Ottawa Gee-Gees 67 – Lakehead Thunderwolves 69
A 16-2 scoring run mind way through the first and second quarters propelled the Lakehead Thunderwolves to a 69-67 buzzer beating victory over the Cinderella Ottawa Gee-Gees. This marks the second straight season that Lakehead defeats Ottawa with a CIS Basketball Final 8 birth at stake. The Thunderwolves shot the light outs in the first-half, shooting a scorching 49.5% from the floor and held a 42-29 half-time.
Ottawa came out with more energy in the second half as 1st Team All-BasketbaBuzz Warren Ward and OUA All-Star Alex Gauthier got physical. Ottawa cut down the Lakehead lead to single digits several times, but a Greg Carter buzzer beater restored a double-digit lead of 63-53.
Gee-Gees rising rookie guard Chris Anderson scored 4 of Ottawa’s first 6 points of the quarter and held Lakehead scoreless without a point for the first 5 minutes and only trailed by 4 points (63-59) with 5 minutes to play.
Warren Ward checked in after a Lakehead timeout and knocked down a mid-range jumper to cut the lead to 2 points with 4 minutes remaining.
Venzel Russel scored the Thunderwolves first points of the quarter, and Lakehead restored a 65-61 lead with 3:00 remaining. Following a crucial 8-second violation, Gee-Gees big men Alex Gauthier and Nemanja Baletic knocked down a huge back to back three-pointers to tie the game at 67-67 with 41 seconds to play.
After a timeout the Gee-Gees struggled in-bounding the ball and after a scramble it wound up on the hands of Alex Gauthier who hit a mid-range jumper with the shot clock winding down. Jamie Searle scored his first 2 points of the game from the Charity stripe to tie the game at 69-69.
With 19.0 seconds on the clock, the Gee-Gees inbounded the ball with a chance to win the game in regulation, but Josh Gibson-Bascombe turned the ball over and Venzal Russell knocked down a buzzer beater to win the game. The ball should’ve been in the hands of Warren Ward coming out of the time. One small mistake, and it cost the Gee-Gees a shot at Nationals.
Very well played game with great intensity.
Top 3 Performers
Ottawa Gee-Gees
L. Gauthier 18 Pts, 4 Reb 2 Blk
Warren Ward 10 Pts, 7 Reb, 3 Ast
N. Baletic 14 Pts, 5 Reb, 2 Ast, 3 Stl
Lakehead Thunderwolves:
Venzal Russell 17 Pts, 7 Reb, 2 Ast
Y. Salhia 13 Pts, 10 Reb 2 Ast
B. Johnson 12 Pts, 2 Reb, 2 Ast
Up Next: The Ottawa Gees-Gees surprising playoff run comes to a halting end. Overall, this was not a bad season for first year head coach James Derouin. The Gee-Gees will now focus on improving their recruiting class, which features Ottawa high school standout Vik Gil. The Lakehead Thunderwolves move on to the 2011 Wilson Cup Final against the winner of the Carleton Ravens and Laurier Golden Hawks.
