MONTREAL -- Jamal Mayali of Toronto, tallied 27 points as McGill clawed the Regina Cougars 78-60 in men's college basketball on opening day of the Olga Hyrcak Classic holiday tournament, Friday, at the Centre Sportif de l'UQAM.

It was the first game in a month for both sides and extended McGill's win streak to five as they evened their record at 9-9 overall, including an 8-4 mark against Canadian university squads. The result was McGill's third lifetime win in as many meetings over the Cougars, who dropped to 8-12 on the season overall.

The teams were tied at 11-11 after the opening quarter before McGill took control. They held a 30-20 lead into halftime, then out-paced the Cougars 26-15 in the third quarter. Regina won the final stanza 25-22.

Mayali, a 6-foot-4 guard, reached double figures for the 14th time in 18 games overall, including the 20-point plateau on five occasions. He was also credited with one rebound and a steal in 30 minutes of play. He shot 9-for-17 from the floor, including a 4-for-8 performance from three-point range. The political science junior was also 5-for-6 from the free-throw line.

Mayali was one of three McGill teammates to reach double digits in scoring. JJ Hamel-Carey of Montreal-North and Nicholas Noble of Ville St. Pierre, Que., both came off the bench to score 14 and 10 points, respectively.

Leading the Cougars was Carter Millar, who registered a double-double in a losing cause with 13 points and 10 rebounds. 

McGill's bench outscored Regina's subs by a 42-23 margin. The Cougars had a 43-34 edge in rebounding but committed 16 turnovers to McGill's 12.

McGill shot 44.4 per cent from the floor (28/63), drained 11 of 33 treys and went 11-for-18 from the line. Regina shot 32.3 from the field (21/65), but struggled with a 3-for-28 effort from downtown. They sank 15 of 19 freebies.

McGill, which is 1-0 in the tourney, will confront Ottawa (1-0) on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Gee-Gees won their opener over Bishop's 77-73 in overtime. Regina (0-1) will meet host UQAM (1-0) at 6 p.m.

SEE BOXSCORE


OLGA HYRCAK CLASSIC TOURNAMENT (@ UQAM)
(all game streamed live with no audio)

Fri., Dec. 27
Ottawa 77, Bishop's 73 (OT)
McGill 78, Regina 60
UQAM 91, Guelph 87

Sat., Dec. 28
2 pm  McGill vs Ottawa
4 pm  Bishop's vs Guelph
6 pm  Regina vs UQAM

Sun., Dec. 29
12 noon Regina vs Bishop's
2 pm  Guelph vs McGill
4 pm  Ottawa vs UQAM