MONTREAL– Five Redmen reached double digits in scoring as No.6-ranked McGill cruised to a 79-66 home-court victory over Bishop's in men's university basketball Thursday, at Love Competition Hall.
The Redmen have now won 21 of their last 25 confrontations with Bishop's, who upset McGill in the league championship game last spring.
The win, which snapped McGill's three-game losing streak, improved their record to 6-3 and catapulted them into a three-way tie atop the RSEQ standings with Concordia (6-4) and Laval (6-5), although the Redmen have played fewer games.
McGill, which held a 26-16 advantage in turnovers that resulted in a 31-12 margin in points off miscues, led almost from start to finish. After falling behind on the first basket of the game, the home side never looked back and led 28-17 after the opening stanza. They then outscored Bishop's 16-13 in the second and 22-15 in the third. The Gaiters had a slight push down the stretch, outscoring their hosts 20-14, but never narrowed the gap closer than 13 points.
In their only previous meeting this season, a 94-68 road win on Nov. 14, all five Redmen starters reached double figures in scoring. This time, four Redmen starters managed to reach double digits, in addition to one more off the bench.
Dele Ogundokun, a shooting-guard from Hamilton, Ont., amassed 17 points to go along with seven rebounds and five steals, while
Vincent Dufort, the team captain from Smiths Falls, Ont., added 14 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Teammates
Tychon Carter-Newman and
Abdul Atta, both meriting their first starts of the season, had 13 and 10, respectively.
Michael Peterkin, a junior forward from Toronto, Ont., came off the bench to tally 12 points, seven rebounds, a pair of assists and one steal.
"When we move the ball well, everyone gets a chance to score," said McGill bench boss
David DeAveiro of his balanced attack. "We had two new guys in the starting line-up and they did a tremendous job of producing and making things happen."
The Gaiters had two of their own starters in double digits with
Abdul Kamane leading the way with 15 points and
Nick Harvey pitching in with a dozen.
McGill shot 39.2 per cent from the field (29/74), went 5-for-24 from three-point range and sank 16 of 22 from the line (72.7). Bishop's shot 46.4 per cent from the floor (26/56) and went 2-for-12 from beyond the arc. They drained 12 of 18 attempts from the line. The Redmen had a 36-28 edge in rebounds, including 14 under the offensive boards. McGill leads the nation in offensive rebounds with an average of 17.0 per game.
These two teams will meet again in less than 48 hours when McGill is on the road. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. at the Mitchell Gym in Lennoxville, Que. The game will be webcast at this
link.
FOR MORE INFO CONTACT:
Ryne Bondy or
Earl ZukermanMcGill Sports Info Office
514-398-7012
