WEEKEND RECAP: #3 Ottawa sweeps weekend in Toronto, earning key wins over Bold, Blues

The Gee-Gees men's basketball team logged a complete weekend in Toronto earning two key wins over TMU and Toronto on Friday and Saturday. 

On Friday, Ottawa traveled to the Mattamy Athletic Centre to face former Gee-Gees head coach David DeAveiro's TMU Bold. The teams battled back-and-forth through the early goings of the game before Ottawa established a narrow 50-44 lead at halftime. 

The Gee-Gees were dominant to start the second half, outscoring the Bold 22-16 in the third and eventually building their lead as high as 14 in the final minutes to secure the 86-72 win.

Guillaume Pépin led the way for Ottawa, crossing the milestone 1,000 career points in the win. Pépin had 22 points on 10-14 shooting, while adding five rebounds. Jacques-Melaine Guemeta had 16 points off the bench, while Dragan Stajic packed the stat sheet with 14 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and three steals. In a homecoming effort, Toronto native Kevin Otoo added 12 points along with three rebounds and assists.

Ottawa shot 54.5% from three in the win, hitting 12 shots from beyond the arc in the win. The Gee-Gees bench contributed 25 points in the win to TMU's 18. 

On Saturday, facing an 11-4 Toronto team fresh from defeating #2 Carleton the previous night, the Gee-Gees needed a strong effort to close the weekend off. Logging a dominant performance over a worthy opponent, the Gee-Gees earned an 87-68 win.

Pépin was outstanding once again, pacing the offence with a 26-point effort on 9-13 shooting, including five three-pointers. Kevin Otoo also showed out in front of a hometown crowd with 21 points in the win. Other Gee-Gees starters Cole Newton and Dragan Stajic also logged strong performances with 15 and 10 points respectively.

Ottawa once-again impressed from behind the three-point line, shooting 45.5%, hitting 10 on the night.

The wins improve Ottawa's record to 13-2 on the season and alongside Carleton's two losses on the weekend, the Gee-Gees have a chance to rise in the U SPORTS Top 10, as well as solidify their place in the OUA standings. 

Up next, the Gee-Gees will return to the Greater Toronto Area for a meeting with the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks in Oshawa on Friday. Ottawa will then return to Montpetit Hall for a marquee matchup with the third-ranked Queen's Gaels (13-1) on Sunday night at 7 p.m. 

Tickets are available at tickets.geegees.ca and the game will be streaming live on OUA.tv.