SHERBROOKE, Que. - The Bishop's Gaiters men's basketball team gets their 2016-17 season underway this weekend, as they head to Fredericton, N.B., for the annual Eric Garland Tournament. This weekend is the start of a 28-game campaign for the Gaiters, which will also include trips to Alberta, Ottawa and New England before RSEQ play gets underway in November.
 
The Gaiters will play three games this weekend, starting on Friday night when they take on the University of Maine at Fort Kent at 3 p.m. (all times Eastern). On Saturday, they will face the host UNB Varsity Reds at 7 p.m., and on Sunday they wind up tournament play against the Saint Mary's Huskies at 11 a.m.
 
Head Coach Rod Gilpin's squad, which was almost completely rebuilt last season, boasts nine second-year players, most notably Abdul Kamane (Montreal, Que.), the 2016 RSEQ Rookie of the Year.
 
The Vanier College grad led the Gaiters last season with 13.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, and was named to the CIS all-rookie team and the Bishop's University freshman athlete of the year.
 
The Gaiters also have a veteran presence in the form of fellow ex-Cheetah Jona Bermillo (Montreal, Que.), who is going into his fifth season, and Sherbrooke native David Belanger, who is entering his fourth year. Bermillo averaged 12.8 points and 4.1 rebounds last year on his way to a conference second-team all-star nod, while Bélanger put up 9.3 points and grabbed 4.4 rebounds per game.
 
Friday's opponent, the University of Maine at Fort Kent is something of an unknown for the Gaiters, as this will be their first-ever meeting with the Bengals. UMFK, who plays in the small-college USCAA, has not beaten a CIS team since 2009, a streak of seven straight losses, but went 20-14 overall last season.
 
On Saturday, the Gaiters will face the host UNB Varsity Reds. The V-Reds went 15-16 (11-9 AUS) last season before losing to Saint Mary's in the AUS quarter-final. This will be the fifth time the teams have faced each other in Fredericton, with the previous four matchups being split evenly.
 
The Gaiters close out tournament play on Sunday morning as they take on the Saint Mary's Huskies. SMU made the AUS semifinals last season, as they posted a 19-15 record overall (10-10 AUS). The Gaiters last saw the Huskies in 2014, picking up a 72-53 win.
 
All three games are scheduled to be webcast on www.austv.ca.
 
The Gaiters' first time on their home floor will be the RSEQ season opener, on Saturday, Nov. 12.