QUEBEC CITY – Senior
Tychon Carter-Newman of Brampton, Ont., scored a season-high 25 points and team captain
Vincent Dufort added a "double-double" as No.8-ranked McGill erased a massive 23-point second-half deficit and rallied for a 69-68 road win at Laval in men's basketball before 900 fans at the Amphithéâtre Desjardins, Friday.
It was McGill's 14th victory in their last 17 confrontations with the Rouge et Or, who had a last-ditch chance to force overtime. With no time remaining on the clock, senior
Laurier Beaulac-Dufresne went to the foul-line needing to make both shots but he missed on his first freebie.
The game was a physical affair that featured 41 personal fouls and 40 trips to the charity stripe. McGill sunk 11 of 19 from the line and Laval put away 13 of 21 from the charity stripe.
When the dust settled, the Redmen found themselves in sole possession of first-place in the RSEQ conference with a 10-4 record, while third-place Laval dropped to 6-8 and are tied for third with two games remaining in regular season play.
"We were struggling for three quarters but hung on and finally found our groove in the fourth quarter," said McGill head coach
David DeAveiro. "We got some momentum, defended really well and regained our confidence which changed the whole complexion of the game."
Indeed.
The Rouge et Or led 21-16 after the opening quarter and bumped that up to 37-23 by halftime. The third quarter began in similar fashion as Laval continued to pad their lead, going up 56-35 by the 3:29 mark of the period. But the sleeping giant finally awoke. McGill managed to narrow the gap to 58-43 heading into the final stanza, then outscored Laval 26-10 to stun the Quebec City faithful.
Dufort, a 6-foot-4 forward from Smiths Falls, Ont., was the second half spark-plug for the Redmen. He scored all 18 of his points after the break including several key buckets down the stretch. In total he was 6-for-12 from the floor with a pair of three-pointers. The physical education major also pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds and went 4-for-5 from the charity stripe.
Teammate
Noah Daoust also impressed in the second half, where he collected a dozen of his 15 points. The 6-foot-7 centre from Dorval, Que., came off the bench and in just 19 minutes of court time, shot six of 11 from the field with a long-range bomb and had a 2-for-2 performance from the line .
Meanwhile, Carter-Newman was the lone bright spot for McGill in the first half. He carried the load, scoring 15 of their 23 points first-half points. The Laurentian transfer who is a master's student in urban planning, added 10 in the second half. He was 10-for-20 from the floor including a 1-for-5 effort from downtown and sunk four of six from the line in a team-high 36 minutes.
"When we were stuggling in the first half, he was the only guy that got it going for us," noted DeAveiro. "He was getting to the rim and getting most of our buckets.When nobody else could get into a rhythym, he was the only one doing it for us."
Laval teammates
Thibaud Dezutter, Alexandre Leclerc and
Charles-Andre Edorh each tallied 15 points in a losing cause.
The Redmen held an impressive 40-25 difference in rebounds, while Laval won the turnover battle 20-13 aided by their 9-4 advantage in the steal department. McGill shot 40.6 per cent from the floor (26/64) and connected on six of 19 attempts from three-point range. Laval shot 41.4 (24/58) and went 7-for-19 from beyond the arc.
Both teams will have just over a week off until their next competition. Laval (6-8) travels to Montreal, Feb. 27, to take on UQAM (6-7) in what will be a crucial game to determine third place. On the same day, McGill will host last-place Bishop's (3-10) in Love Competition Hall with tip-off schedule for 4 p.m. in a game that will be streamed live on the
McGill Sports Network.
CIS BASKETBALL STANDINGSCIS SCORING LEADERS FOR FURTHER INFO CONTACT:
Ryne Bondy or
Earl ZukermanMcGill Sports Info Office
514-398-7012
