MBB | Voyageurs Drop Tough Decision Against Fourth Ranked Gee-Gees
The Laurentian Voyageurs dropped a tough, close encounter to the fourth ranked team in the country by a score of 74-65 on Friday night.
The Voyageurs were looking to rebound from their loss the previous night against the Carleton Ravens and came out fighting against the Gee-Gees. The Voyageurs did indeed get outscored 19-17 in the first quarter but they went-to-toe with their foe. The second was more of the same of the first as the Voyageurs kept pace with the Gee-Gees as they entered halftime trailing 35-27. The Gee-Gees shot 38.2% from the field, whereas the Voyageurs shot 27.6%. Leading scorers for the Gee-Gees included Kevin Civil with 11 points and Calvin Epistola with 10 points. Conversely, leading scorers for the Voyageurs included Kadre Gray with 14 points and Joseph Hlady with six points.
The second half had an atmosphere suited for the playoffs as two heavy contenders once again, went toe-to-toe to assert their dominance over the other. The Gee-Gees outscored the Voyageurs by just one point (16-15) in the quarter and led 51-42 at its end. But to the credit of the Voyageurs, they started the fourth quarter strong, courtesy of three three point buckets by the OUA's leading scorer, Kadre Gray, to cut the lead to just two with 8:58 remaining in the match. This back and forth tussle would continue into the later stages of the quarter as the Voyageurs would come close within striking distance of tying the game but the Gee-Gees would sink their next few buckets to halt the Voyageur charge. In the dying minutes, frustrations erupted between both teams and the Gee-Gees got hot from beyond the arc as Calvin Epistola and Kevin Civil drained three point buckets to seal the deal for the Gee-Gees.
The Voyageurs finish the first half of the regular season with a record of 8-3 and are ranked as the eighth best team in Canada; a feat worthy of them holding their heads up high. They are back in action after the Christmas break on January 10th when they host the aforementioned Ottawa Gee-Gees at Ben Avery Gymnasium at 8 pm.
Wali Khan