The trip to Ottawa has become a tough one in recent years, and the McMaster men's basketball team did not start this year's excursion the way they wanted, dropping a 106-83 contest to the hometown Ottawa Gee-Gees.

In what was a clash of two teams ranked in the CIS top-four, the Gee-Gees shot the ball exceedingly well from long range and pulled away from the Marauders in the second-half to secure the big win.

McMaster trailed for the entire game, giving up a whopping 32 points in the first quarter.  The Ottawa lead at halftime was 55-43 and by the end of the third quarter, it had grown to 83-63.   The Marauders made a rally in the final quarter to get within 13 at 87-74, but no closer.

Top shooter for McMaster was Adam Presutti with 20, while Rohan Boney scored 18.   Ottawa had six players score in double-figures, led by Caleb Agada's 24.

Things don't get easier for the Marauders as they move on to face the nation's top-ranked Carleton Ravens on Saturday night at the Raven's nest.