LENNOXVILLE, QUE – Sophomore Alexis Messier of Gatineau, Que., scored a career-best 20 points but it was insufficient as his McGill Redbirds were clipped 73-58 by No.7 ranked Bishop's in men's basketball at the Mitchell Gymnasium, Thursday.
 
The result improved Bishop's to a perfect 3-0 record atop the RSEQ standings, while McGill dropped to 1-3.  It wasted an impressive performance by Messier, who drained seven of nine attempts from the floor, including a 4-for-4 effort in trey shooting, in addition to going 3-for-4 from the free-throw line.
 
In a game that featured eight lead changes in the first half, an athletic Gaiters squad entered the second quarter tied at 25-25 but exploded with a 25-9 bombardment to take a healthy 40-24 lead into the intermission. BU won the third stanza 19-13 and the Redbirds rebounded to take the last frame 21-14
 
Etienne Gagnon scored 20 to pace Bishop's, which had a 21-15 edge in turnovers that translated into a 26-16 advantage on the scoreboard. They also had the upper hand in rebounding (37-30).
 
Gaiters joining Gagnon in double digit scoring were Charles Robert (13) and Yanis Malanda (10).
 
Other leading scorers for McGill included Joshua Soifer with 10 off the bench, plus nine apiece for starters Georges Lefebvre and Sean Herscovitch. Lefebvre, normally the Redbirds top scorer and rebounder, played 35 minutes but was limited by an aggressive Gaiters squad and was assessed one of two technical fouls called in the contest, with the BU bench getting the other T.
 
Bishop's shot 42.9 per cent (27/63), which was marginally better than McGill's 42.9 (21/50). The Gaiters made up ground from long range, dropping nine of 29 bombs, while the Redbirds were 5-for-18. They posted almost identical numbers from the stripe, where BU was 10-for-15 and McGill was 11-for-16.
 
McGill (1-3) will now have a day of recovery to prepare for the UQAM Citadins (1-2), who will visit Love Competition Hall on Saturday (Nov. 23) in a 6 p.m. start that follows the women's game. Bishop's is off until Nov. 28 when they will host UQAM. 
 
BOXSCORE
 
RSEQ STATS & STANDINGS


SOURCE
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-983-7012 (Tel.)
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca