Box Score Against one of the perennial contenders in the OUA – the Ottawa Gee Gees – the Nipissing Lakers men's basketball team had their work cut out for them Friday night.

The Gee Gees enter the game with just two losses, while the Lakers are currently holding down the final playoff spot in the East Division.

In the first of two meetings this weekend in North Bay, the Lakers went toe-to-toe with one of the league's better squads, but came up short, losing 69-58.

After a slow start, Nipissing stormed back to cut into their deficit and trailed by just three, 20-17, after the opening quarter.

Midway through the second quarter, the Lakers trailed by four, 25-21, but were hanging around with a strong Gee Gees team.

Both teams added points down the stretch of the first half, but it was the Gee Gees who took a 32-25 advantage into the halftime break.

Ottawa continued extend their lead, but only by a few, late in the third quarter.

With 2:30 left in the quarter, the Lakers are down 44-33.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Lakers trailed by just two and actually took the lead shortly after.

Midway through the quarter, Nipissing took the lead thanks to an impressive run.

They led 53-52, but were unable to hold on to the advantage as Ottawa stormed back.

The Gee Gees outscored Nipissing 17-5 down the stretch to take the lead and pick up a hard-fought victory.

Muktar Mohamed had a strong night, scoring 17 points, Nick Gehlen had 14 and D'Andre Johnson added 13 in the loss.

The two teams are back at Saturday afternoon, with tip-off set for 4:30pm at the RJ Surtees Athletic Centre.