LENNOXVILLE Que. -- Freshman Anthony Fisiru of Gatineau, Que., scored a career-high 22 points as McGill overcame an eight-point deficit to defeat Bishop's 66-58 in an RSEQ men's basketball thriller that featured 12 lead changes, Saturday. It was BU's annual "Bell Let's Talk" game and there was a lively crowd of 570 on hand at the Mitchell Gym.
 
Bishop's took an early 7-0 lead and stretched it to 19-11 before McGill awoke and narrowed the gap to 19-15 by the end of the opening quarter. The Redmen battled back to hold a 29-27 advantage heading into halftime. BU won the third quarter 13-12 but collapsed in the final stanza -- for the second time in three nights -- which McGill won 25-18. The finish down the stretch was sensational with both teams trading a plethora of treys. The Gaiters came from behind to take a 50-49 edge with 7:14 remaining but McGill went on a 7-0 run to snuff out any chance of a home-team comeback. 

Two days earlier, in Montreal, the Gaiters led McGill by six with 56 seconds remaining, only to see the Redmen win 84-80. McGill has now taken 15 of the last 17 confrontations against the Gaiters.

"We knew it would be a tough game coming in here, they shoot the ball fairly well," said head coach David DeAveiro, who collected his 100th victory in 137 regular season games behind the Redmen bench and owns a 178-119 overall record in 297 career contests with McGill.  "We knew they were going to make some threes, we just had to keep pushing and sticking to the game plan. Anytime we can get a road win at Bishop's, in front of their fans, it's a good test and I'm very proud of our young group. It was a great atmosphere and a great place to play. "
 
Fisiru, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound rookie guard from Gatineau, Que., who started for the ninth consecutive league game, shot 8-for-15. He was 2-for-4 from beyond the arc and made four of seven free-throw attempts. The 20-year-old economics freshman also added seven rebounds, one steal and an assist. Before his 22-point explosion, the College Brebeuf product had a previous game-high of 14 in a 67-57 win over Laval on Nov. 10, 2018.
 
"He hasn't played particularly well the past two games but today he played extremely well," noted DeAveiro, whose troops were once again without injured starting point-guards Alex Paquin (missed past four games) and Isaiah Cummins (missed fifth straight). "Being in these situations is about giving our young kids opportunities to get better and mature and to be ready for playoff time."
 
Avery Cadogan of Winnipeg, Man., in a rare super-human feat, played a full 40 minutes for the second time in three days. The 6-foot-4 guard tallied five points and a dozen rebounds. He shot 2-for-10 from the field including 1-for-7 from behind the arc.
 
"Avery's a key guy for us, he rebounds, he defends and shoots the ball. He does a lot of good things and we need him on the floor, confided DeAveiro. "It's difficult to play two 40-minute games (in that short a time span) -- nobody's ever done that on any of my teams -- and were going to have to find a way to get him some rest (in future games)."

Levi Londole, a senior from LaSalle, Que., added 13 points, on 5-for-5 shooting. He went 3-for-6 from the charity stripe. Teammate Noah Daoust, a senior from Dorval, Que., scored 11 points and shot a perfect 4-for-4 from the field, including a 3-for-3 effort in his trey attempts.
 
Three Gaiters scored in double figures led by Nervens Demosthene of Terrebonne, Que., who led the way with an unlucky 13. Chipping in with 10 points apiece was Abdul Kamane and Yassin Naji. Also, freshman Zion Vervroegen-Thomas made his home return to the line-up after suffering a gruesome injury in his collegiate debut on Nov. 10.  He scored six points in 12 minutes after seeing three minutes of duty in Thursday's road game at McGill.
 
McGill shot 41.0 per cent from the field (25/61), made eight of 31 attempts from three-point range and went 8-for-19 from the line. The Gaiters shot 30.6 (22/72), went 8-for-31 from downtown and 6-for-14 on free-throws.
 
The Redmen (5-4) return to the court on Thursday, Jan. 31 when they host Laval (4-5) in a "Bell Let's Talk" soiree at Love Competition Hall. Free tuques will be handed out to the fans and tip-off is slated for 8 p.m.
 
Bishop's (3-9) gets a bye next week and returns to play on Feb. 8 when they face Laval in Quebec City.

Pos	Team/Équipe	GP/MJ	W/V	L/D	PF/PP	PA/PC	PCT	Diff.	PTS
1	Concordia	11	9	2	914	828	0.818	0.0	18
2	McGill	9	5	4	627	632	0.556	3.0	10
3	Laval	9	4	5	683	705	0.444	4.0	8
4	UQAM	9	4	5	688	685	0.444	4.0	8
5	Bishop's	12	3	9	921	983	0.250	6.5	6