SHERBROOKE, Que. – The Bishop's Gaiters men's basketball team closes out the first half of the 2016/17 season on Saturday afternoon as they host the No. 9-ranked McGill Redmen at the Mitchell Gym. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.
The Gaiters (3-8, 0-3 RSEQ) come into the game after a 74-64 loss at Laval last week, their third straight defeat to start league play. Bishop's is two games back of Laval, Concordia and UQAM, who are tied for the league lead with 2-1 records.
McGill (7-3, 1-1 RSEQ) has split their first two league games, but both were close encounters. They fell 80-77 (OT) to UQAM last week, after opening league play with a 62-61 win over the Rouge et Or. They also play Concordia on Thursday night, prior to venturing out to Lennoxville.
The RSEQ has been competitive from top to bottom so far this season, with the average margin of victory in any game being just 4.1 points, with five of the seven games so far being decided by four points or fewer.
Abdul Kamane (Montreal, Que./Vanier College ) leads the Gaiter attack so far this year, averaging 12.7 points per game, tied for fourth in the conference, while
Jona Bermillo (Montreal, Que./Vanier College) is a point back at 11.7 ppg. Bermillo is the league's leading playmaker, with 4.7 assists per game.
Nick Harvey (Saint-Bruno, Que. /Champlain-St. Lambert) is the other Gaiter in double figures, with an average of 11 points per game. Harvey leads the league with 15 made free throws this season, and is shooting 88.2 per cent from the line.
McGill's offence is led by Jenning Leung, who is third in the league with 16.0 points per game. The Redmen have been strong on the boards, as they have the top four rebounders in the conference (Michael Richard – 12.0 rpg, Noah Daoust – 11.5 rpg, Michael Peterkin – 11.0 rpg and François Bourque (9-0 rpg) so far. The Redmen grab 46 rebounds per game, on average, while giving up only 36.5.
The Redmen have won seven of the past eight matchups between the two teams, however the Gaiter win is in that span is certainly memorable: the 68-63 win on March 7, 2015 in the RSEQ championship game. The teams will square off four times this season.
Saturday's game is part of the RBC Wall of Distinction celebrations. The three inductees: longtime athletic therapist Steve King, women's basketball star Cynthia Johnston and men's basketball star Trevor Bennett, will be honoured at a pre-game ceremony.
Saturday will close out the fall portion of the schedule for the Gaiters. After the annual break for exams and the Christmas holidays, they will return to action on Jan. 13, 2017.
