The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's basketball team fell 77-71 to the No. 7 Ottawa Gee-Gees on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 5) at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.

TORONTO STATS: Fourth-year guard Christopher Barrett registered a career-high 23 points, while fellow guard Evan Shadkami chipped in with 11 points, three rebounds and three assists.
Fourth-year forward Nikola Paradina grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds and added six points on the day.

HOW IT HAPPENED: Barrett recorded the Blues first eight points of the contest, to help them get out to an early 13-2 advantage. Ottawa responded with a 13-4 streak to only trail 17-15 after the opening 10 minutes. Toronto outscored the Gee-Gees 15-13 in the second quarter to head into the locker room up 32-28. Barrett led all scorers with 13 points in the opening half.

The two teams continued to go punch for punch after the break, but this time the Gee-Gees took the round 19-17. The Blues remained in front though, 49-47, after three quarters. Ottawa started the fourth on a 10-2 run to take the lead for the first time in the afternoon, and they didn't look back.

UP NEXT: The Blues are back in action tomorrow afternoon (Jan. 6) at home against the No. 1 Carleton Ravens. Tip off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m., at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.

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