QUEBEC CITY – Jamal Mayali of Toronto continued his torrid scoring pace with 26 points as McGill rallied from a 17-point deficit to steal a 65-63 victory from the jaws of defeat against Laval in men's university basketball at the Amphitheatre Desjardins, Saturday.

The Redbirds improved their unblemished record to 8-0, which is now the second-best start in school history, beaten only by the team's 12-game win streak to begin the 1976-77 season. McGill can match that mark by sweeping their four remaining contests, two against fourth-place Bishop's (2-4) and then a much-anticipated home-and-home series against second-place Concordia (5-3).

Last-place Laval, which tumbled to 1-7, jumped into a surprising 15-6 lead after the opening quarter and took a cushy 31-19 advantage into halftime. When the Rouge et Or buttressed that to 45-28 with 3:36 remaining in the third quarter, even the gamblers in Las Vegas sensed a stunning upset.

But McGill went on a 14-3 run and before the Rouge et Or could stop the bleeding, the gap had been narrowed to 48-42, heading into the final stanza, where the visitors outpaced Laval by a 23-15 margin.

It was McGill largest come-from-behind victory since Feb. 9, 2016, when the team erased a school record 23-point second-half deficit and rallied for a 69-68 road win, also at Laval.

"I definitely didn't panic but we had to get after them in the second half, to step it up or it wasn't going to be that easy," said McGill head coach Ryan Thorne. "We've got some guys who can score and Jamal put the team on his back today. He found himself in good situations. Laval was switching some (defensive coverages), which allowed us to give him the ball. We also dug down deeper defensively as a group."

Mayali, a 6-foot-1 shooting-guard, went 9-for-18 from the floor, was 3-for-9 from three-point range, and made five of seven free-throws. The fifth-year political science senior added five rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists.

Mayali continues to lead the RSEQ scoring race with 20.3 points per game. He is also fourth in field-goal shooting (47.4), fourth in three-point shooting (44.6), third in minutes played (33.8 avg.), fifth in free-throw success rate (71.4), fifth in steals (1.6 per game) and 13th in assists (2.4 per game),

Also scoring double digits with 12 points apiece was fifth-year veteran Sam Jenkins of Hamilton, Ont., and senior Kevin Li of West Vancouver, who fouled out. Jenkins, the team captain, played a game-high 37 minutes. He contributed seven rebounds, seven steals and three assists. Sophomore Haris Elezovic, a 6-foot-8 starting centre from Sherbrooke, was limited to just three points and seven boards.

Laval had three players in double digit scoring, led by Sidney Tremblay-Lacombe of Montreal, who had 19 points and six rebounds.

Centre Marc-Andre Fortin of Ste. Marie, Que., registered a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Brandon Massimo Maniani-Wembe, another Montrealer, added 11 and seven, respectively.

McGill shot 31.3 per cent from the field (21/67), went 7-for-27 from the three-point arc and drained 16 of 20 from the charity stripe. Laval shot 42.9 (27/63), made only one of 17 treys and connected on just eight of 27 from the line.

The Redbirds (8-0) now get a two-week bye before resuming their quest for a perfect season on March 10. They will make a two-hour bus-trip to Bishop's for the front end of a home-and-home matchup with the fourth-place Gaiters (2-4) in what might be a playoff semifinal preview.

With four games remaining, McGill's magic number to clinch first place is two. Any combination of McGill victories or Concordia losses equaling two will be sufficient. Despite the season being reduced from 16 to 12 games due to government-imposed COVID protocols, the RSEQ playoff format remains unchanged. The top two seeds will host a sudden-death semifinal on March 23, with the winners advancing to the league championship game on Mar. 25.

BOXSCORE

RSEQ STATS & STANDINGS


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