KINGSTON, Ont. (Feb. 11, 2022) - Queen's Men's Basketball lost their first game of the regular season Friday at the ARC, falling to the No. 3 ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees 77-63. It was the first game back for the Gaels (5-1) after the extended break due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

After the Gee-Gees built an early lead, outscoring Queen's 19-6 in the first quarter, the Gaels (No. 7) fought back to trail by just five points at half time. The game remained close until Ottawa pulled away late in the third quarter on their way to a 14-point win.

Quinton Gray (Richmond Hill, Ont.) led all scorers with 20 points on the night and fell one rebound shy of a double-double with nine. Cameron Bett (Staines-Upon-Thames, England) and Luka Syllas (Kingston, Ont.) also finished in double digits scoring for the Gaels with 13 and 10 points respectively.

The Gee-Gees were led by Guillaume Pépin, who finished with 16 points and seven rebounds.

Ottawa outshot Queen's, finishing 24-62 (38.7 per cent) from the floor and 8-21 (38.1 per cent) from three-point range, compared to 23-71 (32.4 per cent) from the floor and 6-26 (23.1 per cent).

The two teams meet again Saturday at 8 p.m. in Ottawa, Ont. in the back half of a home-and-home series.