MONTREAL – Etienne Gagnon and Yanis Malanda each produced a double-double as the division-leading Bishop's Gaiters escaped with a 73-69 victory over McGill in men's basketball at Love Competition Hall, Thursday.
 
BU improved to 8-1 atop the RSEQ conference. McGill, which had two starters foul out in the final quarter, dropped to 2-8.

The Redbirds started out like they were primed for an upset over BU, leading 15-12 after the first quarter and 39-35 at halftime. But the Gaiters made some halftime adjustments, then won the third quarter 16-13 and the final stanza 22-17.

The Gaiters rallied from a 52-43 deficit with 3:30 remaining in the third quarter and went on a stunning 18-2 run to take the lead for good in the fourth.

The game featured 49 personal fouls and Bishop's went 17-for-31 from the free-throw line, compared to McGill's 14-for-21.
 
Gagnon tallied 24 points and pulled down a dozen rebounds, while Malanda had 10 and 11, respectively. Teammate Zach John added 14 points.
 
Luis Micourt, a sophomore from Ottawa, paced a balanced Redbirds offence with a career-high 16 points and eight rebounds in only 21 minutes of court time. Montrealer Georges Lefebvre added 13 points and seven boards. Sophomore Alexis Messier of Gatineau, Que., contributed 13 points and six rebounds, while freshman Noah Sincere of Laval, Que., and sophomore Dilane Pele of Montreal each had nine points off the bench.

Bishop's, which had a 56-42 rebounding advantage, shot a sub-par 32.9 per cent from the field (24/73), compared to McGill which shot 41.3 (26/63). But they made up for it from the three-point arc, where the gaiters went 8-for-33, compared to McGill's ice cold 3-for-19 performance.
 
McGill, which now owns a lifetime 134-74 record against Bishop's since 1971, will play a return engagement in Lennoxville on Saturday (Jan. 25) and they will hook up once more in Montreal on Feb. 15.
 
BOXSCORE
 
RSEQ STATS & STANDINGS
 
U SPORTS STANDINGS
 
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Communications Officer
McGill Athletics and Recreation
(514) 983- 7012
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
www.mcgillathletics.ca