STE. FOY, QUE – Steeve Joseph tallied a game-high 29 points as Laval rallied from a late 12-point deficit to defeat McGill 76-68 in overtime in men's university basketball at the Centre PEPS, Thursday.
 
It was a critical result for both teams who are wrestling for the fourth and final playoff berth in the RSEQ conference. With four games remaining in regular season play, Laval (3-9) now has a two-point lead over McGill in the standings. The provincial rivals will meet again on Saturday for the final time with McGill facing a must-win result to square the season series at 2-2. Should they remain even at the end of the season, the deciding tie-breaker would then be the head-to-head point-differential and Laval currently leads that by +30. So McGill will have an uphill battle on the road to salvation.
 
The contest started 45 minutes late due to a snowstorm in the Quebec City area that played havoc with traffic and resulted in a delayed arrival by the officiating crew.
 
The teams were tied 14-14 after the opening quarter and Laval held a slight 29-26 advantage at halftime. But McGill exploded out of the dressing room, dominated the third stanza 25-18 and took what appeared to be a commanding 59-47 lead with 7:21 remaining in the fourth quarter. They then watched in horror as Laval went on a 16-4 run down the stretch to knot the score at 63-63 and force overtime. Both teams had a shot at a buzzer-beater in the dying seconds but each hit the rim. The Rouge et Or outlasted McGill 13-5 in the extra five-minute session.
 
Laval scored 26 points off 18 McGill turnovers, compared to the Redbirds, who only managed to convert 15 Laval miscues into seven points.

Joseph, who had only seven points at halftime, added 22 more in the second half, including five in overtime. He was one of four Laval players in double digits, along with Jayden Larosiliere (11), Mohamed Keita (11) and Fabrice Watier-Berth (10).
 
McGill also had a foursome in double figures, paced by Padhy Saransh who tallied 15 points on 6-for-13 shooting, along with a 3-for-6 performance from the line. Other leading scorers for the Redbirds were Alexis Messier (12), Luis Micourt (12) and Sean Herscovitch (10). Georges Lefebvre contributed eight points and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.
 
The winning side shot 37.3 per cent from the field (28/75), 8-for-32 from downtown and 12-for-16 from the foul-throw line. McGill shot 40 per cent from the floor (26/65), 9-for-23 from long distance and 7-for-12 from the charity stripe.
 
It was a disappointing result for the Redbirds on the anniversary of the first university men's basketball game played in Canada, 121 years ago. McGill defeated Queen's 9-7 in overtime in the inaugural intercollegiate hoops contest, played on Feb. 6, 1904, in Kingston, Ont.

McGill now holds a lifetime 92-68 record in 160 confrontations overall against Laval, heading into Saturday's rematch at Love Competition Hall at 6 p.m. After that, McGill will close out the regular season with games at home to Bishop's (11-2), at Concordia (10-1) and at UQAM (5-9). After this weekend, Laval's final three match-ups will be at Concordia, at Bishop's and at home to the Stingers.
 
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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