MONTREAL -- Matt Balanc and Savion Lewis scored 22 and 20 points, respectively, as the visiting Quinnipiac University Bobcats overwhelmed McGill 94-53 in a men's basketball preseason game at Love Competition Hall, Monday.

The NCAA Div 1 squad from Hamden, Conn., fell behind 2-0 on the opening bucket but never trailed after that. They led 24-12 after the first quarter and 51-35 at halftime, then swamped the home side 43-18 in the second half, including a 33-9 tally in the third quarter.

McGill had three players in double digits, led by Jamal Mayali with 10, while Sam Jenkins had 14 and Quarry Whyne added 13. Rounding out their scoring was Levi Londole (4), Joshua Djanogly (4) and Zachary Lavoie-Toure (3).

"We played a very good Quinnipiac team today, they shot the ball extremely well," said McGill head coach David DeAveiro. "We came out with what was probably our worst game in a long time but that's my fault. I didn't have our kids prepared for what they were going to (go up) against today."

The Bobcats shot an impressive 56.1 per cent from the floor, including a sizzling 12-for-25 performance from the three-point arc. McGill countered with a feeble 33.3 success rate from the field (23/69) and was only 3-for-24 from downtown. Quinnipiac went 8-for-11 from the foul-line, while McGill replied with a 4-for-6 effort.

The visitors held a 35-29 margin in rebounding and a slight 18-17 advantage in turnovers.

McGill, which lost their top four scorers from last season, dressed a young 13-man lineup that featured five freshmen, three sophomores, four juniors and one senior.

"We're just kind of searching for other kids who will get an opportunity to play this year in terms of giving them chances here and seeing how well they do in the preseason," explained DeAveiro. "Seeing how they fit in and what their roles are going to be in the regular season. We're going to need some of these young kids to play... so every minute they get here is valuable in terms of their learning and progress.

"There's really only two (active) veterans (Mayali and Jenkins) who kind of remain from our championship teams," said DeAveiro, who guided McGill to five conference crowns in six years prior to last season. "So they kind of know what it takes to be successful. The young kids are going to have to learn and take their lumps, like today, and get better from it. The (vets) have to figure a way to lead and help those younger guys in every way they can...We're going to go through some growing pains. We'll get better by the time the regular season comes around."

Quinnipiac, which finished third in the 11-team Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference last season with an 11-7 record, concluded their three-game jaunt across the border with a 2-1 record. They opened the tour on Aug. 8 with a 98-90 loss to Concordia, the defending RSEQ conference champions, followed by a 79-76 victory at Laval (Aug. 10).

McGill (0-3) will look for their first preseason victory on Wednesday (Aug. 14) when they play host to the Bermuda national team, which is captained by former McGill player Te'Jour Riley, who played here in 2012-13. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. at Love Competition Hall, located inside the Sir Arthur Currie Gym, at 475 Pine Avenue West. Tickets for McGill home games are available online. General admission for adults is $12, while staff, McGill students and seniors are set at $5. Children 12-and-under are admitted free.

BOXSCORE

McGILL PRESEASON SCHEDULE


SOURCE:

Earl Zukerman
Communications Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
Office: 514-398-7012
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca