University of Winnipeg

The Winnipeg Wesmen hung with one of the thoroughbreds of Canadian basketball before the Ottawa Gee-Gees provided one final kick.

Shawn Maranan had 17 points and five assists, but the Gee-Gees went on a 13-0 fourth-quarter run to pull away for a 70-61 win in the Wesmen Classic men's basketball championship Friday night at the Duckworth Centre. 

The No. 2-ranked Gee-Gees, the top defensive team in the country, held the Wesmen without a point for 4:01 of the fourth and broke a 53-all tie with their decisive run. 

Maranan was named a tournament all-star, as was teammate Donald Stewart. Malachi Alexander had 15 points and six rebounds, Alberto Gordo had 11 points off the bench, and Mikhail Mikhailov chipped in 11 rebounds.

Kevin Otoo, named a tournament all-star, had a game-high 18 points to lead the Gee-Gees. Guillaume Pepin, named tournament MVP, scored 17. Cole Newton and Brock Newton had 11 and 10, respectively.

The Wesmen outscored the Gee-Gees 36-26 on points in the paint and won the rebounding battle 40-39. 

But Ottawa got big makes at the most critical time with Pepin knocking down two threes and Otoo one, along with a fastbreak layup that capped the 13-0 spurt. 

"I think there was certainly some fatigue that accumulated," Wesmen head coach Mike Raimbault said. "There was a few stretches without whistles where I thought our execution could've been a bit better. But that's also the challenge of playing three games in three days and playing one of the top teams in the nation."