LENNOXVILLE, Que. –
Abdul Kamane produced a "double-double" as Bishop's stunned No.5-ranked McGill 86-81 in RSEQ men's basketball before a noisy, hostile crowd at the Mitchell Gymnasium, Friday.
The result halted McGill's five-game win streak. Combined with BU's shocking 50-42 upset over the No.1 ranked Martlets in the women's game, it marked the first Gaiters home sweep over McGill in five years, dating back to Jan. 30, 2013.
After a 20-20 deadlock in the opening quarter, Bishop's took a 46-40 advantage into halftime and held on to a 68-59 lead after three. McGill final responded in the final stanza, outscoring the Gaiters 22-18 but ran out of time. The Redmen missed three treys in the final 21 seconds.
"Bishop's played extremely well, they came out with more energy that we did, played with more urgency," said McGill head coach
David DeAveiro, whose division-leading team fell to 7-2. "They were basically playing to keep their hopes alive for a playoff spot."
Kamane poured in 24 points and pulled down a dozen rebounds for the Gaiters, who improved to 3-7 with just six games remaining. They sit precariously perched in the fourth and RSEQ's final playoff spot, two points ahead of cellar-dwelling UQAM (2-8).
Three other Gaiters tallied double figures in the scoring column, including
Joany Castor-Thadal (16),
Nervens Demosthene (12) and
Yassin Naji (11).
Matching Kamane's output was McGill point-guard
Alex Paquin, a first-year transfer from American University in Washington, who tallied 24 points on 9-for-17 shooting, with a 2-for-9 effort from trey territory. The six-foot native of Montreal was 4-for-7 from the line and contributed three helpers and three steals in a game-high 36 minutes of court-time.
He was one of three Redmen to reach double digits, along with
Jenning Leung -- who is still hampered by a hand injury but poured in 18 points off the bench aided by a 4-for-16 performance from three-point land -- and
Francois Bourque, who added 11 points and nine rebounds.
With a rematch between the rivals scheduled less than 20 hours away, perennial conference MVP
Dele Ogundokun was limited to just 21 minutes of floor time. He collected nine points, nine rebounds, four steals and three assists.
"We had a lot of chances to make open shots (from three-point range) and we shot 8-for-39, shots that we normally make," offered DeAveiro. "That kind of (poor) shooting is not something that we usually do. They got some loose balls and easy buckets, something that we don't normally give up. So, we'll look at the video and make some adjustments."
McGill attempted a whopping 80 shots from the field, compared to 60 by Bishop's. The Gaiters shot 53.3 per cent from the field (32/60), 43.8 from beyond the arc (7/16) and 65.2 from the line (15/23), compared to McGill, which shot 41.3 (33/80), 20.5 and 53.8 (7/13), respectively.
The teams will meet again on Saturday at 6 p.m. in Love Competition Hall.
"I'm not happy with this schedule," noted DeAveiro. "For us to get on a bus on Friday, make the (two-hour) trip to Bishop's, then travel back the same day to play in less than 24 hours. The schedule is ridiculous. We never play home-and-away games back-to-back where travel is a factor. The team that travels the first night is definitely at a disadvantage. But it doesn't matter now. We'll be ready to play on Saturday."
| 2017-18 RSEQ Men's Basketball Standings • Classement de la saison régulière de basketball masculin du RSEQ |
|
|
| 1 |
McGill |
9 |
7 |
2 |
796 |
608 |
0.778 |
0.0 |
14 |
| 2 |
Laval |
8 |
6 |
2 |
602 |
554 |
0.750 |
0.5 |
12 |
| 3 |
Concordia |
9 |
5 |
4 |
680 |
683 |
0.556 |
2.0 |
10 |
| 4 |
Bishop's |
10 |
3 |
7 |
790 |
849 |
0.300 |
4.5 |
6 |
| 5 |
UQAM |
10 |
2 |
8 |
673 |
847 |
0.200 |
5.5 |
4 |
