Box Score
MONTREAL -- Jenning Leung, a senior from the Philippines, scored 16 points as McGill slayed the Farleigh Dickinson University Knights 76-69 in men's preseason basketball at Love Competition Hall, Saturday.

It marked McGill's second consecutive victory over an NCAA Div. 1 squad -- on the heels of a 69-62 win over Florida A&M on Aug. 16 -- a feat last accomplished in the 2011 preseason, when the Redmen knocked off both New Hampshire (77-74) and Niagara (78-71).

The Knights, who hail from Teaneck, N.J., won the 10-team Northeast Conference championship last season. After winning the NEC, they were placed in the NCAA Tournament's East Regional, where they succumbed to Florida Gulf Coast. The NEC Tournament title and NCAA Tournament berth were the first for FDU in 11 years.

McGill led 18-17 after the opening quarter but the Knights forced a 42-42 deadlock heading into halftime. The Knights scored the first two baskets of the third quarter to grab an early four-point lead, but McGill responded with a 20-2 run to take a 62-48 advantage and ended up with a 62-52 lead heading into the final stanza. McGill's bench had a productive day, outscoring FDU's subs by a 26-20 margin.

"We talked at halftime about taking care of the ball a little bit more," said McGill head coach David DeAveiro, who for the second straight game, went with five primary starters after deploying a five-man rotation through the first three exhibition games against NCAA teams. "It was important to give our first five some rest in the second quarter because it was really hot (in the gym) and we wanted them to be fresh for the third quarter. I thought that our bench did a really good job for us. It was a complete team effort today."

Leung, a 6-foot-1, 165-pound point guard, shot 6-for-16 from the field, including a 4-for-11 effort from three-point range. He was also credited with three rebounds, three assists, a pair of steals and a blocked shot. He was one of four Redmen players to reach double figures in scoring, along with junior Noah Daoust (12), senior Sebastian Beckett (11) and sophomore Isaiah Cummins (10). Senior Francois Bourque, playing with facial protection after suffering two broken noses last year, just missed a "double-double" with nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

The Knights had three players in double figures. Mike Holloway, a 6-foot-7, 245-pound sophomore from Pittsgrove, N.J., led the way with a game-high 20 points, while teammates Darian Anderson and Darnell Edge collected 11 apiece.

For the fifth straight preaseson game, McGill utilized a plethora of three-point shooting, connecting on 14 of 37 from beyond the arc. The 37 attempts was a single-game school record. Over the five games, the Redmen have attempted a whopping 156 shots from downtown, connecting on 48 of them for a stellar 40.3 per cent success rate.

FDU went inside and scored 41 points in the paint. The Redmen held a 41-32 edge in rebounding, a 3-2 margin in blocks and a 7-5 edge in steals. They committed 16 turnovers, one more than FDU. McGill shot 37.5 per cent from the field (24/64) and 63.6 from the foul-line (14/22), compared to the Knights, who shot 43.1 (28/65), made just 3 of 17 from the arc and drained just 10 of 19 from the line.

"Playing these NCAA teams in August is a good opportunity for us to see our kids play," noted DeAveiro. "Our guys want to play these games, so we set them up in advance of our regular schedule. Anytime you can beat an NCAA Div. 1 team, it's good for our program, it's good for our guys beause they work hard to prepare for these games. And it definitely helps in our recruiting as well."

The Knights (0-1) will conclude their five-day, two-game cross-border tour with an exhibition game on Aug. 21 at Brebeuf College, where they will play against Brookwood Elite, a local squad of NCAA selects and professional players. Tip-off is 3 p.m.

The Redmen (2-3), now get an extended nine-week break after reporting to training camp a month early. McGill will host their annual Redbird Classic men's and women's tournament, Oct. 21-23. The men's side of the draw will feature McMaster, Laurentian, UBC-Okanagan and McGill.

REDMEN RAP: McGill has been without the services of two key seniors throughout the preseason: Dele Ogundokun of Hamilton, Ont., -- a two-time conference award winner as defensive player of the year -- and Michael Peterkin, a 6-foot-7 guard from Toronto. Both have summer jobs and were unable to report early to training camp.

SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Communications Officer
McGill Sports Info office
(514) 398-7012
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca