SHERBROOKE, Que. - Frantson Demosthene scored 20 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to lead the Laval Rouge et Or to an 80-70 win over the Bishop's Gaiters in Quebec university men's basketball action at the Mitchell Gym in Lennoxville, Friday. The 6-4 Montrealer went 7-for-14 from the field as he posted game highs in both categories.

Bishop's (1-12, 1-4 RSEQ) was led by Abdul Kamane (Montreal, Que./Vanier College), who had 16 points and seven rebounds, while David Belanger (Sherbrooke, Que./Champlain-St. Lambert) had 15 points and Alex Boisse scored 10. The Gaiters shot well from the field, hitting 49 per cent of their shots (27-for-55), but were felled by their 30 turnovers - including 18 in the second half.

Laval (7-5, 4-1 RSEQ) had a balanced attack, with five players in double figures. In addition to Demosthene's 20, Nicolas Begin came off the bench to score 16 points, Joel Muamba added 13, Vladimir Thomas netted 12 and Alexandre Leclerc had 10. While Laval was held to only 39 per cent shooting, they made up for it in volume as they took 74 shots - 19 more than the Gaiters.

The Gaiters got out to a strong start, as they led through most of the first quarter, holding a 19-15 lead at the short break. They extended their lead to nine points at 31-22 early in the second quarter. However, Laval came back with a 9-2 run at the end of the quarter to cut the lead to one point at 39-38. A buzzer-beating tip-in by Kamane at halftime gave the Gaiters a 41-38 lead heading into the intermission.

The game remained tight through the early part of the third quarter, with four of the game's six ties occurring in the first three minutes of the period. The Rouge et Or broke the game open midway through the third quarter with a 13-3 run to take a 59-49 lead with 1:58 left in the period. Laval led 61-51 after the third quarter.

In the fourth, the Gaiters pulled to within five points as a three-pointer by Boisse with 1:58 to go made it 73-68, but the Gaiters missed three of their last four shots as they were unable to draw any closer.

The Gaiters are back in action on Dec. 29, as they play host to the UNB Varsity Reds. That game will be played at Alexander Galt Regional High School in Lennoxville.