MONTREAL – Georges Lefebvre of Montreal registered one of his patented double-doubles as McGill sunk the Laurentian Voyageurs 76-66 at the men's side of the McGill Basketball Classic preseason tournament, Saturday, at Love Competition Hall.
 
The Redbirds finished 1-2 at the tourney after dropping an 82-76 decision to UPEI in the opener on Thursday and suffering a 95-89 setback on Friday to Macalester College, an NCAA Div. 3 squad from St. Paul, Minn.
 
Lefebvre scored 18 points and grabbed 16 boards to post his sixth double-double in 11 preseason contests. It was the team's highest rebounding total since Haris Elezovic had 22 against Concordia on Feb. 9, 2023. That mark was five shy of the school record 27 pulled down by the late FIBA Hall of Famer Nasko Golomeev against Queen's on Feb. 7, 1969.
 
Laurentian, an OUA-based team from Sudbury, Ont., led 16-13 after the first quarter and took a 34-31 advantage into halftime. McGill outscored the vistors 22-10 in the third stanza and 23-19 in the final frame. The Redbirds had a 41-36 edge in rebounds and were charged with 11 of the 20 turnovers in the game.
 
Lefebvre, a 6-foot-8 centre who transferred from Simon Fraser University, shot 7-for-14 from the floor and went 3-for-6 from the line. The sociology major was the only McGill player to earn the all-tournament status. Over the three contests, Lefebvre scored 53 points and grabbed 34 rebounds, to go along with seven assists and a pair of blocked shots. He shot 18-for-35 from the field and drained 11 of 15 from the line.
 
Lefebvre was one of five Redbirds to reach double figures in scoring, a group that included freshmen Alexandre Reinert-Woodfine (14) and sophomore Alexis Messier (12), along with rookies Noah Sincere (10) and Isaac Moore (10).
 
UPEI, led by Tournament MVP Kamari Scott, went on capture the tourney title with an unblemished 3-0 record. Others to merit all-tourney honours included Daniel Gonzalez-Longarela (UPEI), Shawn Barthelemy (Laurentian) and Kaden Holdbrook (Macalester).
 
McGill, which dropped to 3-8 in preseason action, will host Concordia in the RSEQ regular season opener on Nov. 7 at 8 p.m. Before then, the team will hold an alumni game for Homecoming Week on Oct. 26 at the Sir Arthur Currie Gym.
 
BOXSCORE

McGILL SCHEDULE
 
RSEQ STATS & STANDINGS
 

2024 McGILL BASKETBALL CLASSIC TOURNAMENT
 

MEN'S ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Kamari Scott, UPEI (TOURNEY MVP)
Georges Lefebvre, McGill
Daniel Gonzalez-Longarela, UPEI
Shawn Barthelemy, Laurentian
Kaden Holdbrook, Macalester



MEN'S SCOREBOARD
 
Oct. 17
UPEI 82, McGill 76
(MVPs: UPEI: Kyree Thompson & McG: Georges Lefebvre)
 
Oct. 18
UPEI 105,  Laurentian 88
(MVPs: UPEI: Kamari Scott & LRTN: Philippe Fandio)

Macalester 95, McGill 89
(MVPs: MAC: Kaden Holdbrook & McG: Alexis Messier)

Oct. 19
UPEI 95, Macalester 92
(MVPs: UPEI: Sam Chisholm & MAC: Noah Shannon)

McGill 76, Laurentian 63
(MVPs: McG: Noah Sincere & LRTN: Nginyu Ngala)

Oct. 20
Laurentian 73, Macalester 67
(MVPs: LRTN: Shawn Barthelemy & MAC: Ryan Brush)

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WOMEN'S ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Shannon Neita, StFX (TOURNEY MVP)
Ekaterina Karchevskaya, StFX
Lily Rose Chatila, McGill
Emilie Lafond, Laurentian
Sveta Boykova, UNBC


WOMEN'S SCOREBOARD
 
Oct. 18
StFX 67, Laurentian 48
(GAME MVPs: StFX: Ekaterina Karchevskaya & LRTN: Emilie Lafond)

McGill 75, UNBC 50
(GAME MVPs: McG: Lily Rose Chatila & UNBC: Sveta Boykova)
 
Oct. 19
StFX 80, UNBC 75
(GAME MVPs: StFX: Shannon Neita & UNBC: Viktoria Filatova)

McGill 51, Laurentian 42
(GAME MVPs: McG: Erica Simeone & LRTN: Cadence Pecore)

Oct. 20
UNBC 63, Laurentian 60
(GAME MVPs: UNBC: Amrit Manak & LRTN: Molly Adams)

StFX 81, McGill 61
(GAME MVPs: StFX: Kristine Cooper & McG: Lily Rose Chatila)


SOURCE
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
CELL: 514-983-7012
E-MAIL:earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca