Box Score The McMaster men's basketball team dug itself into an early hole and ended up being humbled by the Ottawa Gee-Gees 79-59 on Friday night.

After Lazar Kojovic hit a three to open the game for McMaster, the Gee-Gees ripped off a 17-2 run to knock the Marauders on their heels and assume early control.   After 10 minutes, the Marauders did manage to claw back to within 10 at 21-11.

The second quarter started off well for Mac as Dave McCulloch, Connor Gilmore, and Kojovic made back-to-back-to-back treys to reduce the deficit to 23-20.  That was enough for Ottawa coach James Drouin, who took a timeout to stem the Mac momentum.  The Gee-Gees responded and immediately had the lead growing again, taking a 43-34 lead into intermission.

The third quarter saw Ottawa keep pushing at both ends, while playing from behind saw the Marauders continue to struggle.  By the end of the quarter, the Gee-Gees held a 62-42 lead.

The final 10 minutes saw the home team get the advantage up to as much as 26 points, before Ottawa cleared the bench and McMaster hit two late three-pointers to provide the final margin.

McMaster got a 19-point game from Gilmore, with Kojovic and McCulloch both scoring 11.  Ottawa was led by Jean-Pierre Charles with 21, but what really had to sting was the 17 scored by former Marauder guard Adam Presutti.

Things don't get any easier for McMaster as the Marauders will play the defending national champion Carleton Ravens on Saturday night to wrap up the first half of the OUA schedule.

The game at Carleton can be viewed online at OUA.tv