LENNOXVILLE, QUE. – Samuel Chaput of Longueuil, Que., continued his offensive onslaught with a lofty 29 points but it proved to be in vain as McGill came up on the short end of an 83-69 result in a critical road game against Bishop's, Saturday.
 
A victory would have had both teams locked at 4-8 in an RSEQ conference battle for the final playoff berth. Instead, the Gaiters improved to 5-7 and took a four-point lead over McGill (3-9) with four games remaining on the schedule.
 
In an entertaining contest that featured 10 lead changes, Bishop's had a considerable 47-31 advantage in rebounding. They led 19-17 after the first quarter, then took control in the second stanza, outscoring the Redbirds 31-16. McGill bounced back after the intermission to win the third quarter 18-7 and reduce the deficit to 57-51. But the visitors couldn't maintain that pace in the final frame as BU outpointed McGill 26-18.
 
Chaput, who dropped 31 points against Bishop's only two days earlier, fell two shy of repeating that mark. The 6-foot-1 guard added four assists, a rebound and one steal. Chaput, who is completing a diploma in applied marketing, shot 11-for-17 from the field, including a 3-for-6 effort from three-point range. He also went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe, compared to 15-for-16 in Thursday's game against the Gaiters. He is now averaging 18.3 points per game, which ranks second among RSEQ scoring leaders, behind Laval's Sidney Tremblay-Lacombe (19.8).
 
The only other McGill player to reach double figures in scoring was senior Sam Jenkins of Hamilton, Ont., who contributed 11 points with five rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.
 
Charles Robert and Etienne Gagnon each registered a double-double for the Gaiters. Robert had 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Gagnon had 11 and 14, respectively. Another leading BU marksman was Obinna Dike-Nwagabra, who tallied 11 points off the bench.
 
Bishop's had a slight edge in shooting, connecting on 43.3 per cent of their field-goals (28/67), compared to McGill, which shot 39.7 per cent (25/63). The Gaiters went 11-for-30 from downtown and 14-for-21 from the line. McGill went 6-for-22 and 13-for-20, respectively.
 
The Gaiters and Redbirds split their four games this season, with McGill holding a point-differential tie-breaker by a narrow 298-296 margin. So, McGill would advance if it finished tied with the Gaiters. As such, the magic number for BU to clinch the final playoff spot is three wins.
 
With four games remaining in regular season play, McGill will confront third-place Concordia (5-7) three times and first-place UQAM (9-3) once. Bishop's, meanwhile, will meet UQAM three times and second-place Laval (9-5) once.
 
McGill's upcoming cross-town rivalry against the Stingers begins with a home game on Thursday, Feb. 9, which will celebrate Black History Month. The teams will have a rematch two days later in the fourth annual George Lengvari Cup matchup at Concordia, then meet again for a matinee on Feb. 18. The Stingers have won the only meeting this far, a 58-57 decision on Nov. 12.
 
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SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012 (Tel.)
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca