A second half reversal of fortunes saw the University of Toronto Varsity Blues men’s team fall to the visiting Ottawa Gee-Gees 80-72 in front of a boisterous crowd at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym on Friday, February 6th.

The Blues loss to the No. 3 Gee-Gees was their first home loss of the season (8-1), falling to 12-6 on the season.

Toronto’s opening quarter was intense. As a team, the Blues shot 55% from the floor and went 3-for-4 from behind the arc highlighted by a Rob Paris three-pointer from way downtown and two Ahmed Nazmi jumpers that dropped just as the shot clock expired.

The Blues maintained their early lead with solid defensive pressure as the squad held Ottawa’s leading scorer, Josh Gibson-Bascombe (Toronto), to two first-half points and kept Gee-Gees off the defensive glass with some hustle and muscle.

Despite taking a 39-36 lead at the end of one, Toronto only managed 11 third quarter points and saw their lead quickly fall and after the opening 10 minutes of the second half, Toronto found themselves on the wrong end of a 14-point swing.

The Blues out-shot and out-rebounded the Gee-Gees, 44-31, however, 19 turnovers and 6-for-11 (53%) shooting from the free-throw line would ultimately tell the tale of this evening’s turn of events.

Nazmi (Cairo, Egypt) named Blues player of the game led all scorers with 22 points and also had a game-high nine rebounds. Paris (St. Catharines, Ont.), Pat Sewell (London, Ont.) and Anthony DeGiorgio (Toronto) each hit double figures for the Blue and White, notching 18, 11 and 10 points respectively.

Dax Dessureault had a team-high 19 points and six rebounds (all offensive), while Syracuse-transfer Josh Wright tallied 16 and Josh Gibson-Bascombe and Donnie Gibson added 14 apiece in the win.

The Varsity Blues are back in action tomorrow night as they take on the No. 1 Carleton Ravens. Tip off is schedule for 8 p.m. in the Athletic Centre Sports Gym.