MONTREAL – Veteran Jamal Mayali of Toronto scored a game-high 24 points but freshman Sidney Gauthier stole the show. The 20-year-old kid from Blainville, Que., scored 14 and nailed a spectacular buzzer-beater as McGill rallied from a 12-point deficit to stun UQAM 80-79 in a men's basketball thriller at the Centre Sportif, Saturday.

The Redbirds improved their picture perfect record to 6-0 atop the RSEQ conference standings, while UQAM tumbled to 2-4. It marks the best start to a season for McGill since winning their first six in 2001, which matched similar starts in 1986 and 1983. McGill won seven consecutive contests in 1980 and the team's best launch ever was 12 straight in 1976.

Before close to 500 masked fans at UQAM's Centre Sportif, the Redbirds never led until the late stages, finally grabbing the lead at 65-64 with 4:13 remaining in the contest. That marked the first of five lead changes down the furious stretch.

The Citadins held a 22-19 advantage after the opening frame, stretched that to 39-34 at the half and appeared to have a relatively safe 53-41 buffer with 6:36 remaining in the third quarter. UQAM entered the final period ahead 60-52 before the Redbirds put on a shock-and-awe display to win the quarter 28-19.

Trailing 79-76 with 11 seconds remaining in the game, Mayali hit a jump-shot to make it a one-point deficit. The Redbirds then fouled Jean McFadden to stop the clock with 9.3 ticks left on the clock but the UQAM rookie missed both free-throws. A wrestling match for a loose ball ensued and when the dust settled,  the Redbirds had the possession arrow in their favour with just six seconds left in regulation time.

Standing behind the McGill basket, Cam Elliot in-bounded a five-yard pass to Sam Jenkins who immediately returned the ball to Elliot. He sprinted past mid-court, then found Gauthier open just inside the three-point arc to the left of the UQAM basket. The rookie had less than a second to loft a high-arc jumper that eventually came down from the clouds and went swoosh.

Pandemonium ensued and even Ryan Thorne, the normally placid McGill bench boss, jumped in excitement.

"It was definitely an emotional game and a big win. There were a lot of ups and downs and I jumped when he hit that shot. I probably should have been a little more reserved," admitted Thorne. "Defensively, UQAM took away all of our other shooters (on the final play) and we're very confident in Sidney Gauthier. We ran what we call our '41 Action' play and he got to an open situation. All of our guys spend time on that in practice and they are very confident shooters."

Gauthier, the starting point-guard who measures 6-foot-1 and 181 pounds, entered the game averaging 5.6 points in league play. His 14-point outburst is a career high and he shot 7-for-11 from the field. The economics freshman also added five rebounds, one assist and a steal.

"He's a great young player and is learning a lot of the things that I want, which is different from what he learned for his previous team (College Montmorency)," noted Thorne. "Sidney's playing with a lot of really strong seniors, so that gives him confidence. It also can be a stressful environment but he's up to the test. He's a solid player, can shoot the ball and can get to the rim. He had a key block in the win against UQAM two days ago. So I'm really happy that he made the decision to come to McGill and I think that he's going to be someone who will help us a lot."

Other leading scorers for the visitors were Sam Jenkins (17) of Hamilton, Ont., and Montrealer Quarry Whyne, who netted 12 points off the bench and pulled down a game-high eight off the boards.

Four Citadins reached double digits, including Frantson Demosthene, Karim Sabban and Alix Lochard with 16 points apiece, and Samuel Cayo who had 11 off the bench.

"That's a good athletic team," said Thorne of the Citadins. "They battle, are scrappy and play well on their home court, where they feed off the crowd. We were fortunate to find ourselves still in striking distance at the end."

UQAM was doomed by their 45.8 per cent success rate at the free-throw line, where they sank only 11 of 24, compared to McGill's 20-for-30 tally. The Redbirds shot 27-for-59 from the floor (45.8%), including a 6-for-16 effort from downtown. The Citadins replied with 29-for-64 and 10-for-25, respectively.

McGill will put their win streak on the line with back-to-back games against Laval (1-5) next week. The Rouge et Or will visit Love Competition Hall on Thursday (Feb. 24) and the return match in Quebec City is slated for Feb. 26. Both tip-offs are set for 8 p.m., following the women's matchup.

REDBIRD RAP: This marked the first buzzer-beater victory for McGill since Oct. 12, 2012 when Aleksandar Mitrovic gave his troops a 66-64 decision over the NCAA's American International in a preseason affair played at St. Bruno, Que... The last time that McGill won a league game "at the buzzer" actually occured when Matt Thornhill scored with 0.9 seconds remaining in a 60-59 home-court victory over UQAM on Jan. 17, 2010... Although records are incomplete, it is believed that the last time McGill actually won a Quebec league or playoff game right at the buzzer, was the 1986 QUAA championship game when Sandy Cianci hit the winning basket in a stunning 68-66 upset over Concordia on Mar. 2, 1986.... BEST STARTS: Looking at McGill's previous best starts to a season, in 2001-02, under coach Nevio Marzinotto, a six-game win streak was halted with an 80-63 loss to Laval en route to a 12-3 second-place finish... In 1986, under coach Ken Schildroth, a six-game win streak was snapped with an 80-63 loss against Laval, en route to posting a 12-3 second-place finish... In 1983,  under coach Eddie Pomykala, a six-game win streak ended with a 75-73 loss at Bishop's en route to an 11-1 first-place record... In 1980-81, under coach Butch Staples, a seven-game win streak was snapped with a 67-66 loss vs. Concordia en route to a 9-3 second-place finish... In 1976-77, Staples led his troops to 12 consecutive wins before that streak was halted with a 72-68 setback to Concordia en route to a 14-1 first-place record.

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RSEQ STANDINGS & STATS


SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
TEL: 514-398-7012
EMAIL: earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca