MONTREAL -- Jenning Leung scored 15 points and was one of four teammates in double digits as the McGill University men's basketball team cruised to an 82-65 victory over the UQAM Citadins at the RSEQ Final Four championship held in the Centre Pierre-Charbonneau, Saturday.

The Redmen not only claimed their fourth conference crown in five years but also qualified for the U SPORTS Final Eight national championship, which will take place in Halifax, N.S., March 9-12. They mimicked the Martlets, who had captured the conference title earlier in the day with a 63-51 win over Concordia. It marked the fourth time in five years that McGill had swept both the Quebec men's and women's titles after having never achieved the feat. And the icing on the cake was a third RSEQ championship when the Martlets skated to a 3-0 shutout at Concordia. It was the first time in school history that McGill had won the trifecta.
 
Leung shot 5-for-10 from the floor, including 2-for-6 from three-point range, and sank three of four free-throw attempts. The psychology senior dished out a half-dozen assists to go with two steals and a pair of rebounds.
 
"Of course the win feels great but we have been very business-like all season," said the 6-foot-1 point guard who was named this week as a first-team conference all-star. "Our real journey is Nationals. We've had two years of underachieving so we definitely want to make a splash this year in Halifax."
 
Head coach David DeAveiro had plenty of praise for his point guard. "Jenning has been amazing. If you look at his story and how he "walked on" four years ago, it's incredible. He wasn't even promised a spot on the roster and now he is the leader of the team and does so many different things for us offensively."
 
Three other Redmen also reached double figures in scoring. Dele Ogundokun of Hamilton, Ont., scored 13 points, grabbed four rebounds, had two assists and a pair of steals. He was also named as the team's player of the game for the second consecutive night. Michael Peterkin of Toronto added 13 points and ripped down seven rebounds. He was 6-for-9 from the floor, drilling his only shot from downtown.
 
Noah Daoust, a 6-foot-8 centre from Dorval, Que., scored 12 points and pulled down six rebounds. He shot 4-for-9 from the floor, sank one of three treys, made three of five freebies and dished out five assists.
 
The Citadins made the first basket of the game and took a 3-0 advantage but that would be their only lead of the game as McGill moved ahead 19-16 after the first quarter and 42-32 at the half. The Redmen saved their best for the second half as they outscored UQAM 25-9 in the third frame and had a 30-point lead mid-way through the fourth before making liberal substitutions. UQAM took the final frame 24-15.
 
"The third quarter won us the game today," added DeAveiro. "I credit our defence as we held them to nine and then went on a run offensively. When we get in that kind of groove we are hard to beat."
 
UQAM player of the game Greishe Clerjuste led his side with 24 points and collected five rebounds. He was followed by Ibrahima Sylla -- brother of former Martlets star Myriam Sylla -- with 13 points and a half-dozen rebounds, and Stefan Mitrovic of Ste-Foy, Que., who registered eight points and two rebounds.
 
McGill had a 37-32 rebounding advantage, a 10-8 margin in steals and won the turnover battle 21-18. They moved the ball around well and were credited wth 20 assists to UQAM's 13.
 
"We really don't care who scores," noted DeAveiro about his balanced scoring and players' unselfishness. "Everyone on the floor needs to be a threat to score. We try to get the best shot every time and it doesn't matter who takes it."
 
The Redmen shot a stellar 50.8 per cent from the floor (32/63) and 11-for-25 from three-point range. They went 7-for-14 from the free-throw line. UQAM shot 38.3 per cent (23/60), made just four of 21 from beyond the arc and sank 15 of 21 opportunities from the stripe.
 
As conference champions, McGill will be ranked among the top six teams when the seedings are announced Sunday for next week's Final Eight tournament at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax. The team is expected to fly out to the maritimes on Tuesday night.
 
"I think this group is hungry," said DeAveiro with an eye towards the Nationals. "We are a little bit older and wiser this year. I think we have learned from last year's tough loss to Calgary."
 
"It's going to be a long week of prep," added Ogundokun, who was banged up and played 30 minutes after spending the entire 40 minutes on the court the previous night in a hard-fought 59-48 semifinal win over Laval. "Everyone is going to have to get their body ready after this tough weekend."