RECAP: #1 Ottawa defeats Lakehead and Brock in strong home opening weekend

The nationally number-one ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees men's basketball earned two key wins over Lakehead and Brock to improve to 5-0 on the regular season and 10-0 overall. 

In front of a sold-out crowd at Montpetit Hall on Friday night, the Gee-Gees powered to a 97-81 win over a strong Lakehead Thunderwolves team. 

The Gee-Gees ignited another packed crowd the following night, earning a 73-63 win over the Brock Badgers. 

Led by a 25-point and six-rebound effort by Jacques-Mélaine Guemeta, Ottawa rode strong performances in the second and fourth quarters to secure the win.

Justin Ndjock-Tadjore came off the bench for a career-best 24-points and seven rebounds, while Kevin Otoo, Brock Newton, and Khalifa Koulamallah all added 12 points. 

The Gee-Gees outshot the Thunderwolves both from the field and from three and won the turnover battle 16-12. Ottawa shot a whopping 52.1 per cent from the field in the win. 

On Saturday, it was a closer battle early, with eight total lead changes in the matchup. Ottawa put forth an outstanding defensive effort late in the game to regain the lead and secure the win. 

Fifth-year guard Kevin Otoo put forth a strong performance with 20 points, six rebounds, and four steals, while Brock Newton added 18 points, four rebounds and three assists.

Point guard Dragan Stajic logged a strong all-around performance, with eight points, six rebounds, five assists, and four steals in the win.

In all, the Gee-Gees turned 18 Brock turnovers into 21 points and took care of business at the free-throw line, with 17 points at the charity stripe.

What They're Saying:

"It's awesome, having this kind of atmosphere like a true basketball environment. Last night was wild, we've had lots of good crowds in terms of size, but what you notice is what this is a basketball crowd. On back-to-back nights it's really special, for people give up both nights to come and see this team play. They're fun to watch." – Ottawa head coach James Derouin on the home opening weekend crowds.

"We a jack of all trades team, if our defence isn't clicking, we'll hit shots, if we can't hit shots, our defence is going to come out. We're 15 solid guys, with a great rotation, if one guy isn't performing, the next guy stands up. We have a lot of guys that are willing to put their back on the line for the team." – Gee-Gees guard Kevin Otoo. 

What's Next: 

The Gee-Gees will take to the road next weekend, traveling to Northern Ontario for matchups with the Nipissing Lakers and the Laurentian Voyageurs (Friday and Saturday / 8 p.m. / OUA.tv)