khalid Abdel-Gabar hurt the Gee-Gees from lone throughout the game as the point guard shot 3-3 from long range on and 19 points on the night. 

"Sometimes you just have to take a loss a assume responsibility and tonight is one of those nights I guess. It's hard because of the stage of the season we are at right now," said Gee-Gees star Johnny Berhanemeskel. "In life it's hard to get second chances but tomorrow we have one and we have to make the most of it. "

The Gee-Gees will be back in action tomorrow night at 6:00 p.m. for the consolidation final.