RECAP: #3 Gee-Gees down #6 Laurier and Waterloo in home opening weekend

The U SPORTS third-ranked Gee-Gees men's basketball team kicked off their 2019-20 season with two wins, defeating sixth-ranked Laurier on Friday and Waterloo on Saturday.

An exciting Top 10 matchup on Friday night pitted the Gee-Gees and Golden Hawks against each other early in the season, giving each an opportunity to establish themselves with a ranked win in the first week of play. 

Laurier came away victorious in the teams' last two meetings, both key wins for a growing program under former long-time Gee-Gees lead assistant coach Justin Seresse.

This time, the Gee-Gees logged a dominant performance defeating the Golden Hawks 80-72 at Montpetit Hall.

A defensive battle through the first frame, the Gee-Gees held Laurier to only six points in the first quarter. Both teams' offences woke up in the second quarter and despite Laurier outscoring Ottawa, the Gee-Gees carried a 38-33 lead into the half.

Intensity rose through the second half, with Ottawa establishing a healthy lead behind strong shooting. Mid-way through the fourth quarter, the Gee-Gees built their lead up to 16.

Tensions reached a boiling-point the final minutes, when Laurier's star guard Ali Sow and Seresse were both ejected from the game, with Laurier racking up four total technical fouls.

The Gee-Gees thwarted a final push from the Golden Hawks, winning their season opener by a respectable eight-point margin.

Fifth-year point guard Calvin Epistola was outstanding in the game, logging a career-high 31 points in the win. The Toronto native was 10-19 from the field and 7-11 from three, and also logged four assists and three rebounds in the win.

Guillaume Pépin (16 pts) and Kevin Civil (10) pts also finished in double-figures for the Gee-Gees. Meanwhile, Sow (19) and Ntore Habimana (18) led the way for Laurier. 

"We weren't thrilled about losing to them at home last year, that's for sure," said Gee-Gees head coach James Derouin.

"It's something that we as a team and the veterans that were here last year discussed. We don't like to lose to anyone at home. It's a huge OUA matchup to start the season, that's a great team, they defend, they were in our stuff and gave us fits all night. It's a good win for our team for sure."

"It's a good start to the season, it's a great test against a top team in the country," said Epistola. "I think it legitimizes us a bit, I think when the rankings came out we were a little surprised how high we were ranked, but we proved it tonight."

On Saturday, the Gee-Gees rode an outstanding offensive performance to a strong 90-62 win over the Waterloo Warriors, completing the sweep of their home opening weekend.

The Gee-Gees outscored Waterloo 26-13 points in the first quarter, and further extended their lead in the second quarter. Putting the game out of reach with a 47-28 lead at halftime. Ottawa finished shooting over 44 per cent from the field in the game.

Building up to a 38-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Gee-Gees had bench players contribute heavily in the win, with their second unit logging 47 points in the win.

Epistola was once again the leading scorer, finishing with 21 points, while Civil added 16 off of the bench and Thomas Chilton had his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

"These games can be challenging," said Derouin. "You can sometimes let your focus drop, but I thought we stayed pretty focused. We did a good job, Calvin set the tone early and we responded well through the first three quarters."

With a young group of talent, the Gee-Gees lean on veteran leadership through Epistola and fellow senior guard Sean Stoqua. Returning for a final year after missing last season recovering from knee surgery, Stoqua has the chance to contribute on one of the nation's top teams vying to win a championship in his hometown.

In his first regular season games since February 2018, Stoqua posted six points and five assists against Laurier, and five points and three assists against Waterloo.

"I'm trying to stay aggressive and I know the shots will fall eventually," he said. "We have a lot of talented rookies on this team, so I'm trying to provide some leadership for them. At the same time just doing whatever the team needs on the defensive or offensive end to help this team win."

Up next, the Gee-Gees will travel to Oshawa for a first-ever matchup with Ontario Tech, and close the weekend with a matchup with Queen's in Kingston. Both games tip off at 8 p.m. and will be streaming live on OUA.tv

The Gee-Gees return home on Nov. 22 and 23 to take on York and Lakehead.