MONTREAL -- Six McGill players reached double digits and
Vincent Dufort of Smiths Falls, Ont., posted a reverse "double-double" as the sixth-ranked Redmen defeated the UQAM Citadins 74-60 in men's university basketball at the Centre Sportif, Saturday.
The result avenged an 82-78 overtime upset loss to their cross-town rivals just two days earlier. McGill has now won 13 of the past 16 contests against the Citadins and holds a 31-23 head-to-head advantage overall, including a 13-14 road record at UQAM.
"We played much better (than Thursday)," said Redmen head coach
David DeAveiro. "We altered our game plan a little bit and tried to focus more on getting the ball inside and attacking the basket, as opposed to shooting from the outside."
Dufort, a 6-foot-4 physical education student, scored 13 points and collected 17 rebounds, all but one of them in the defensive zone. He shot 5-for-13 from the floor, including 1-for-4 from beyond the three-point arc, and sank half of his four free-throw attempts. He was also credited with three steals, three assists and a blocked shot.
"Vinny played very well," said DeAveiro of his fifth-year shooting guard and team captain. "We had him playing the point-guard position on offence and he did a good job, with (injured
Jenning Leung, the team's leading scorer) out tonight."
McGill led 21-13 after the opening quarter and 40-31 at halftime. UQAM mounted a comeback attempt in the third but the Redmen maintained composure to carry a 59-46 advantage into the final frame.
"When they made their run in the third quarter, we were able to sustain (control)," noted DeAveiro. "They got the lead down to six but we brought it right back up to 13."
McGill had a 52-35 rebounding advantage but lost the turnover battle 17-15. UQAM managed just five second-chance points and three treys, which DeAveiro credited to a strong defensive effort.
"Rebounds have always been one of the things we've been pretty good at this year, so we continue to emphasize that," he explained. "The question was about not giving them second opportunities to score.
"One of the things we did tonight that was a big difference was we really stopped their three-point shooting. They're a good three-point shooting team and we kept them to a low percentage tonight and it was (due to) a big emphasis on defence."
The Redmen shot 45.5 per cent from the floor (30/66) and sank four of 14 three-pointers, while UQAM shot 32.8 (21/64) and netted just three of 18 from beyond the arc.
Among the other Redmen in double digits was
Dele Ogundokun, a management junior from Hamilton, Ont., who contributed 14 points, along with five rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals.
Third-year accounting student
Francois Bourque, from the east-end suburb of Terrebonne, Que., scored 13 points and nabbed seven rebounds, while
Michael Peterkin of Toronto tallied a dozen points in 24 minutes of court-time off the bench. He also grabbed four rebounds, to go along with three steals and two assists. Sophomores
Jawara Pedican of Vaughan, Ont., and
Noah Daoust of Dorval, Que., each chipped in 10 points, with two steals and a pair of assists. Pedican also pulled down five rebounds while Daoust had three.
Marketing sophomore
Greishe Clerjuste of Montreal led the Citadins with a game-high 19 points and collected five rebounds. Teammate
Kewyn Blain of St. Leonard, Que., scored 13 points and went 9-for-12 from the charity stripe. He also had seven assists, four steals and a pair of defensive rebounds.
UQAM, which is 6-6 and tied with Laval (6-6), plays last-place Bishop's (2-10) on Feb. 12.
With only four regular-season games remaining, McGill moved into a first-place tie with Concordia. Both teams sit atop the RSEQ conference with identical 8-4 records. The Redmen will visit the archrival Stingers on Saturday, Feb. 13 in a 4 p.m. meeting that will likely decide first place.
FOR FURTHER INFO CONTACT
Kirsten Whelan or
Earl ZukermanMcGill Sports Info Office
(514) 398-7012
