ST. LAMBERT, QUE -- Senior guard Ethan Taylor scored 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the U.S. Air Force Academy defeated McGill University, 54-52, Saturday afternoon at Champlain Gym on the campus of Champlain College.  

William Robinson, a 6-foot-1 freshman guard from Toronto, came off the bench to pace McGill with a dozen points, while newcomer Georges Lefebvre, a 6-foot-8 transfer from Simon Fraser university, had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman Alexandre Reinert-Woodfine of Gatineau, Que., contributed nine points, six rebounds, a pair of assists, one block and a steal.

The Falcons, an NCAA Div. 1 team, improved to 3-1 on their five-game Canadian tour. They opened the trip with an 87-76 win at McMaster (July 29), followed by a 62-55 in over Toronto Metropolitan University (July 29) and a 71-55 loss at Concordia (Aug. 1).

Air Force started strong, leading 24-10 after the opening quarter, on the strength of a 14-0 run. McGill clawed back in the second quarter, out-scoring the Falcons 16-10, reducing the deficit to 34-26 at halftime. The visitors held a 47-37 advantage after three but McGill battled back to win the final stanza 15-7.

McGill had a few chances to win in the dying moments. Lefebvre knocked down one of two free-throws with 72 seconds remaining to reduce McGill's deficit to two and Reinert-Woodfine missed a pair of treys in the final 16 seconds, including an attempted buzzer-beater.

The Redbirds had a 41-38 edge in rebounding but the Falcons had the upper-hand in turnovers by a 15-9 margin. McGill shot 35.8 per cent from the field (9/53) and 30.8 from three-point range (8/26) while draining only six of 13 from the free-throw line. Air Force shot 31.7 from the floor (20/63), went 9-for-35 from the arc and 5-for-8 from the line.

The Falcons (3-1) wrap up their Canadian tour on Sunday, against Laval in a 2 pm start at the Desjardins Amphitheatre in Quebec City.

McGill (0-1) has a day of preparation before hosting the University of Albany Great Danes in a 6 p.m. tip-off at Champlain College.

BOXSCORE

McGILL ROSTER

AIR FORCE ROSTER


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