MONTREAL – Haris Elezovic produced an efficient double-double for McGill but it was insufficient as Concordia rallied for a last-minute 58-57 victory in men's basketball thriller at John Dore Court, Saturday.
 
It was the first confrontation between these cross-town rivals since McGill edged Concordia 48-46 in the league championship game last spring, to complete an undefeated season in RSEQ play with a perfect 14-0 record. Since then, the Redbirds have gone 0-3 against conference opponents.

Concordia won the the first three quarters, 13-11, 15-14 and 19-16 before an energized McGill group came to life in the final stanza, which they took 16-11.

Ibrahim Gosselin-Diawara hit a bankshot layup to put McGill ahead 55-54 with 3:10 remaining in the game but the Stingers regained the lead at 56-55 when Sami Jahan hit a jumper with 2:55 left, followed 36 seconds later with a dagger from Alex Phaneuf that gave Concordia a three-point cushion. Elezovic then drained a pair of free throws to narrow the gap to 58-57 with 84 seconds remaining.

Down the stretch, McGill's Samuel Chaput had two chances for the win. His first shot bounced off the rim with 40 seconds left and then he just missed a buzzer-beater three from near the sideline on the final play of the game.

Elezovic led the Redbirds with 18 points, on 6-for-12 shooting, and pulled down 10 rebounds. He was perfect on all six of his free-throw attempts.

Three of his teammates also reached double figures in scoring, namely Sam Jenkins (14), Chaput (12) and Gosselin-Diawara (10).

Jahan paced the Stingers with 21 points, followed by Phaneuf (15) and Tyrell Williams (12).

Concordia had a slight 33-32 edge in rebounds and benefited from an advantageous 17-12 difference in turnovers. The Stingers shot 35.5 per cent from the field (22/62), compared to McGill, which shot 33.3 (19/57).  The hosts shot 7-for 27 from downtown and drained seven of 11 from the line, while the visitors replied on 5-of-22 and 14-of-17, respectively.

The Redbirds (0-3) return to action on Nov. 17 when they host UQAM (0-2) in an 8 p.m. tip-off. Concordia (3-0) travels to Quebec City on Nov. 19 to play Laval (2-0).
 
BOXSCORE
 
RSEQ STANDINGS & STATS
 

SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
@EarlZukerman (twitter)