QUEBEC CITY — The Winnipeg Wesmen played a full lineup and hung tough with the nation's No. 1 Thursday afternoon.

The Wesmen men's basketball team got a career-high 15 points off the bench from Elijah Mensah but couldn't close the gap late against the Ottawa Gee-Gees, dropping a 78-67 non-conference decision at the Laval Rouge et Or Tournament. 

Mensah shot 5-for-7 from the field, but the Wesmen largely struggled to shoot the ball against one of the country's top defensive teams. The Wesmen made 23 of 69 from the field and only six of 39 from three. 

Still, Winnipeg hung in for most of the first half before a key 10-0 Ottawa run pushed a 32-31 Gee-Gees edge to 42-31 with 2:27 to go in the half. The Wesmen were able to trim the lead to 44-38 at the half. The Wesmen further cut into the lead after Shawn Maranan made a jumper to bring Winnipeg to 54-51 down with 4:11 to go in the third. 

With the score 56-53, the Gee-Gees went on another big run, scoring 10 straight to put the game out of reach. 

Maranan finished with 12 points and Mikhail Mikhailov added 12 and 12 rebounds.

The Wesmen face the host Rouge et Or Friday at 5 p.m. (Live Stats)