OTTAWA – Sometimes teams match-up with each other and sometimes they don't.  The Ottawa Gee-Gees and Bishop's Gaiters men's basketball teams have a knack for drama. Saturday evening's U SPORTS Championships consolation semifinal was no different as Guillaume Pepin knocked down what ended up being the winning three-pointer with 2.2 seconds remaining. That put Ottawa up 77-75 and propelled them to the win and Sunday's fifth-place game.
 
The loss ends the Gaiters' season.
 
RSEQ all-Star Nervens Demosthene (Terrebonne, Que./Cegep de Montmorency) was sensational in the loss.  He scored a game-high 27 points in 34 minutes.  Jordan Thornhill (Montreal, Que./John Abbott College) tallied a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds; he was the only other Gaiter in double figures.
 
Pepin and first-team all-Canadian Calvin Epistola led Ottawa with 15 points apiece. Kevin Civil and Thomas Chilton each had 10.
 
Ottawa shot the lights out in the first quarter going 8-12 from the floor but the Gaiters answered by connecting on 4-of-7 from behind the arc and they grabbed a three-point advantage when Joany Castor Thadal (Montreal, Que./Champlain Collge St-Lambert) connected at the buzzer.
 
The game went back and forth in the second stanza; ultimately Bishop's held a 40-38 lead at halftime.
 
After the break, Bishop's looked to grab momentum when the Ottawa bench was assessed a technical foul. A tighter third quarter saw Ottawa get to bonus with 6:20 remaining and Bishop's with 5:07 left. Thornhill picked up his fourth foul with 1:19 remaining and was forced to the bench.  Ottawa came out of the frame up 59-57.
 
The Gee-Gees went on an early run and grabbed their largest lead of the contest, 67-59 with 6:22 to go before the Gaiters chipped away. Demosthene completed the comeback when he connected on a three-pointer to put Bishop's up 71-69 with 2:41 remaining before the wild finish.  In the final 2:41 there was a tie and four lead changes capped by Pepin's heroics with 2.2 seconds left.
 
It was the rubber match for the teams in 2019-20 as Bishop's beat Ottawa in the preseason then the Gee-Gees topped the Gaiters in overtime at the UQAM Christmas Tournament.
 
Ottawa moves onto play Alberta in the fifth-place game on Sunday while the Gaiters season comes to a close.
 
Stay up-to-date anytime with the Bishop's Gaiters at www.gaiters.ca or by following @BishopsGaiters on Social media.
 
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