Box Score It became obvious very early on that the McMaster men's basketball team was in trouble as the Ottawa Gee-Gees opened the game shooting at a torrid pace and defeated the Marauders in the OUA Final-Four 101-68.  

The domination started early as McMaster struggled at both ends.  Ottawa knocked down five treys in the opening quarter and the Marauders showed their nerves at being on the big stage and went 0 for 6 from the free throw line.   After 10 minutes Ottawa was in control 31-15 and the deficit only grew.

The halftime score was 57-33 with Ottawa putting on a shooting clinic and McMaster unable to get any sustained scoring or stop the barrage of three-point shots.

The second half was more of the same as the Gee-Gees smelled blood in the water, and the Marauders were just chum.  

McMaster cleared the bench early in the fourth quarter, with an eye toward the bronze medal game on Saturday.

As Sportsnet commentator Paul Jones commented, "Every team has off nights like this, but McMaster had it happen at the worst possible time."

Ottawa dominated the statistics with All-Canadian Johnny Berhanemeskel leading the attack with 26 points.  McMaster got 14 points each from Nathan McCarthy and Trevon McNeil to lead the scoring parade.

Despite the beatdown, the Marauders still have something to play for as the winner of the bronze medal contest will assume the host position at the CIS Tournament in Ottawa, because Carleton defeated Windsor 84-71  in the first semi-final to move into the OUA final.

So the winner of the bronze medal game between McMaster and Windsor will advance to the nationals, meaning the Marauders need to forget the Ottawa game and get ready to face their division rival in a crucial game.   Tip-off for the bronze medal game is set for 4 p.m. at Ryerson's Mattamy Centre.