Box Score MONTREAL – Alexis Messier made a lay-up and drained a free-throw to complete a three-point play with 19.5 seconds remaining as McGil rallied for a nail-biting 74-73 victory over UQAM to close out the men's basketball season, Saturday, at the Centre Sportif.
 
It was the final result of  the 123rd year for the McGill men's hoops program and halted a nine-game slide for the youthful Redbirds. They finished last in the five-team RSEQ conference with a disappointing 3-13 record and will miss the playoffs. UQAM finished third at 5-11 and will confront second-place Concordia (14-2) in a conference semifinal on Feb. 26. The league's other semi pits fourth-place Laval (4-12) at top-seeded Bishop's (14-2).

McGill, which trailed by seven points late in the third quarter, won the final stanza by a 22-16 margin.

Messier finished with 17 points and was joined in double digit scoring by teammates Georges Lefebvre (20 pts, 8 rbs) and Luis Micourt (13 pts, 9 rbs).

Three UQAM players had double figures, with Steeven Diaz Belijour (20), Jean mcFadden (16) and Cheick Dosso, who registered a double-double with 12 points and a dozen rebounds.

It marked the final collegiate game for two McGill veterans from Montreal, including Georges Lefebvre (BA '27), a first-year transfer who was in his final year of eligibility after playing in the NCAA at Vermont and Simon Fraser University in Vancouver.

The other player expected to graduate is Sean Herscovitch (BA '25), a political science senior in his fifth year at McGill but only his fourth year of eligibility. He has played in 94 career games overall for the Redbirds and finished with 596 points, 254 rebounds, 253 assists and 98 steals.

The result marked the end of a difficult season for the young squad that finished with a 6-22 record overall, including a 5-18 mark against Canadian opponents and a 3-13 dossier in regular season play. The team featured a roster composed of five freshmen, 10 sophomores, one junior and two seniors.
 
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