MONTREAL – Jamal Mayali scored a game-high 29 points as McGill officially opened their 120th season of men's basketball with a statement en route to a 77-62 victory over Concordia before a COVID-restricted capacity crowd of 500 at Love Competition Hall, Thursday.

The result was McGill's second consecutive win over the Stingers dating back to 2020 and improved their head-to-head record to 8-5 in their last 13 meetings. The 15-point spread was the team's highest over Concordia since a 98-79 decision on March 3, 2018. 

The Redbirds took the opening quarter 18-15 and led 32-30 at halftime. McGill exploded out of the locker room to easily win the third stanza 26-13 and both squads tallied 19 apiece in the final frame.

"It was a fun game and we beat a really good, well-coached Concordia team. Our guys came out with high energy and although our game plan was legitimate, the result was more a testament to how hard our guys worked and wanted to win. It was a gritty performance," said head coach Ryan Thorne, who collected his the first regular season conquest with the Redbirds after 277 victories over 17 seasons as bench boss of the McGill women's program. "It was great to be back playing. Over the past year, I really missed a lot of the energy that comes from the athletes, the fun, the sport. Watching on TV doesn't quite do it. Just being in there with the athletes, not only for the games but also the practices and the little jokes that go on."

Mayali, a 6-foot-1 guard from Toronto, was just two shy of his single-game career-best 31 points. The fifth-year political science major shot 9-for-16 from the field, draining a sizzling six of a dozen attempted three-pointers. In 29 minutes of court time, he also made five of his six free-throw attempts, pulled down four rebounds and contributed four assists.

"Jamal's a star and that's the kind of performance that you can expect from an all-star," Thorne noted. "When things didn't go according to plan, we made some adjustments and created opportunities for him and that's part of my role, to create opportunities for our guys to shine."

Mayali overshadowed an impressive double-double by newcomer Haris Elezovic, a 6-foot-8 sophomore from Sherbrooke, Que., who scored 16 points (going 6-for-6 from the line) and pulled down a game-high dozen rebounds. Elezovic, who started and played 28 minutes, added a pair of steals and one assist.

"Elezovic got back to what he did in the first preseason game... which is to both score and rebound. He has those abilities and can even pop up and shoot the three. He is so skilled and versatile. He went through a stretch in the preseason where he was playing one-dimensional but I think that this is what we can expect from him."

Cameron Elliot, a third-year guard from Ottawa, also reached double figures with 12 points to go with four boards, a pair of steals and one assist.

The Redbirds were clicking on all cylinders. They shot 43.5 per cent from the floor, made 12 of 31 shots from three-point range and connected on a lofty 11 of 13 attempts from the charity stripe. Concordia, which was awarded 15 more free throws than McGill, sunk only 18 of 28. They shot 38.5 from the floor (20/52), while making a tepid four of 24 from the arc.

Aside from the staggering difference from downtown, the other statistic that stood out was turnovers. The Stingers committed 18 that led directly to 19 points on the scoreboard for McGill. The Redbirds were charged with 14 turnovers but they led to only eight Concordia points.

Three Stingers reached double digits, led by Steve Mbida-Abomo (11 points), Sami Ghandour (10) and Olivier Koumassou-Bernier (10).

Next week, Concordia (0-1) will host Bishop's (1-0) on Nov. 18, the same night that McGill (1-0) will play at UQAM (0-0) in an 8 p.m. tip-off. Before then, the Citadins will open their campaign at Laval (0-1) on Saturday (Nov. 13).

BOXSCORE

RSEQ STATS & STANDINGS


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