(VERSION FRANCAISE CI-DESSOUS)

HALIFAX  – Francois Bourque posted a monstrous "double-double" as the third-seeded McGill University men's basketball team edged No. 6 Manitoba 63-53 in quarter-final play of the U SPORTS Final Eight national championship at the Scotiabank Centre, Thursday.
 
It extended McGill's win streak to 10 heading into a tournament semifinal on Saturday, where they will face six-time defending champ and the No.2 seeded Carleton Ravens. The game can be seen live on Sportsnet 360 at 12 noon (Eastern). The victory also snapped a four-game losing streak at Nationals for the Redmen, who last emerged victorious at the 2013 tourney when they defeated Victoria 80-68 in the fifth-place game at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa. McGill improved to 4-11 lifetime at the Final Eight tourney.

"The key for all our wins is our defence," said Redmen head coach Dave DeAveiro in the post-game press conference. "We held a team today that scores about 80, one of the top-ranked teams offensively in the country and we shut them down and made everything difficult for them. We turned it into a grind it out game and we're used to playing those games in our conference." 

McGill was able to hold Manitoba to just 2-of-8 from three point-range while also winning the battle on the glass 47-34 which included a stellar 17-4 advantage under the offensive boards. The teams were even in the turnover department committing 14 apiece but the Redmen made the most of their opportunities outscoring the Bisons 15-9 in points off turnovers.
 
Bourque, an accounting senior from Terrebonne, Que., finished with 13 points, 14 rebounds, four steals and an assist. The 6-foot-6 forward was 5-for-13 from the floor and made three of his six foul shots.
 
"Frank did a great job on both ends of the floor," noted DeAveiro. "He continues to be one of the top rebounders in the country and it is hard to find anyone with a better motor than him."
 
Teammate Jenning Leung, a senior who hails from The Philippines, had 13 points of his own and was named player of the game for McGill going 5-for-15 from the field, including a 3-for-10 performance from downtown. The 6-foot-1 point-guard also contributed three rebounds and a pair of assists.

The Redmen led 18-10 after the opening 10 minutes due in large part of their ability to get to the free-throw line. They had 12 attempts in the first quarter compared to just two for Manitoba. McGill finished the game with an 11-for--22 effort from the charity stripe, while the Bisons were 7-for-10.

In the second frame Manitoba was able to cut McGill's lead to as much as three, before the Redmen answered back to take a 35-30 lead into halftime. The tightly-fought contest continued in the third as McGill held the Bisons to just eight points. McGill took a 46-38 lead into the final frame and didn't look back, outscoring Manitoba 17-15 to close out the game.
 
The Redmen shot 36.5 per cent from the floor (23/63) and went just 6-for-28 from three-point range, while Manitoba shot 40.0 (22/55) and sank five of 16 trey attempts.
 
The Bisons were led by Keith Omoerah and AJ Basi who dropped 13 points each. Omoerah was a rebound shy from collecting a "double-double" and added four assists and three steals to take player of the game honours for the Bisons.

Despite the loss, Manitoba head coach Kirby Schepp was happy with his team's progression this season, after returning to the Final Eight for the first time in over 30 years.

"I'm proud of our effort," Schepp said post-game. "I didn't think our execution was necessarily great today, but the larger picture is we've made huge strides as a program and these guys will always go down really in the history of our program as lifting it to a new place, which is great." 

Manitoba will now play in the consolation semifinal against Calgary Friday at 5 p.m. (Eastern). 
 
As for McGill's matchup versus the high-powered Ravens, Coach DeAveiro is happy his team gets an extra day of rest, "Having Friday off is huge for us. Not only do we get some extra time to game plan and watch film, which you need all you can get when facing Carleton, but more importantly our players get to rest. Dele is still trying to get 100 per cent from his ankle injury (suffered) last weekend, so it is good he can get some extra therapy time in."

CHAMPIONSHIP WEBSITE: http://en.usports.ca/championships/mbkb/index 
  
SCHEDULE & RESULTS (all times EASTERN)

Thursday, March 9
11:00 p.m. Quarter-final 1: No.2 Carleton 87 vs. No.7 Calgary 69
1 p.m. Quarter-final 2: No.3 McGill 63 vs. No.6 Manitoba 53
5 p.m. Quarter-final 3: No.1 Ryerson 79, No.8 Saint Mary's 70
7 p.m. Quarter-final 4: No.4 Alberta vs. No.5 Dalhousie (TV1 webcast)

Friday, March 10
5 p.m. Consolation 1: Calgary vs. Manitoba (TV1 webcast)
7 p.m. Consolation 2: Saint Mary's QF 3 vs. Loser QF 4 (TV1 webcast)

Saturday, March 11
12 noon Semifinal 1: Carleton vs. McGill (Sportsnet 360 / SN Now)
2:30 p.m. Semifinal 2: Ryerson QF 3 vs. Winner QF 4 (Sportsnet 360 / SN Now)
7 p.m. 5th-place game (TV1 webcast)

Sunday, March 12
10:30 a.m. Bronze (TV1 webcast)
1:00 p.m. Final (Sportsnet 360/SN Now)

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QF #2: Le 8 Ultime U SPORTS ArcelorMittal Dofasco 2017 
Les Redmen remportent une bataille défensive

HALIFAX (U SPORTS) – Les Redmen de McGill ont vaincu les Bisons du Manitoba 63 à 53 au terme d'une bataille défensive jeudi après-midi pour mériter une place dans le carré d'as du championnat de basketball masculin de U SPORTS ArcelorMittal Dofasco.
 
SITE WEB DU CHAMPIONNAT: http://fr.usports.ca/championships/mbkb/index
 
McGill a limité ses adversaires à seulement deux réussites en huit tentatives de la ligne de trois points, en plus de dominer par 47 à 34 aux rebonds.
 
« Pour nous, la clé du succès est toujours la défensive, a dit l'entraîneur-chef de McGill, Dave DeAveiro. Aujourd'hui, nous avons contenu une équipe qui marque habituellement 80 points par match et qui est l'une des meilleures formations offensives au pays. Nous avons compliqué les choses pour eux, nous avons transformé cette partie en une guerre de tranchés. Nous sommes habitués à ce genre de match dans notre conférence. » 
 
L'ailier François Bourque a récolté un « double-double » pour les gagnants, soit 13 points et 15 rebonds, alors que l'arrière Jenning Leung inscrivait 13 points. Du côté des perdants, l'arrière Keith Omoerah a amassé 13 points et neuf rebonds. 
 
Les Redmen menaient 18-10 après le premier quart, grâce en grande partie à leurs nombreuses présences à la ligne des lancers francs, soit 12 contre seulement deux pour le Manitoba.
 
Au deuxième engagement, les deux formations ont connu de bons moments.
 
Le Manitoba est parvenu à réduire l'écart à trois points, mais les Redmen ont répliqué pour retraiter au vestiaire avec un avantage de 35-30. Leung a excellé dans les derniers instants du deuxième quart, inscrivant deux tirs de trois points, alors que le centre Brett Jewell connaissait du succès à l'intérieur pour les Bisons avec cinq points.
 
La bataille défensive s'est poursuivie au troisième quart, les deux équipes ne parvenant à inscrire que 19 points au total. 
 
Les Redmen ont effectué du bon travail en défensive lors de la période en captant sept rebonds dans leur zone, mais à l'autre bout du court, ils n'ont réussi que 25% de leurs tirs. 
 
Menés par l'arrière Justus Alleyn, les Bisons ont limité McGill à seulement une réussite en 10 tentatives de l'extérieur, mais ont eux aussi connu des problèmes à l'attaque, ne réussissant que 33,3% de leurs lancers au cours de l'engagement.
 
Au dernier quart, les Montréalais ont une fois de plus dominé aux rebonds, par 11 à cinq. Les champions du RSEQ ont également réussi deux importants tirs de trois points dans les dernières minutes de la rencontre.
 
Malgré le revers, le pilote du Manitoba, Kirby Schepp, se disait fier de la saison de son programme, qui en est à une première présence au championnat canadien en plus de 30 ans.
 
« Je suis fier de l'effort, a dit Schepp. Je ne crois pas que notre exécution était à point aujourd'hui, mais lorsqu'on regarde notre saison dans son ensemble, nous avons fait un grand pas vers l'avant. Les joueurs de cette édition seront toujours reconnus comme ceux qui ont fait passer le programme à un autre niveau. »
 
McGill affrontera Carleton samedi lors de la première demi-finale, alors que le Manitoba se frottera à Calgary vendredi du côté consolation du tableau.
 
MENEURS STATISTIQUES
 
Statistiques officielles: http://fr.usports.ca/championships/mbkb/2017/boxscores_champ/20170309_2wyi.xml 
 
McG 18-17-11-17: 63
MAN 10-20-8-15: 53 
 
McGill 
Points: Jenning Leung (13), Francois Bourque (13) 
Rebonds: Francois Bourque (15)
Assistances: Dele Ogundokun (3)
 
Joueur du match: Jenning Leung   
 
Manitoba 
Points: Keith Omoerah (13), AJ Basi (13)
Rebonds: Keith Omoerah (9) 
Assistances: Keith Omoerah (4) 
 
Joueur du match: Keith Omoerah  
 
HORAIRE & RÉSULTATS (heure de l'Atlantique)
 
Jeudi 9 mars
12h00 Quart de finale 1: Carleton (no 2) 85, Calgary (no 7) 69 
14h00 Quart de finale 2: McGill (no 3) 63, Manitoba (no 6) 53
18h00 Quart de finale 3: Ryerson (no 1) vs. Saint Mary's (no 8) (TV1 webcast)
20h00 Quart de finale 4: Alberta (no 4) vs. Dalhousie (no 5) (TV1 webcast)
 
Vendredi 10 mars
18h00 Consolation 1: Calgary (no 7) vs. Manitoba (no 6) (TV1 webcast)
20h00 Consolation 2: Perdant QF 3 vs. Perdant QF 4  (TV1 webcast)
 
Samedi 11 mars
13h00 Demi-finale 1: Carleton (no 2) vs. McGill (no 3) (Sportsnet 360/SN Now)
15h30 Demi-finale 2: Gagnant QF 3 vs. Gagnant QF 4 (Sportsnet 360/SN Now)
20h00 Match de la 5e place (TV1 webcast)
 
Dimanche 12 mars
11h30 Match médaille de bronze (TV1 webcast)
14h00 Finale (Sportsnet 360/SN Now)
 

 
-U SPORTS -
 
Pour plus d'information, veuillez contacter:
 
Ken Saint-Eloy
Gestionnaire, communications
U SPORTS
Cell: 647-871-7595
ksainteloy@usports.ca 
 
Alan Hudes 
Coordonnateur, communications
U SPORTS
Bur.: 905-508-3000 poste 242
Cell: 647-991-5343
ahudes@usports.ca
 
Angela Barrett-Jewers
Université Dalhousie 
Bur.: 902-494-2137
Cell: 902-220-0774
angela.barrett@dal.ca