CARLETON ROLLS IN THE RAVENS' NEST
The No. 5 Ottawa Gee-Gees overcame a 12-point halftime deficit to beat the Marauders 77-74 Friday at Montpetit Hall. Josh Gibson-Bascombe led the Gee-Gees with 24 points and nine rebounds, as they outscored the visiting Marauders 44-29 in the second half to earn their sixth win of the year. Alex McLeod and Curtis Shakespeare chipped in 14 points each for Ottawa, while Adam Steiner's 19 points and nine boards led Mac. McLeod, with 19 points, was one of five Ottawa players to reach double digits as the Gee-Gees pummeled Lakehead 99-55 the following day. The staunch Ottawa D held the Wolves to just 19 points in the second half.
While Carleton leads the OUA East by one game over rival Ottawa, the Ryerson Rams made some noise in the division this week with two wins, beginning with a 79-64 road victory over the Laurier Golden Hawks Friday. The brother tandem of Igor and Boris Bakovic combined for 38 of the Rams' 79 points, while second-year Cambridge, Ont. native Scott Neil led all players with 21 points, hitting six of nine three and seven of 12 from the floor overall. The towering Bakovic tandem also accounted for 26 of Ryerson's 45 total rebounds, with rookie Boris leading all players with 14. The following night, the Rams needed overtime but eventually defeated the host Waterloo Warriors 63-62. Igor lead all players with 17 points and added 10 rebounds, while his little brother chipped in 12 points and a game-high 17 boards. Boris (11.43) and Igor (9.75) are ranked first and third in league rebounding.
High-scoring forward Daniel Eves went off for 34 points, going 12-for-21 from the field, as the York Lions handed the red-hot Windsor Lancers an 81-63 loss at the Tait McKenzie Centre Friday. Eves, second in the league with 19.9 points per game, nailed four of his seven three-point attempts. Rohan Steen dished out seven assists for York, while big man Jordan Foebel was unstoppable down low, tallying 12 points and an impressive 19 rebounds, 16 of which were on the defensive glass. Ryan Steer paced the Lancers with 17 points, which included three three-pointers. The Lions couldn't maintain the momentum as they fell 77-74 to the Western Mustangs at home Saturday. Third-year Hamilton, Ont. native Matt Curtis had a monster game for the visiting Mustangs, tallying 20 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three steals, all of which were team highs on the night. Steen had 27 for York and Foebel 25 but it wasn't enough as Western established a seven-point lead at the half and hung on for its fourth win. The Mustangs are tied with Guelph for third in the OUA West.
The Brock Badgers took full advantage of Windsor's loss by securing two wins on the week, 67-46 over Queen's Friday and 89-73 over RMC Saturday. Brock's Scott Murray sank five threes en route to a game-high 17 points in the game against the Gaels, while Chris Keith added 16 points. Baris Ondul led all Queen's players with 16 points. Last year's West rookie of the year Mike Kemp exploded for 27 points against the Paladins, burying 10 of 16 shots from the field, including six of his 10 threes. Brad Rootes added 18 points, five assists and five rebounds and Keith scored 12 points to go along with nine boards. The trio of Paul Hungler (22), Andrew McIntosh (21) and Adam Asquini (14) accounted for 57 of RMC's points. Hungler led all players with 15 rebounds. The two wins improve the Badgers' record to 5-3 for 10 points, two behind 6-2 Windsor.
Elsewhere around the OUA, Guelph temporarily topped the .500 mark with a 71-41 win over RMC Friday but dropped back to 4-4 the following night thanks to a 63-51 defeat against Queen's. Also Friday, Waterloo beat Toronto 60-57 and Laurentian drilled Western 85-64. On Saturday, the Blues defeated Laurier 86-64 and Windsor, led by Greg Surmacz's 26-point, 10-rebound effort, beat the Voyageurs 85-70.
Play resumes January 5 with five OUA games scheduled.