MONTREAL – Joshua Soifer and Sean Herscovitch each scored 20 points but it went for naught as McGill fell 77-69 to Bishop's to put a damper on the Redbirds basketball official home opener, Thursday, before a crowd of 603 at Love Competition Hall.
 
It was a tale of two halves as BU held a commanding 40-21 halftime lead but McGill came out with a spirited second half, winning the final two quarters by a combined 48-37 margin before running out of time.
 
The tale of the tape was that the Gaiters made a whopping 31 trips to the free-throw line and came away with 19 freebies, while McGill was just 9-for-18. The Redbirds were assessed 24 personal fouls, compared to 13 by the visitors.
 
Bishop's was led by Charles Robert and Josh Koulamallah with 17 points apiece, buttressed by Rowan Halpenny, who added 11.
 
Soifer, a 6-foot-4 forward from Regina, Sask., shot 9-for-12 off the bench and went 2-for-5 from the line. The 21-year-old civil law freshman added three rebounds and a pair of assists in 26 minutes of court time.
 
Herscovitch, a 5-foot-9 guard from Montreal, was 7-for-14 shooting, including 2-for-6 from downtown. The 23-year-old political science senior was 4-for-5 from the charity stripe and added a pair of rebounds with four assists and a steal.
 
BU won the turnover battle (13-10) and held the advantage in rebounds (38-36) and steals (5-3). They connected on 39.1 per cent of their field-goals (25/64), including an 8-for-23 effort from three-point land. The Redbirds shot 41.9 per cent (26/62) from the field, connected on eight of 27 from long distance and went 9-for-18 from the line.
 
McGill (0-2) returns to the court at Concordia (1-1) on Saturday (Nov. 11) at 4 p.m.  Bishop's (2-0) will hosting Laval (0-1) on Nov. 16 at 8 p.m.
 
BOXSCORE
 
RSEQ STATS & STANDINGS
 
SOURCE
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-983-7012 (cell)