MBB | Voyageurs First Home Game of 2025 Ends in Defeat
The Laurentian Voyageurs men's basketball team came back to the Ben Avery Gym Friday night to play their first game at home in 2025.
Their opponents would be no easy task though as the high flying Ottawa GeeGees would come to the Nickel City bringing a very respectable 11-2 record with them and entering the game as the clear favourites.
The first quarter was fairly evenly played as both teams seemed to put out strong defenses while also putting up some key early baskets to not let their opponents build any early momentum. As a whole the lead would change 6 times in the first. The difference ended up being a couple key late baskets from the away team allowing them to take a slim 17-14 lead into the second quarter.
Laurentian's second quarter ended up being their best of the game. First on defense they held Ottawa to just 28% from the field while also being able to out rebound them 14-8 in the process holding the GeeGees to just 12 total points in the second. On the offensive end it was Ismael Konate who put up eight of his team high 14 points helping the Voyageurs to retake the lead and taking it into halftime as they would end the first half up 31-29.
The third quarter however would end up being the Voyageurs downfall as the offense went extremely cold with the team shooting just 2-18 from the field in the quarter including just 1-5 from three point range and only managing to put up a lowly six points in the giving back the lead to the GeeGees and would go into the fourth trailing by 6.
It would end up being a lead Ottawa would not give up as the GeeGees played an extremely tight scheme for the rest of the game with the final score by the end of the fourth quarter reading Ottawa 59, Laurentian 51.
Laurentian had three players hit double digit points, the aforementioned Konate finished with 14 points along with a whopping 15 rebounds while Shawn Barthelemy and Nginyu Ngala put up 12 and 10 points respectively.
The Voyageurs wrap up the weekend Saturday at home when they take-on the Carleton Ravens with tip-off set for 8pm.
- Andrew Lemieux