Ottawa Gee-Gees will keep shooting after near-disaster against Bishop's at CIS Final 8

Johnny Berhanemeskel and the Ottawa Gee-Gees are still standing, so there is that.

Once again, the shots didn't drop as they have for nigh on a season and a half for Ottawa, which needed 10-3 run in the final four minutes of regulation to escape from the lightly regarded Bishop's Gaiters 91-85 in overtime in the late quarter-final at the CIS Final 8. For 36-plus minutes, the Gaiters, who shot a season-best 10-of-21 from downtown, with Jona Bermillo hitting 6-of-10 threes on his way to a game-high 23 points, flat out outplayed Ottawa. Nevertheless, with Caleb Agada (22 points, nine rebounds) making a steal and two tying free throws with 10.5 seconds left, Ottawa prevailed to set up a Saturday night showdown vs. host Ryerson, which it has beaten seven consecutive times.

"I don't know how much worse offensively we can play, and at times defensively," said Berhanemeskel, who scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter as Ottawa rallied. "We'll watch that tape [Friday] and attack where we can definitely improve. There's a lot of changes we can make. That was a really tough team defensively and they really pushed us. Ryerson's going to bring the same intensity Saturday night so it was a good wake-up call.

"I think there's an angel watching over our team because at times they [Bishop's] deserved that win," the CIS player of the year added. "Basketball doesn't always work that way and sometimes you squeeze out a win. I honestly think they just played good defence, we're going to have learn to make earlier decisions and play for each other offensively and once we find an opening, attack it and attack it so they have to rotate so we can play more of our style."

The Gaiters came in 10-15 after an injury-filled year, but the most important stat was having the biggest frontcourt in the Final 8 field with fifth-years Mike Andrews (6-foot-10), Majid Naji (6-11) and Matt McLean (6-9). Andrews, an imposing lefty in the low post, had 17 points and 18 rebounds. The upshot for the Gee-Gees is none of the other three remaining teams has that kind of size or length. So Ottawa will keep shooting and hope the dice are running hot.

"Our philosophy is if it's a good shot, you take it, whether you're 1-for-10 or you're 6-for-6, because we spend hours and hours and hours shooting the ball," Gee-Gees coach James Derouin said. "Sometimes you have to have faith in guys. I said, 'just keep shooting.' They're all great looks. When we're not making jump shots the experts will say, 'oh, you depend too much on the outside shot.' In the end, that's how we play. That's how we got here. You can't change your identity in the middle of the game and made shots when they mattered.

"We'll get up our shots on Friday," Derouin added. "A team shoots 41 per cent from the three-point line over an entire season in the OUA, we don't have to change anything. We just have to relax and make our shots. If we played that game again I'd give all those guys all those open shots again. In terms of the percentages, you would think the next game that we're due. I'm going to go with that."

The ugly numbers on the stat sheet mostly belonged to Ottawa, aside from the No. 3 seed forcing the No. 6-seeded Gaiters to commit 28 turnovers.

"We survived 24 per cent shooting from three and they shoot 47 per cent from three and they outrebound by us by 21," Derouin said. "We miss 15 free throws [shooting 25-of-40]. What can you say? You do everything there to lose a game. We just fought and just made some big shots, some big free throws and picked up the pace in the fourth quarter. They played an amazing game. They probably deserved to win based on this stats sheet. They had fourth and fifth-year guys who didn't want to stop playing. They just willed it."

Bishop's shot above 40 per cent from three-point range only once during the Quebec conference regular season. Backed by a raucous rooting section of purple-clad alumni, they simply could not miss at times.

'Extremely questionable' call

If not for fifth-year guard Kyle Desmarais, a key ballhandler, fouling out, Bishop's might have hung on for the biggest Final 8 upset in years. The Gaiters had two turnovers in the final minute of regulation.

"They were aggressive with the trapping," Gaiters coach Rod Gilpin said of the Gee-Gees' late comeback. "I thought there might have been a couple of calls made. I thought the blocking call with 10 seconds to play [that led to Agada's tying free throws] was extremely questionable. It should have been a charge and it should have been game over. It seems everyone I talked to thought that was the call."

Bishop's impassioned effort, on the court and in the stands, made the night memorable.

"It's a fun atmosphere and good to be part of that stuff," Berhanemeskel said. "CIS basketball deserves that kind of atmosphere."

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.