KELOWNA, B.C. – The Ottawa Gee-Gees posted an unbeaten record to top the table at the Heat Fall Classic, hosted by the UBC Okanagan Heat men's basketball team, this weekend at the UBCO Gymnasium.
 
The Gee-Gees, the reigning OUA Champions and U SPORTS bronze medalists, were dominant in their three games, winning by an average of 24 points per game. That included a 90-66 victory in a highly-anticipated matchup with the St. Francis Xavier X-Men, the reigning AUS Champions and U SPORTS silver medalists, on Saturday afternoon.
 
In that contest, the Gee-Gees and X-Men went toe-to-toe in the opening half but Ottawa took control at the break, leading by eight.
 
Ottawa began to pull away in the third quarter, outscoring the StFX by 10 and put the game to bed with a comfortable fourth quarter.
 
The star of the show in the matchup was Justin Ndjock-Tadjore of Gatineau, Que., who came off the bench to post an impressive 23 points and six rebounds.
 
StFX would finish the tournament 2-1 as they comfortably handled the Mount Royal Cougars 110-80 before dispatching the host Heat 90-73 in the final game of the tournament on Sunday.
 
The Trinity Western Spartans matched the X-Men with a 2-1 mark, including wins over UBCO and Mount Royal, while the Cougars finished 1-2.
 
UBCO, who were missing a number of starters for much of the tournament, went winless in four games but hung tough with national contenders Ottawa and StFX for much of those matchups.
 
Third-year guard Jalen Shirley of Brampton, Ont., had one of the performances of the tournament, scoring 26 points while adding two rebounds and two assists against the Gee-Gees. Leon Schenker of Vernon, B.C., and newcomer Jas Dhudwal of Surrey, B.C., had strong games against the X-Men with Schenker posting 17 points and Dhudwal adding a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds.
 
Up next for UBCO, they will head to Montreal to take part in the McGill Basketball Classic to wrap up their preseason schedule. The Heat will face the Toronto Varsity Blues, the Dalhousie Tigers and the McGill Redmen during the three-day tournament.