MONTREAL --
Ricardo Monge registered a "double-double" with 22 points and 10 assists as division-leading Concordia rallied from an early nine-point deficit to defeat a depleted McGill lineup 86-69 in RSEQ men's basketball at the John Dore Court, Thursday.
The Redmen were without the services of injured starters
Alex Paquin and
Isaiah Cummins in addition to limited duty from starter
Sam Jenkins, who was recovering from a viral infection and played only six minutes.
McGill scored the first four baskets and jumped into an 11-2 lead, before Concordia settled down and led the rest of the way. They outscored McGill 25-16 and 20-13 over the first two quarters to take a 45-29 lead into intermission. The third stanza was even at 24-24 and Concordia held a slim 17-16 edge in the final quarter.
"We played a very good team tonight, a seasoned, veteran team that is well-coached," said McGill bench boss
David DeAveiro. "They run a good offence and defend well. We were missing a lot of key veterans and our young lineup struggled, both on offence and defence. We had difficulties reading the game at times, which was happening at a faster pace than we were used to. A lot of lessons were learned tonight. We'll watch some video, simplify some things that may have been too complex for our guys and be ready to go again on Saturday."
The Stingers, who dominated the boards 37-26, shot 53.1 per cent from the floor, including an 11-for-25 effort from three-point range. McGill replied with 37.3 per cent and went 10-for-33 from beyond the arc.
Monge, who also had six rebounds and a steal, was one of four Stingers to reach double digits in scoring. He was joined by
Olivier Simon (17),
Adrian Armstrong (14) and
Anthony Sanogo (12).
Four Redmen also reached double figures, led by
Noah Daoust with 16 points and
Avery Cadogan with 15 -- on the strength of a 5-for-6 performance from three-point range -- and a team-high seven rebounds. Teammates
JJ Hamel-Carey and
Anthony Fisiru each added a dozen points.
Concordia, which leads the RSEQ conference with a 7-1 record, has swept both meetings against McGill (3-3) this season, including an 87-81 decision on Nov. 22 at Love Competition Hall. The bitter rivals will cross paths again on Saturday (Jan. 19 at 6 p.m.) -- for the third of four scheduled confrontations.
Up for grabs will be the inaugural
George Lengvari Cup competition for local college basketball supremacy. in recognition of the long-time benefactor who played college hoops for both the Redmen and Stingers, while earning a degree from each university.
The men's contest will be preceded by the women's matchup at 4 p.m. in McGill's annual "Shoot for the Cure" benefit in support of breast cancer. Tickets, available
online, are $10 for adults and $5 for students, seniors and McGill staff. Children 12-and under are admitted free.
2018-19 RSEQ MEN'S UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL STANDINGS
| 1 |
Concordia |
8 |
7 |
1 |
681 |
614 |
0.875 |
0.0 |
14 |
| 2 |
McGill |
6 |
3 |
3 |
416 |
425 |
0.500 |
3.0 |
6 |
| 3 |
Laval |
7 |
3 |
4 |
530 |
541 |
0.429 |
3.5 |
6 |
| 4 |
UQAM |
8 |
3 |
5 |
603 |
616 |
0.375 |
4.0 |
6 |
| 5 |
Bishop's |
9 |
3 |
6 |
714 |
748 |
0.333 |
4.5 |
6 |
