Queen's Men's Basketball opened their home slate of games Friday night, hosting the rival Ottawa Gee-Gees at the Athletics and Recreation Centre (ARC), and dropping a close contest 100-82.

The contest was tight through the first three quarters, with the Gaels trailing by just three points after the first quarter and four points at half time. Queen's outscored the Gee-Gees in the third quarter but Ottawa would pull away late, outscoring the Gaels by 16 down the stretch on their way to the 18-point victory.

Queen's had three players score in double digits in the loss, with Ollie Engen (Kinesiology) leading the way with a team-high 20 points, while Lucas Ponting (Commerce) added 15 points and Kai Dalen (Arts) pouring in 11 points off the bench.

Queen's shot 46 per cent from the floor and 27 per cent from three-point range, compared to 49 per cent shooting from the floor for the Gee-Gees, and 33 per cent from three-point range.

With the loss, the Gaels' record fell to 1-3 on the season, while Ottawa improved to 4-1 with the win. Queen's will close out their weekend homestand hosting the Ottawa teams, taking on the Carleton Ravens Saturday at 8 PM at the ARC. Tickets for the rivalry game are on sale now on the Queen's Gaels tickets website.