KINGSTON, Ont. (February 11, 2017)- The Queen's Gaels men's basketball team fell to the U SPORTS No. 3 ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees on Saturday night at the Athletics and Recreation Centre, dropping a 72-50 decision.
 
Sukhpreet Singh tallied a game-high 16 points, and Isse Ibrahim added 10 points and four rebounds. Tanner Graham picked up eight points and seven boards for the Gaels (6-12) while Brody Maracle tallied a team-best 15 to help the Gee-Gees improve to 15-2.
 
GAME FLOW
Matt Plunket helped paced the guests to a 15-10 lead midway through the opening quarter with three baskets from beyond the arc. Brandon Robinson then picked up a quick lay-up after a Gaels turnover led to a fast-break, but Russell Winters (Long Island, NY) responded with a basket in the post to keep Queen's within striking distance. The men would face a 24-17 deficit after one quarter of play.
 
After the Gee-Gees went up by double-digits in the second, Winters used a three-point play to cut the lead down to 10, and Ibrahim (Toronto) picked up a running lay-up off the glass soon after to help the Gaels keep pace. The men shot 40% (12-30) in the half, but surrendered six three-pointers to Ottawa, which helped the guests to a 39-27 lead at the break.
 
The Gee-Gees went on a 7-2 run to begin the second half, extending their lead to 17. Ibrahim tried to get some momentum going for the Gaels, following up a block with an ankle-breaking dribble penetration for two points. Singh (Toronto) hit a jumper, and Graham (Kingston) strung a pass through to Ibrahim for a lay-up that cut the deficit to 14. Queen's still faced an uphill battle heading into the fourth quarter down by 18.
 
Graham came up with a big rejection, and four quick points from the Gaels just 30 seconds into the fourth cut the Ottawa lead to 14. The Gee-Gees responded with six in a row and held a 20-point advantage through the middle portion of the fourth, and Queen's could not muster a comeback bid in the remaining minutes.
 
FINAL SAY
"I thought there were some good things defensively," said head coach Stephan Barrie. "To hold a team like that to 72 points gives you a chance. Generally I've been happy with our defensive play the last couple of weeks. We also held Ryerson to 72 points on the road, and despite the last few minutes last night we had Carleton at bay in the second half. Defensively we're getting into a good place."
 
"Right now offensively we are not shooting the ball very well. We have to try and fight through that. As we head into our last week, we have to try and find our rhythm shooting the ball and put more points up on the board."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
35.1%- The Gaels shot 20-of-57 for a 35.1% field-goal efficiency
2- The men managed just two three-point baskets, and were well below their season average from range
1- Sukhpreet Singh has scored 10 points or more in all but one conference game this season
 
UP NEXT
The Gaels end the regular season next Friday, February 17 when they host the York Lions at the ARC. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m.