There's no doubt the Nipissing Lakers men's basketball team is on the way up in the OUA, but a few bounces here and there have worked against them in recent games.

Saturday night, looking to bounce back after a tough loss Friday, the Lakers came up short against one of the top teams in the country – the Ottawa Gee Gees.

The Gee Gees scored a 79-63 win over the Lakers, as they used a big first half to pave the way to the win.

The Lakers trailed 23-18 after one and 47-35 at halftime, but were very much in the game against one of the veteran teams in the OUA.

The difference between the veteran Gee Gees and the young Lakers is easy to see, but the compete level was there every minute of the way for the Lakers.

In the third quarter, Ottawa extended their lead by seven and while Nipissing was able to close the gap in the fourth quarter, they ran out of time as Ottawa hung on for the victory.

Nipissing proved, however, they could hang with the top teams and although they have work to do, they can at least rest knowing things are coming and they are heading in the right direction.

Jordon Campbell led the way with 16 points, Justin Shaver put up 15 points and eight rebounds and Kalil Langston scored 10 for Nipissing.

They wrap up their first semester schedule on the road against Waterloo Friday and Laurier Saturday, before hitting the Christmas break.