EDMONTON – Jamal Mayali, a graduating senior from Toronto, matched a personal best with a game-high 31 points in his final contest for sixth-seeded McGill but it was insufficient as No.2 Victoria defeated the Redbirds 77-68 in a consolation round semifinal at the U SPORTS Final 8 tournament before 500 at the Saville Centre, Saturday.

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The Vikes advance to play No. 4 Dalhousie in Sunday's consolation final for fifth place. On the other side, one of the finest seasons in McGill hoops history has ended with a 15-5 record overall, including a perfect 12-0 mark in the regular season, followed by a 2-0 mark in the Quebec conference playoffs.

All-Canadian guard Scott Kellum led Victoria with a team-high 17 points and was named as the Vikes player of the game. He was supported by fifth-year forward Matthew Ellis, who contributed 15 and second-year guard Diego Maffia, who added 14.

Victoria held a 20-13 lead after the opening quarter and extended that to 39-29 by halftime. But McGill rallied in the second half, like so many times this season, winning the second half 39-38 before time expired on their 120th season.

Mayali, who earned the team's player-of-the-game honours for the second straight outing, was a lone bright spot for the Redbirds, scoring his points on a blistering 10-for-16 pace from the field. He shot 8-for-13 from three-point range, was 3-for-5 from the free-throw line and added four rebounds and a air of assists.

"We had a lot of energy coming in at the beginning; that loss yesterday we took to Alberta really sparked a fire behind our backsides," said Mayali.

"Jamal's just a big shot-maker," McGill head coach Ryan Thorne said. "It's tough because we put him in situations where he's gotta bail us out, and he does a great job of that."

Sam Jenkins was the only other McGill player to reach double-digits. He had 13 points with three rounds, five assists and a pair of steals. Teammate Sidney Gauthier, a freshman point-guard, tallied nine points.

McGill was on the wrong end of a 21-8 advantage in personal fouls. The Vikes went 16-for-26 from the charity stripe, compared to McGill's uncharacteristically low 4-for-11 performance.

While both teams shot the ball well, finishing north of 37 per cent from beyond the arc, one of the biggest factors in the Vikes win was on the glass where they out-rebounded McGill 42-27. It led to 18 second-chance points for Victoria which compared to just five for the Redbirds.

McGill played long-ball all night with more trey attempts from outside the arc (12/32) than attempted shots from inside (14/26).

Just as they did in their quarter-final loss to Alberta the previous night, the Redbirds were able to claw back into the game as a result of better shooting and a full-court press that generated chances off turnovers. They entered the fourth down 56-51 and reduced Victoria's lead to just three with 3:30 remaining, thanks to the heroics of Mayali who had eight of his 31 points in the fourth.

But Maffia, the second-year hometown product, hit a pair of dagger threes back-to-back to give the Vikes a nine-point lead with two and a half minutes to go and McGill's goose was cooked.

"I was proud of the guys; we dug ourselves once again into a bit of a hole, battled back out of it, back to about a two-point game," Thorne said. "It's easy to hang your heads and think of what could have been and overlook what really was. There's a lot to be proud of."

The Redbirds are expecting to lose three seniors to graduation, including Mayali, Jenkins and Quarry Whyne.

Mayali, who is completing a political science degree, has played 99 career contests over four seasons for McGill and tallied 1,117 points and 334 rebounds overall.

Jenkins, a physical and health education senior, has suited up 111 times overall for the Red & White, and tallied 1,072 career points with 416 rebounds, 208 assists and 147 steals.

Whyne, also an economics senior, overcame injuries to dress for 69 career contests. He scored 681 points to go along with 312 rebounds, 105 assists and 76 steals.


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Nike Top Performers
Victoria Vikes: Scott Kellum
McGill Redbirds: Jamal Mayali

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