The University of Ottawa Gee-Gees men’s basketball team knocked off the University of Victoria Vikes by a score of 78-70, earning them a spot in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) championship game March 9 against the Carleton Ravens.
The Gee-Gees dominated the Vikes in the first quarter and were up 23-11 heading into the second.
Vikes head coach Craig Beaucamp said he was very proud of the way his team kept battling to make it close later in the game.
“We obviously didn’t get off to a great start,” he said. “They’re a very good team, and we kind of got ourselves into the hole probably in the first quarter, and a little bit in the third quarter. The guys kept battling, found some ways to get stops, and found ways to manufacture points.”
The Gee-Gees hit six three-pointers in the first quarter and never lost the momentum they built. Fourth-year guard Johnny Berhanemeskel, the hero of the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Wilson Cup championship game, said he lost his cool on the bench during the game but was able to keep pushing.
“I thought I just dropped the ball,” he said. “I apologized later on in the game, but I didn’t want to lose that game today.”
Berhanemeskel had 24 points to lead the team.
In the second quarter, the Vikes started to climb out of their hole. Chris McLaughlin and Terrell Evans led the way for them.
Despite that, the Gee-Gees were still up by 12 points at the half. Derouin said they did a good job distributing their offence throughout the game.
“We got the ball moving from side-to-side a little bit,” he said. “We got Caleb [Agada] involved, got all our depth involved, and that’s when we were able to make the spread.”
The Gee-Gees were not as strong in the third quarter, allowing the Vikes to come back and draw within five points after playing the majority of the game down double-digits.
Beaucamp said he was impressed with their late-game comeback even though they could not complete it.
“Once we got our feet under us, got a little confidence, I thought we came back pretty strong,” he said.
With under four minutes to go in the fourth, Reiner Theil hit two three-pointers from either side of the court to keep the Vikes in the game.
The last few minutes of the game were exciting, with the Gee-Gees barely ahead of the Vikes every step of the way.
Berhanemeskel proved strong again in the clutch, scoring several late baskets to give the Gee-Gees a comfortable cushion in the dying minutes. The Vikes could not recover, and the Gee-Gees won to move on to a highly-anticipated rematch with the Ravens in the championship game.
Beauchamp said Berhanemeskel killed the Vikes at the end.
“He hits it at opportune times, and they’re tough shots,” he said. “That’s the kind of player he is, and that’s why he’s a great player.”
The Vikes will play the University of Alberta Golden Bears for the bronze medal at 10:30 a.m. March 9, while the Gee-Gees will take on the Carleton Ravens for the CIS crown at 2 p.m.
Derouin said his team needs to get rested in time to play the Ravens for the championship game after playing the late semifinal.
“I think that we have to look at what we did well last time and focus on that,” he said. “We also have to focus on recovery here. Getting some food, some water, some sleep. It’s a quick turn-around.”
