MONTREAL -- Alexandre Leclerc of Saguenay, Que., scored a game-high 17 points and pulled down seven rebounds as visiting Laval pulled away down the stretch to outlast No.7 ranked McGill 70-63 at Love Competition Hall, Wednesday, as the RSEQ men's basketball schedule resumed after a month-long break.

In a dog-fight that featured nine lead changes, the Redmen led 18-14 after the first quarter and took a slim 35-33 edge into halftime. But the unranked Rouge et Or rallied, overcoming an 11-point deficit late in the second to edge McGill 18-15 in the third and 19-13 in the final stanza.

Dele Ogundokun registered a "reverse double-double" in a losing cause for the Redmen. The 6-foot-2 senior guard from Hamilton, Ont., collected a dozen points and 14 rebounds. He was also credited with five assists and a pair of steals. Teammates Francois Bourque of Terrebonne, Que., and Noah Daoust of Dorval, Que., also reached double figures. Bourque led the squad with 15 points and Daoust added 11.

Laval's bench outscored McGill's subs by a 35-15 margin. The Rouge et Or held a 37-31 advantage in rebounds and a 9-6 margin in steals. McGill won the turnover battle 14-11 but coughed up a number of key miscues in the final quarter.

"We struggled with their aggressiveness on the ball and lost it a couple of times when we were bringing it up," said McGill head coach David DeAveiro. "They're an athletic, aggressive team but we knew that coming in. We have to take care of the ball and do a better job of running our offence. Not do too many things and not play at their pace. I thought today that we played at their pace in the fourth quarter."

Despite the intensity, the game featured only 35 trips to the free-throw line where both teams shot just 57.1 per cent. But Laval made seven more visits to the charity stripe and connected on 12 of 21 shots, while McGill was 8-for-14. The Redmen did not go to the line in the second half, while Laval was 6-for-14.

"It was a different kind of game, the referees let us play today," said DeAveiro. "Laval beat us on the glass and we weren't ready for that kind of physicality, that kind of aggressiveness. They deserved to win, they were the better team today."

Leclerc was one of three Laval players in double-digits. Marc-Andre Fortin of Quebec City and Montrealer Vladimir Thomas added 13 and 10, respectively, off the bench.

The two teams had entered the contest with identical 3-1 records in a three-way race with Concordia (3-2) atop the RSEQ conference standings. McGill, which won the season opener with Laval 62-61 at home, will now have to set their sights on sweep both remaining matchups in Quebec City -- or split the series while retaining a combined point-differential of at least +7 in those remaining contests. The battle resumes near the Plains of Abraham on Friday, Jan. 6 at 8 pm. The season finale is slated for Feb. 23.

REDMEN RAP: McGill lost the services of starting point-guard Kendrick Jolin, a 6-foot-2 freshman who appeared to suffer a strained calf muscle early in the third quarter. His status for Friday's rematch at Laval is uncertain.