MONTREAL -- Junior Sam Jenkins of Hamilton, Ont., scored a career-high 33 points but it was insufficient as the visiting Albany Great Danes rallied down the stretch to defeat McGill University 90-78 in men's preseason basketball, Monday, at Love Competition Hall.

Jenkins, a physical education major, surpassed his previous game-high of 24. It was the highest single-game output by a McGill player since Kendrick Jolin potted 34 in an 81-73 win at Bishop's on Nov. 26, 2016. Jenkins shot 14-for-22 from the floor, including a 5-for-9 performance from three-point range. The 6-foot-5, 195-pound point-guard was also credited with six rebounds, a pair of steals and one blocked shot in 32 minutes of court-time.

Cameron Healy and Romani Hansen each tallied 16 points off the bench as Albany, an NCAA Div. 1 team from upstate New York, collected their first win of a five-game Canadian tour after losses at Ottawa (69-82) and Carleton (77-90). Three other teammates also reached double digits on the scoreboard, including Ahmad Clark (15), Mitch Doherty (14) and Malachi de Sousa (11).

UAlbany, which overcame a nine-point deficit midway through the third quarter, led 23-22 after the opening stanza but McGill bounced back to hold a 41-36 edge at halftime. The third quarter was even at 21 points apiece but the Great Danes took the final period by a decisive 33-16 margin.

"We didn't wilt, we just don't know how to play yet in the fourth quarter in a close game like that but that's a young team learning," said McGill head coach David DeAveiro, who only dressed only nine players, four below the usual total, because a number of out-of-town players had commitments to summer jobs. UAlbany, which had a seven-man bench at their disposal, held a whopping 53-7 margin over McGill's subs.

"We competed well for 36 minutes against a good team," DeAveiro noted. "We did a lot of good things to build on but need to fix some other things.  We had 20 assists tonight and just need to take care of the ball a bit better."

McGill had a 40-27 edge in rebounding but the visitors went to the foul-line 22 times and came away with 18 points, while McGill made only five trips to the line, where they collected four points. UAlbany had a favorable 22-11 advantage in turnovers, which translated into a lopsided 31-6 benefit on the scoreboard.

"That was the difference in the game," explained DeAveiro. "That and the number of free-throws. It was 21-6 in personal fouls. I don't usually talk about fouls but I don't think we got a fair shake today. Our guys deserved better than that."

Two other McGill players also reached double figures, with sophomore Quarry Whyne and freshman Cameron Elliott contributing 14 and 12 points, respectively. Rounding out the scoring for McGill was senior Levi Londole and junior Arnaud Boyer-Cillis, with six apiece, plus junior Jamal Mayali (3), sophomore Joshua Djanogly (2) and freshman Zachary Lavoie-Toure (2).

McGill shot 46.4 per cent from the field (32/69), including a 10-for-27 effort from downtown. The Great Danes shot 45.3 per cent (29/64) and had a stellar 14-of-27 performance in treys.

UAlbany (1-2), continues their hectic five-games-in-as-many-days cross-border tour with no time off. They play at UQAM on Aug. 20 and at Concordia on Aug. 21.

McGill (1-3), which started their training camp on Aug. 2, now has a much-needed 45-day break before resuming their preseason schedule with games at Toronto and York, Oct. 4-5. In preparation for that, Coach DeAveiro will be holding an open tryout camp for full-time McGill students in the Currie Gym on Wed., Sept. 4 at 7 p.m.

BOXSCORE

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