Men's Basketball | 8/16/2017 10:50:00 PM
Box Score
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica -- Newcomer
Alex Paquin of Montreal scored nine points and pulled down four rebounds as McGill edged the University of Texas at El Paso Miners 56-54 in men's preseason basketball at Banco National Arena in Costa Rica, Tuesday.
It was the second win in three games for McGill over an NCAA Div. 1 program and their fourth in the past nine cross-border confrontations dating back to last season. UTEP, based in El Paso, posted a 12-6 fourth-place finish last year in the 14-team Conference USA.
McGill, which jumped into an early 14-5 advantage, led 17-12 after the first quarter and opened a 12-point lead at 25-13. UTEP rallied to go ahead 32-30 lead at halftime but the Redmen bounced back to make it 43-40 after three stanzas.
In a contest that featured liberal substitutions,
Noah Daoust led all McGill players with just 24 minutes of court-time, while the top two minute-men for UTEP -- senior guard
Omega Harris and junior guard
Isiah Osborne -- played less than 27 minutes each. Osborne led the Miners with a dozen points, while junior forward
Paul Thomas (who fouled out) and senior
Matt Willms, a 7-foot-1, 240-pound centre from Leamington, Ont., added 10 apiece.
Paquin, a six-foot, 190-pound point-guard who transferred to the Redmen this year after three seasons at American University in Washington, shot 3-for-7 from the floor, including a 2-for-3 performance from beyond the arc. He was 1-for-2 from the free-throw line and added a pair of assists.
Ten of the 11 players who dressed for McGill got on the scoresheet. Joining Paquin among the points leaders for McGill was
Edgar Brown (8),
Greg Trahan (7) and
Arnaud Boyer-Cillis (6). Teammates
Avery Cadogan,
Jamal Mayali,
Sam Jenkins and
Noah Daoust added five points apiece, while
Jenning Leung and
Regan Lynch had four and two, respectively.
McGill shot 31 per cent from the floor (17/54) and 19 per cent from downtown (5/26). They drained 17 of 28 free-throws. The Miners shot 38 per cent from the field (18/48), went 3-for-13 from the arc and 15-for-21 from the line.
UTEP, which dropped to 0-1 in preseason play, will meet McGill (2-4) again on Thursday. The Miners will conclude their four-day excursion to this Central American country with a game against UBC on Friday.
UTEP's starting lineup against McGill was based on a fan vote and featured three freshmen – forward
Tirus Smith and guards
Evan Gilyard and
Trey Wade, who were joined by senior forward
Jake Flaggert and senior centre
Matt Willms.
NCAA teams are permitted to take foreign tours once every four years. This was UTEP's first foreign tour in 12 years The 2005-06 Miners went to Madrid and the Canary Islands. McGill's last international tour, excluding visits to the United States, was a trip to Czechoslovakia in the early 1980s.
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Communications Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012 (Tel.)
m.athletics.mcgill.ca (mobile website)
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
@EarlZukerman (twitter)
SEE COMPLETE McGILL VARSITY SCHEDULE ONLINE AT:
www.mcgillathletics.ca/calendar.aspx
