Gaels dismantled on road

Trip to Ottawa ends in pair of dismal losses to first-place Ravens and second-place Gee-Gees

Guard Dan Bannister tries to drive past a McMaster defender during the Gaels’ 56-50 loss to the Marauders on Nov. 7.
Image supplied by: Journal File Photo
Guard Dan Bannister tries to drive past a McMaster defender during the Gaels’ 56-50 loss to the Marauders on Nov. 7.

The fourth-place men’s basketball team ended their road trip to Ottawa losing 74-58 to the first-place Carleton Ravens and 81-69 to the second-place University of Ottawa Gee-Gees. The Ravens hold a two point lead over the Gee-Gees in the OUA East, who themselves hold a 10-point lead over the University of Toronto Varsity Blues and Gaels.

Assistant coach Duncan Cowan said the Gaels had trouble creating offence in the Carleton game.

“We defended well but struggled offensively,” he said. “In the second quarter they made a run and got away from us a bit then it basically stayed there the rest of the game. They’re really tough, and they defend extremely well.”

While the Gaels picked up their offence in the second half, Cowan said Queen’s missed opportunities left them on the losing side of the decision.

“We matched baskets with them for basically most of the second half and we had a chance down nine with some free-throw shooting opportunities, and continued to miss pretty crucial free throws,” he said. “We went 0-for-3 in a stretch where we could have made it a much closer game. … Instead they came out and scored and ended up separating it.”

Cowan said the game against Ottawa could have gone better than it did, with the Gaels holding a lead and keeping the game tied with eight minutes left before the Gee-Gees unleashed an offensive strike Queen’s couldn’t handle.

“With Ottawa, we played great early. We were up pretty big in the first quarter, and then they came storming back a bit and again it was kind of traded the lead back and forth all the way through to the end of the third quarter,” he said, adding that Ottawa’s Josh Gibson-Bascombe made two contested three-pointers to turn the tide. “I don’t know if there’s too many other people in the country that could make [those plays] and I don’t know it you could necessarily defend it.”

With the closeness of the game, Cowan said the Gaels would be prepared to face the Gee-Gees or Ravens in the playoffs.

“If we got a chance to see Ottawa again in the semifinals and the playoffs we would have a chance to be pretty successful,” he said. “It’s frustrating in the sense that we were pretty close and we could have done some simple things to maybe be there this weekend, but certainly positive signs, particularly with Carleton. We made them compete.”

—With files from Craig Draeger

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