Box Score CAMBRIDGE, Mass –
Zena Edosomwan, a junior from Los Angeles, Calif., scored a game-high 21 points and collected 11 rebounds as the Harvard Crimson defeated McGill 66-63 in a tightly contested cross-border men's preseason confrontation between NCAA and CIS basketball teams at Lavietes Pavilion, Saturday.
It was a season-opening exhibition game for Harvard, a storied NCAA Div. 1 squad that plays in the Ivy League. McGill, no slouch on the world stage either, was recently ranked, for the 11th year in a row, by Maclean's magazine as the top university in Canada among institutions with medical schools and a broad range of PhD programs.
Vincent Dufort, a senior from Smiths Falls, Ont., tallied 12 points to lead the Redmen, who dropped to 0-4 against NCAA opponents this year. Dufort, who shot 5-for-10, also pulled down a game-high nine rebounds, to go along with a pair of assists in 28 minutes of court time.
Teammates
Isaiah Cummins and
Noah Daoust also reached double digits in scoring, with 10 points apiece.
Harvard led 39-32 at the half before McGill put forth their best comeback effort, outscoring the Crimson 31-27 in the final half. The Redmen were within one point with 20 seconds left until Harvard knocked down two free throws to extend the lead to three with 14 seconds remaining.
Jenning Leung had a chance to send it to overtime for McGill, but his buzzer-beater came up short.
The Crimson had an edge in shooting, making 25 of 54 attempts from the field (46.3 per cent), including 4-for-14 from three-point range. They went to the free-throw line 21 times and came away with 12 freebies. McGill responded with 37.7 per cent from the floor (26/69) and 29.2 per cent from downtown (7/24). The Redmen only made six trips to the charity stripe converting four attempts.
Harvard held a 34-29 margin in rebounding and an 8-1 difference in blocks. Both teams committed 15 miscues and had seven steals while the Crimson had a 14-11 advantage in assists.
McGill will now return home and switch their focus towards conference play and their season opener Nov. 14 versus Bishop's University in Lennoxville, Que. Harvard, which featured four Canadians on their roster, will have their first NCAA test Nov.13 at home versus MIT.
FOR MORE INFO:
Ryne Bondy &
Earl ZukermanMcGill Sports Info Office
514-398-7012
