MONTREAL –
Francois Bourque scored 17 points as seventh-ranked McGill closed out their regular season with a 75-69 victory over UQAM in men's basketball at Love Competition Hall, Saturday. It was the fifth straight victory for the Redmen, who at 12-4, will enter next week's RSEQ Final Four championship tournament as the No.1 seed.
The dozen regular season wins by McGill was their most since going 14-2 in 2013-14 and their second-highest total since 2001-02 when they posted a 12-3 record.
Bourque, a 6-foot-6, 197-pound accounting junior, was an efficient 8-for-15 from the field but struggled from the charity stripe, going only 1-for-6. The native of Terrebonne, Que., also added seven rebounds, two blocked shots, one assist and a steal.
McGill led 19-9 after the opening quarter and 36-27 at halftime. UQAM mounted a comeback attempt in the third -- outscoring their hosts 26-20 -- but the Redmen maintained composure to carry a slight 56-53 advantage into the final frame. The Citadins continued to give McGill their best shot down the stretch and found themselves down by only two with 80 seconds remaining. A key layup by
Dele Ogundokun and free-throws by
Vincent Dufort sealed the game as the Redmen were able to go wire-to-wire, never giving up the lead.
"I wasn't disappointed with our effort but was with our decision-making," said
David DeAveiro, who was coaching his 199th game behind the McGill bench, where he has guided the team to four consecutive first-place finishes and posted a 116-83 record overall since taking the helm six years ago, including a stellar 68-28 mark in regular-season play.
"We turned the ball over too much in the first half (committing 11 of their 16 miscues) and let them back into the game... But down the stretch, with the shot clock running down, we maintained our composure. We did miss a couple of key free-throws there but also got a couple of big offensive rebounds."
Dufort contributed 13 points
along with nine rebounds, three assists and one block. The fifth-year forward from Smiths Falls, Ont., was honoured pre-game in a "Senior Day" celebration along with master's student
Tychon Carter-Newman, a fifth-year transfer from Laurentian, who scored nine points along with four assists, three blocks and a pair of rebounds.
"We started strong with our two seniors, then when we went to the bench, our defence struggled a bit," noted DeAveiro. "But down the stretch, both of them were on the floor where they needed to be and both made some good plays to help us win."
Ogundokun, a 6-foot-2 junior guard from Hamilton Ont., and
Jenning Leung, a psychology junior from the Philippines, also reached double figures with 11 points apiece.
The Redmen shot 44.8 per cent from the floor (30/67) and sank seven of 20 three-pointers, while UQAM shot 35.1 (26/74) and netted just three of 18 from beyond the arc. McGill had a 41-28 rebounding advantage but lost the turnover battle 16-10.
Kewyn Blain of St. Leonard, Que., scored a game-high 27 points and was the only member of the Citadins to reach double figures. He went 11-for-22 from the floor and 5-for-7 from the foul-line. He also had five assists, four rebounds and a pair of steals.
Both teams will have five days of rest before kicking-off their RSEQ Final Four appearance at McGill's Love Competition Hall on Friday, March 11. The Redmen (12-4) will host fourth-seeded Laval (7-9) in one sudden-death semifinal at 6 p.m. while second-place Concordia (10-6) will confront third-seeded UQAM (7-9) at 8 p.m. Both semifinal victors advance to the Quebec conference championship game on Saturday, March 12 at 7 p.m. Advance tickets can be purchased
online.
"It's going to be hard, a tough challenge against Laval," predicted DeAveiro, whose troops defeated the Rouge et Or 82-80 and 69-58 at home and split their two games in Quebec City, losing 73-52 and winning 69-68. "We beat them three times in four meetings but our wins were by close scores and they have the point spread on us (by a 279-272 margin). They're a very good team and well-coached.
"I don't think we're quite where we want to be just yet. We've got some work to do in the coming week, in terms of tightening things up and having the guys taking care of their bodies. Given that it's the end of the season, we're a bit sore and banged up but we need to be ready to go next Friday."
REDMEN RAP: The Redmen ended up leading the nation in offensive rebounding with an average of 15.6 per game... They were 30th in defensive rebounds (26.4 rpg) and 11th in total rebounding (41.9 rpg)... McGill had the third stingiest defence in the CIS, allowing 65.7 points per game and the 31st best offence (72.9 ppg)... McGill has now won 14 of their past 17 contests against the Citadins and holds a 32-23 head-to-head advantage overall, including a 19-9 home record.
FOR FURTHER INFO CONTACT:
Ryne Bondy or
Earl ZukermanMcGill Sports Info Office
514-398-7012
