MONTREAL – Jamal Mayali scored a game-high 18 points and Haris Elezovic registered a double-double as McGill extended  their magical mystery tour to seven consecutive wins with a 71-63 victory over visiting Laval in men's basketball at Love Competition Hall, Thursday.

With five games remaining before post-season play, the victory clinched a playoff berth for McGill, which leads the RSEQ conference with a perfect 7-0 record. The win streak matches McGill's second-best start to a season, previously accomplished way back in 1980-81.  The Redbirds would have to win all remaining games to equal the team record of 12 victories to start the 1976-77 season.

The 71 points scored was McGill's lowest offensive output of the season and that can be largely attributed to a slow start. The teams were tied 12-12 after the opening quarter before the Redbirds took control of the TV channel-changer. They fast-forwarded into a 34-22 lead by halftime and held a modest 52-45 advantage after three quarters, then edged Laval 19-18 down the home stretch.

"Our defensive effort in the first half was great (but) it loosened up a bit in the second half," said McGill bench boss Ryan Thorne. "That Laval team has some great players, good size and ability on the inside and we were undisciplined. Once they started to hit a few shots, we started to force (things) and it's never good when you force."

Turnovers proved to be monumental, with the visitors committing 21 that resulted in 29 points for McGill. The Redbirds coughed up the ball only 13 times, leading to just a dozen points.

Mayali, a political science senior from Toronto, shot 6-for-14 from the floor, made four of seven treys and drained both of his trips to the free-throw line. In 31 minutes of court time, he also contributed four rebounds, a pair of steals and one assist. Mayali now leads the league in scoring, with a 19.4 average per game, and also in three-pointers with 26 treys in seven contests.

Elezovic, a 6-foot-8, 233-pound centre, collected his third double-double of the season. The 21-year-old finance sophomore tallied 11 points and pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds. He is ranked eighth among league scoring leaders (13.1 ppg), second in rebounding (8.4 rpg), fourth in field-goal shooting (.500), third in free-throw shooting (.758)

Team captain Sam Jenkins, a fifth-year physical education senior from Ottawa, added 14 points, largely on 3-for-6 shooting from the arc. He also was credited with three rebounds, a team-leading five assists, and three steals. Jenkins leads the Quebec conference in dimes and is fifth in steals.

Sidney Gauthier, the starting point-guard from Blainville, Que., – whose game-winning buzzer-beater in the last game is still making waves on social media – played a game-high 37 minutes, and tallied eight points with four assists and a pair of steals.

A threesome led the Rouge et Or in scoring. Marc-Andre Fortin, a 6-foot-8, 245-pound sophomore centre from Ste. Marie, Que., paced Laval with 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists before fouling out late in the game. He was aided by Montrealer Sidney Tremblay-Lacombe and rookie Saydou Sall, a native of Senegal, with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

McGill shot 37.9 per cent from the field (25/66), made 11 of 28 attempts from downtown and went 10-for-17 from the foul line. Laval shot 42.9 (24/56), went only 3-for-17 from long distance and drained 12 of 18 from the stripe.

Fifth-place Laval (1-6) is wrestling with Bishop's (1-4) for the final playoff berth, although they are both just two points in arrears of UQAM (2-4).

With five games left to play, McGill's magic number to clinch first place ahead of Concordia (5-2) in the RSEQ conference is three wins, including one over the Stingers. The cross-town rivals will clash in the final two games of the season, beginning with the George Lengvari Cup at Love Competition Hall on St. Patrick's Day. The men's tip-off has been flipped with the women's matchup and will now start at 6 p.m.

The provincial rivals will rendezvous for the final time on Saturday in an 8 p.m. tip-off at Quebec City. McGill has won seven consecutive meetings with Laval, including both this year and will be looking for a series sweep for the second consecutive season after cruising to four wins in 2019-20.

"It's always tougher in a back-to-back (situation)," Thorne noted. "The team that loses (the first game) makes more adjustments and is sometimes hungrier. Especially now, going back to their place. It's their crowd and they're probably going to shoot better in their gym, So for me (when you are on the road) it always comes down to make sure you take care of the boards... the ball and get good shot quality."

BOXSCORE

RSEQ STATS & STANDINGS

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