Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 SHERBROOKE, Que. – Super sophomore Jona Bermillo had a career-high 26 points on Friday night as the Bishop's Gaiters men's basketball team topped the Concordia Stingers 73-64 in Mitchell Gym.  It was Majid Naji leading the way for Bishop's with 14 points on Saturday as they won 64-61 and completed the sweep of a home-and-home series over their Montreal foes.
 
The pair of wins gives Bishop's (8-4) the upper hand on second place in the RSEQ University men's basketball standings.  They are two games up on the Stingers (6-6) and hold any tiebreaker against them. McGill (8-2) sits atop the RSEQ standings.
 
Bermillo (Montreal) was simply brilliant on Friday night.  He was 10-for-13 from the floor and a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe en route to 26 points. He completed his stats line with four rebounds, three assists and a steal in 31 minutes of court time.  The contest was close throughout; tied at 30 at halftime before Bishop's grabbed a four-point advantage heading into the final frame.  Concordia clawed their way back and were even able to grab a lead before Bishop's answered and went onto a 73-64 victory.  The win clinched a playoff berth for the Gaiters.
 
"Jona is a great scorer when he doesn't rely on three point shooting," said Gaiters bench boss Rod Gilpin after Friday night's win. "He played really well tonight. We also had great contribution from our bench which is what we need with a few guys out because of injury."
 
Saturday was a heavyweight bout in Montreal.  Concordia jumped out to a 4-0 lead before             Bishop's went on a 17-0 run and took a 20-8 lead into the second frame.  The second quarter was back and forth, leaving Bishop's with a 40-30 advantage at the break.  The pace slowed a little in the third frame and the Stingers took control of the game outscoring Bishop's 18-4 in the quarter and taking a 48-44 lead. Naji (Lunel, France) scored six of his 14 points in the final frame to lead the Gaiters in their comeback. The back and forth final quarter saw five lead changes before Bishop's grabbed the lead for good with 3:20 remaining.  Concordia was able to force-up a pair of three pointers but were not able to convert as time expired and Bishop's went onto a 64-61 victory.
 
"We are playing without our three captains," said Gilpin after Saturday's victory. "It's tough, but our freshmen really stepped up.  We got big minutes out of our bench; everyone contributed and that's nice to see."
 
The Gaiters are back in action on Friday, Feb. 14 when the No. 8 McGill Redmen are in Mitchell Gym.  Game time is set for 8 p.m.
 
Follow the Gaiters as they stride towards the playoffs at www.gaiters.ca.
 
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