MONTREAL – Rookie Joshua Soifer of Regina, Sask., came off the bench to score a season-high 29 points but it went for naught as the McGill men's basketball team came out on the short end of a 71-59 decision to UQAM in the RSEQ season opener at the Centre Sportif, Thursday.
 
UQAM, the defending conference champions, jumped into a 21-12 lead after the opening quarter and improved that to 33-20 at halftime. The Redbirds won the third quarter 19-14, reducing the gap to 47-39 but the Citadins outscored McGill in the final quarter 24-20.
 
The Redbirds shot an underwhelming 0-for-15 from three-point range, however, the Citadins only went 3-for-27 from the arc. It was McGill's lowest trey total in a decade, dating back to a 0-for-19 performance, also at UQAM, on Feb. 23, 2013.
 
Soifer, a 21-year-old civil law student who played the last two years in England at Oxford University, scored the most points in a game by a McGill player since Samuel Chaput knocked down 32 in a non-conference loss to Waterloo, Dec. 30, 2022. The only McGill player to reach double digits in this game, the 6-foot-4, 228-pound forward shot 14-for-19 from the floor and went 1-for-2 from the free-throw line. He added eight rebounds, one assist and a steal.
 
The next highest scoring member of the Redbirds was rookie Dilane Pele, a Montrealer, with eight, followed by senior Cameron Elliot of Ottawa and freshman Abdoul Barry of Sherbrooke, with six apiece. Elliot also registered a season-high nine assists, the team's highest regular season total in 14 years, since Jeff Cumming had 10 against Bishop's on Nov. 9, 2010.
 
Four members of the Citadins reached double figures, led by Kevin Civil (16), Bahaide Aidara (13), Karl Tommy Laforest (13) and Cheick Dosso (10).
 
UQAM shot 38.2 per cent from the field (26/68) and drained only 16 of 26 from the charity stripe. McGill replied on 40 per cent (24/60) and dropped 11 of 17 from the line. Both teams were credited with 39 rebounds but UQAM had a favourable 17-11 edge in turnovers, which translated into a 19-6 advantage on the scoreboard.
 
UQAM (1-0) returns to the court on Nov. 10, when they travel to Laval (0-0) for an 8 p.m. start, while McGill (0-1) plays at Concordia (0-1) on Nov. 11 in a 4 p.m. tip-off.
 
BOXSCORE
 
RSEQ STANDINGS
 
SOURCE
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
CELL: 514-983-7012
WEBSITE:www.mcgillathletics.ca
E-MAIL:earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca