MONTREAL -- Freshman Sam Jenkins of Hamilton, Ont., came off the bench to tally a game-high 19 points as sixth-ranked McGill extended their win streak to five and toppled the Université du Québec à Montréal 105-59 in men's basketball, Saturday, at Love Competition Hall.

The 46-point margin of victory followed up a statement win on Thursday -- a similar 95-47 decision over UQAM -- and marked the highest offensive output by the Redmen in league play since a 105-55 home-court victory over Laval on Feb. 10, 1995. Including non-conference play, it was the team's highest output in any game since a 108-56 preseason thrashing of Waterloo on Oct. 18, 2015.

McGill set a team record with 36 points in the opening quarter, taking a 36-20 advantage into the second quarter, then moved ahead 56-34 at halftime and 74-48 after three. The Redmen outscored their visitors 31-11 in the final stanza.

"I don't know if we were quite expecting the same thing (as Thursday)," said head coach David DeAveiro, whose troops deployed an aggressive full-court press two days earlier. "We definitely didn't come out like that today. UQAM played extremely well. Especially in the first half, they came after us. They attacked our pressure and got easy buckets on us. They were strong with the ball and were defending well. It was nothing like the game on Thursday night -- this was a good test for us.

"In the end, our depth, like anything else, wears people out, and the pressure for 40 minutes is hard to react to and play against. Eventually we wear people down."

Playing for the second straight game without scoring leader Jenning Leung -- who was injured while going for a layup during a practice last week -- McGill had no trouble putting up offence and their bench tallied 49 points, just four shy of the single-game "bench" record set earlier this season.

Four players reached double-digits for the Redmen, who shot a sizzling 50.7 per cent from the field (36/71), including a 13-for-26 mark from the three-point arc, and were even hotter from the free-throw line, where they shot 87 per cent (20-for-23).

"If we want to play with this (system), then we need to play 10 or 11 guys," DeAveiro explained of his liberal use of the bench, which limits court-time for star players. "We feel we have a lot of good players and we're trying to get everybody involved in playing and this was the style that we figured we could do that with. There's no drop-off when we go to our bench -- our bench is just as good as our first five, so we're lucky and fortunate to have that."

Jenkins, a 6-foot-3, 180-pound guard, shot 7-for-13 from the field, including 5-for-10 from the three-point arc. The physical education major also collected four rebounds, one assist and one steal, all in just 20 minutes of court-time as a sub.

"We're extremely happy that Jenkins is at McGill," said DeAveiro of his recruit from St. Mary's Catholic Secondary School in Hamilton. "He's a talented offensive player and he's learning how to play defence, but he's come in and done exactly the things that we want him to do and that we thought he could do here. He's played well. He and Jamal Mayali, another freshman, has played really well too. Our two freshmen are really stepping in and... actually getting ready for next year, when they're going to have to be the (go-to) guys."

Dele Ogundokun of Hamilton, Ont., and Alex Paquin of Montreal followed with 18 points apiece. Ogundokun, a 6-foot-3, 226-pound guard, shot 6-for-13 from the field, including 1-for-3 from three-point range, and 5-for-6 from the charity stripe. He also pulled down six rebounds, had a pair of assists, and stole three balls.

Paquin, a six-foot, 190-pound point-guard, shot 5-for-8 from the floor, including a 3-for-4 mark from three-point range. The first-year transfer from American University in Washington also netted five of his six free throws and corralled two rebounds along with three assists and a steal. Teammate Noah Daoust of Dorval, Que., followed with 10 points and a half-dozen rebounds, a pair of assists, one block and a steal.

Charles Miller led the Citadins with a dozen points.

UQAM shot 38.9 per cent from the field (21/54), including a 4-for-8 effort on treys, and 72.2 on free throws (13/18). McGill doubled the Citadins 42-21 in rebounds, had an 18-8 margin in steals and a beneficial 29-18 turnover advantage, while the visitors had a 2-1 edge in blocks.

Both teams resume their schedule on Thursday, Jan. 11, when the Redmen (5-1) visit Concordia (3-1)  while UQAM (0-6) hosts Bishop's (1-4).

LINK TO BOXSCORE

REDMEN RAP: A special ceremony was held at halftime to recognize referee Eric Brouillard, who will be retiring shortly after 33 years as a game official, including 12 years at the university level... The Redmen have now won 22 of the past 26 contests against the Citadins and hold a lifetime 40-24 head-to-head advantage overall, including a 24-9 home-court record versus UQAM. 

 

2017-8 RSEQ Men's Basketball Standings (updated)

Pos	TEAM	GP	W	L	PF	PA	PCT.	GBL	PTS
1	McGill	6	5	1	536	379	0.833	0.0	10
2	Laval	5	4	1	396	354	0.800	0.5	8
3	Concordia	4	3	1	306	278	0.750	1.0	6
4	Bishop's	5	1	4	376	434	0.200	3.5	2
5	UQAM	6	0	6	370	539	0.000	5.0	0