HALIFAX, N.S. – David Kapinga scored 19 points as second-seeded Calgary used a combination of stingy defence and timely offence, to topple No.4 ranked McGill 65-43 in a semifinal at the U SPORTS Final 8 men's basketball championship at Scotiabank Centre, Saturday. 

The Dinos advance to Sunday's gold medal game against Ryerson, which shocked top-seeded Carleton 84-76 in the other semifinal, ending the Ravens seven-year reign as national champs. McGill will meet Carleton for bronze.

Championship Website
Schedule & Results
Livestream – USPORTS.LIVE

Leading 16-15 after the first 10 minutes, Calgary outscored McGill 16-7 in the second quarter to lead 32-22 at halftime. The Dinos won the third quarter 20-17 and led by as many as 25 points in the fourth quarter.

Calgary's defence was the difference in the game as the Dinos forced 23 McGill turnovers. The largest lead for the Redmen was four points, midway through the second quarter.

"I want to congratulate Calgary," said McGill head coach David DeAveiro. "I thought they had a solid game plan coming in. Their defence was outstanding. They forced us into a lot of three-point shots. We're okay with that -- that's our style, we've been shooting three-point shots all season long. Sometimes you live and you die by the three. Their defence was outstanding and the rotations were really good. We held them to 65 points and you'd think we'd have a chance to win, but unfortunately we just didn't make any shots today."

Calgary shot 39.3 per cent from the field (24/61), 21.1 from beyond the arc (4/19) and was 13-for-20 on free-throws. The Redmen shot 29.1 per cent from the field (16/55), 23.5 from downtown (4/32), and went 7-for-12 from the charity stripe.

Kapinga shot 7-for-19 from the floor and 5-for-7 from the free throw line and pulled down four rebounds. He also had three assists and two steals. His Calgary teammates Mambi Diawara and Connor Foreman followed with 15 points each.

"For us to be successful and soften up that defence, we needed to make some shots," DeAveiro added. "And the more shots we missed, their defence got tighter and collapsed a little bit more and more, and we couldn't get to the rim. In the first half we had some really good looks to make shots; unfortunately we didn't make any in the second half."

The Redmen were led by Alex Paquin of Montreal, who tallied 10 points and grabbed two rebounds. The 6-foot, 190-pound point guard shot 5-for-12 from the field and had an assist, one steal and a block. Francois Bourque of Terrebonne, Que., and Noah Daoust of Dorval, Que., each scored eight points. Bourque also grabbed four rebounds, stole one ball and blocked a shot. Daoust also corralled a team-high eight rebounds.

The Dinos had a 42-37 edge in rebounds and a favourable 23-16 margin in turnovers, while McGill led 4-2 in blocks and 10-9 in steals.

"You hold a team to 65 points, and you should have a chance to win. We had some good looks in the first half, but we didn't make our shots, and the more we missed, the better their defence got…They're led by a group of seniors who are very good players. Whoever gets them in the final will be in for a game."

"Our defence held us in the game, all game long," said Calgary head coach Dan Vanhooren. "Offensively, we turned the ball over too much. We had seven turnovers in the first quarter alone, and 12 at the half.  "We rebounded really well," he added. "It was probably our best defensive performance of the year. McGill is a very good team. They missed some shots they would normally make. If they make those shots, it's a totally different game."

When asked if their first-round loss to Carleton at last year's tournament would serve as motivation, Vanhooren noted "These guys are always motivated. There's not a player on our team who hasn't talked all season about making it to the national final."

Kapinga agreed that the Dinos have evolved as a team over the past several years.

 "The first year we were here, it was a different culture," he said. "We made it here, but with no expectations. Last year, we had expectations, but we drew Carleton in the first round and lost. The last two years were huge for us. We learned how to win."

The championship final is scheduled for Sunday at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live on Sportsnet 360 and Sportsnet Now.

The Redmen will play top-seed Carleton for the bronze medal at 1 p.m. on Sunday (March 11). McGill's previous best finish at Nationals was a pair fo fourth-place finishes in 1977 and 2017.

"It's always hard when you know that this is your last game and you come into it knowing that," said DeAveiro with an eye towards the bronze game. "For us tomorrow too, it's important that some of our young kids get in there and experience what it's like to be here, because we plan on being back here next year and the year after that. So it's important for them to get that valuable experience. We're going out and try to bring a medal home tomorrow. We came here to win a medal. It might not be the medal we want but we're still going to compete for a medal."

Boxscore
 
Players of the Game
Calgary: Mambi Diawara
McGill: Alex Paquin