Box Score
HALIFAX, N.S. – Senior forward Sven Stammberger scored 20 points as the fifth-seeded Dalhousie Tigers used a 27-point fourth quarter to topple No. 3 McGill 69-63 in a tense Bronze Medal game at the ArcelorMittal Dofasco U SPORTS Men's Basketball championship tournament, Sunday, at the Scotiabank Centre.

Despite the loss, the fourth place finish ties McGill's best result ever at nationals dating back to 1977 where they also fell just shy of the podium.

CHAMPIONSHIP WEBSITE: http://en.usports.ca/championships/mbkb/index 

The Redmen appeared poised for victory with a 10-point lead early in the final quarter after a Francois Bourque layup. But Dalhousie quickly narrowed the gap scoring nine unanswered points to cut the deficit to 52-51 with six minutes left. Both teams then exchanged punches all the way until the one-minute mark when the Tigers got a layup followed by two missed free-throws by Bourque. On the next Redmen possession, Dele Ogundokun missed a deep three and they suddenly found themselves down 64-59 needing to foul with 34 seconds left. Dalhousie missed the subsequent free throws but got a key offensive rebound and drained the next two freebies to push it to a three-possession game. Senior point guard Jenning Leung made a late three but it was too little too late from the Redmen who turned the ball over seven times in the final frame.

"Yeah, I'm disappointed with today's outcome, admitted McGill head coach David DeAveiro."Dalhousie did a lot of things we couldn't handle today. Their press changed the whole style of the game and we didn't have an answer for it. It felt like they had seven guys on the court at times."

Stammberger, a 6-foot-6 science major playing before his hometown friends and family, had eight of his 20 points in the final quarter and also added five rebounds, two assists and two steals. He shot 7-for-15 from the floor, including 1-for-5 from three-point range and went 5-for-7 from the line.

Leung, a fourth-year psychology student from the Philippines, was named as McGill's player of the game and made the all-tournament team. He tallied a team-high 17 points. He was 5-for-7 from the field and 4-for-6 from downtown. He also went 3-for-4 from the line and was credited with two steals and an assist. Over the three games, he scored 43 points and seven rebounds while averaging 31.7 minutes per game with four assists, one block and two steals. He shot 43.8 per cent from the field (14/32), 44.0 from beyond the arc (11/25) and was 4-for-8 from the foul-line.
 
Bourque, a 6-foot-6 forward from Terrebonne, Que., was one rebound shy of "double-double" notching 14 points and seven rebounds. Teammate Michael Peterkin of Toronto also nearly posted a "double-double" scoring nine points and snagging 10 rebounds. While RSEQ player of the year Ogundokun had 13 points, four rebounds and three assists. 

McGill led 17-12 after the first quarter, 32-25 at the half and 50-42 going into the fourth before Dalhousie ignited the comeback.

"I've told them all along that we might not have the best accumulation of basketball players, but we've got the best team in my mind," Tigers head coach Rick Plato said post-game. "They care for one another and I just wanted it for them. These guys are going away in their last university game as winners and they're going to remember it for the rest of their life."

The Redmen had a 35-28 rebounding advantage but lost the turnover battle 21-9 which led to a 15-5 margin for Dalhousie in points off turnovers.

McGill shot a stellar 50 per cent from the floor (23/46) and went 8-for-18 from three-point range, while the Tigers shot 37 (20/54) and sank just two of nine treys. Dalhousie also got to the line an incredible 37 times knocking down 27 attempts compared to just 9 of 13 for the Redmen.

The third-place finish was the best result in men's basketball history for Dalhousie, who finished fourth at last year's championship.
 

Championship MVP

Kaza Kajami-Keane, Carleton

 

Championship All-Star Team

Connor Wood, Carleton

Kaza Kajami-Keane, Carleton

Adkia Peter-McNeilly, Ryerson

Connor Wood, Ryerson

Kashrell Lawrence, Dalhousie

Jenning Leung, McGill

STAT LEADERS
 
Official Boxscore: http://en.usports.ca/championships/mbkb/2017/boxscores_champ/20170312_i2rh.xml
 
DAL: 13-12-17-27: 69 
MCG: 17-15-18-13: 63 
 
Dalhousie
Points: Sven Stammberger (20), Jordan Aquino-Serjue (10)
Rebounds: Jarre Reid (5) 
Assists: Ritchie Kanza Mata (5) 
 
Player of the game: Sven Stammberger 
 
McGill 
Points: Jenning Leung (17), Francois Bourque (14) 
Rebounds: Michael Peterkin (10) 
Assists: Dele Ogundokun (3) Francois Bourque (3)  
 
Player of the game: Jenning Leung    
 
SCHEDULE & RESULTS (All times AT)
 
Thursday, March 9
Quarter-final 1: No.2 Carleton 85, No.7 Calgary 69
Quarter-final 2: No.3 McGill 63, No.6 Manitoba 53
Quarter-final 3: No.1 Ryerson 79, No.8 Saint Mary's 70
Quarter-final 4: No.4 No.5 Dalhousie 67, Alberta 65
 
Friday, March 10
Consolation 1: Calgary 92, Manitoba 84
Consolation 2: Saint Mary's 98, Alberta 93 (OT)
 
Saturday, March 11
Semifinal 1: Carleton 74, McGill 58 
Semifinal 2: Ryerson 59, Dalhousie 58
5th-place game: Calgary 96, Saint Mary's 65
 
Sunday, March 12
BRONZE: Dalhousie 69, McGill 63
GOLD: Carleton 78, Ryerson 69