MONTREAL -- Senior Jamal Mayali scored a game-high 21 points and freshman Haris Elezovic contributed a double-double as the McGill men's basketball team opened their preseason with a 68-65 thriller over the visiting Christopher Newport University Captains, an NCAA Div. 3 school from Virginia, Saturday.

It marked the first victory on the men's side for Redbirds bench boss Ryan Thorne, who coached the McGill women's program to 277 wins in 498 career games behind the bench.

McGill, which had a 46-37 edge in rebounding, led 18-17 after the opening quarter, 38-34 at halftime and 58-53 after three stanzas. CNU had a chance to force overtime on a last play buzzer-beater but Trey Barber missed his three-point jump shot.

Mayali, a 6-foot-4 guard from Toronto, shot 7-for-18 from the floor, including a 4-for-7 performance from three-point range. The fifth-year political science major went 3-for-3 from the free-throw line, added six rebounds, a pair of assists and one steal in 37 minutes of court time.

Elezovic, a 21-year-old management sophomore from Sherbrooke, Que., tallied 15 points and 18 rebounds in his Redbirds debut. In 32-minutes of playing time, the 6-foot-8, 205-pound product of Vanier College shot 5-for-18 from the field, went 5-for-6 from the line and was credited with two assists.

Teammate Sam Jenkins, a senior point-guard from Hamilton, Ont., also reached double digits with 15 points, to go along with eight rebounds, five dimes and two steals.

Rounding out the McGill scoring was junior Quarry Whyne (8) of Montreal, sophomore Yunkai Li (7) of West Vancouver, B.C., and newcomer Joshua Daoust (2), a native of Dorval, Que., who transferred from the Bishop's Gaiters.

Three members of the Captains reached double figures in scoring. Jason Aigner paced the visitors with 14 points, followed by Ty Henderson (13) and Adrian Beasley (11).

McGill shot 36.8 per cent from the field (25/68), 35.3 from beyond the arc (6/17) and 63.2 from the line (12/19). The Captains shot 32.3 (24/73), 16.7 (5/30) and drained 12 of 19 freebies, respectively.

CNU posted a 23-6 record in the 2019-20 campaign, and was playing in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament when action was halted due to the pandemic. The Captains (0-1) continue their Canadian tour on Sunday at Champlain College (1 p.m.), then head to Quebec City on Monday, where they will play Laval (3 p.m.).

McGill (1-0) has three more exhibition games remaining, all at home. The Redbirds will host Ottawa on Oct. 15 (7 p.m.), followed by Queen's (Oct. 16) and perennial national champion Carleton (Oct. 23), all at Love Competition Hall. The regular season schedule is slated to open on Nov. 11 against Concordia.

BOXSCORE

SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012 (Tel.)
m.athletics.mcgill.ca (mobile website)
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca