ST. LAMBERT, QUE – Newcomer Georges Lefebvre registered a double-double for McGill but it was insufficient as the visiting University of Albany Great Danes outpaced the Redbirds 77-54 in preseason men's basketball at Champlain College, Monday.
 
UAlbany led 19-12 after the first quarter, 38-26 at halftime and 55-45 after three, then cruised to a 22-9 margin in the final stanza.
 
It was UAlbany's first preseason contest of a three-game cross-border tour, while the Redbirds dropped to 0-2. The Great Danes, an NCAA Div. 1 team from the America East Conference, are coming off a 13-19 record overall, including a 5-11 mark in regular season play.
 
Amar'e Marshall, a senior from Montclair, N.J., was one of four UAlbany players to reach double digits. He paced the squad with 13 points, while Amir Lindsey and Byron Joshua had 12 apiece and Damon Strand added 11.
 
Lefebvre, an NCAA transfer in his fifth year of eligibility, previously had stints at Vermont and Simon Fraser University. The 6-foot-8 native Montrealer scored 15 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, to go along with two blocks and a pair of steals.
 
He was one of three Redbirds to reach double figures in scoring, along with sophomore Saransh Padhy (12 pts, 7 rbs, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 assist) of Stoufville, Ont., and freshman point-guard Noah Sincere (10 pts, 2 rbs, 1 steal) from Laval, Que.
 
The Redbirds had a 40-37 edge in rebounds but committed 30 turnovers compared the 18 by the visitors. The Great Danes shot 38.7 per cent from the field (24/61), including an 11-for-32 effort from three-point range. They also had a very efficient performance from the free-throw line, connecting at 78.3 per cent (18/23).
 
McGill shot 36.2 from the floor (21/58), 27.3 (6/22) from the arc and 60 per cent from the line (6/10).
 
The Redbirds, who played twice in five days since reporting for medicals on Aug. 1, will now have 15 days to hold a proper training camp before their next game on Aug. 21. They will confront Catholic University of America, in a 7 p.m. tip-off at Champlain College. The Cardinals are an NCAA Div. 3 program from Washington, D.C.

NCAA college basketball teams are permitted to play a summer foreign tour once every four years. UAlbany's previous summer international trip was in 2019 when it went to Montreal and Ottawa. The Great Danes return to the court on Tuesday (Aug. 6) when they play Concordia in a 6 p.m. start at Collège Brébeuf. They will close out their Canadian tour against the Université de Québec à Montréal on Aug. 7.

BOXSCORE
 
UALBANY ROSTER

McGILL ROSTER

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