MONTREAL - The No.5 McGill Redmen used a 35-point third quarter to put Wednesday's RSEQ University men's basketball semifinal out of reach as they went onto a 105-67 victory over the Bishop's Gaiters in Montreal.
Gaiters Highlights:
The loss ends the Gaiters' season while McGill moves onto play Concordia in the RSEQ Championship on Saturday.
Early on McGill was poised to run away from the Gaiters as in they have three of the four previous meetings between the teams this year, but Bishop's had nothing to do with it. They fought to stay within striking distance.
The Redmen jumped out to a 28-19 lead after the first quarter but Bishop's answered by tightening up at the defensive end. The Gaiters won the second quarter 19-18 to trail just 46-38 at halftime.
Bishop's turned the ball over 13 times in the first half compared to just four McGill give-aways. The Redmen also had six offensive rebounds but scored just four second chance points. At the offensive end Bishop's was efficient, firing at a rate of 57.1 percent (16-28) while McGill was 42.5 percent (17-40).
At the half Kevin Davis (Baltimore, Md./Digital Harbor H.S.) led the way for Bishop's with 11 points while Alex Paquin scored 12 and Jenning Leung had 11 for McGill.
Right from the start of the third quarter McGill found their groove. They connected early and often from long range en route to a dominating 35-16 stanza.
With the game all but out of reach, McGill outscored the Gaiters 24-13 in the final frame for a 105-67 victory and a date with Concordia on Saturday as they attempt to win their third consecutive RSEQ championship.
Leung led the charge. He scored 29 points including a 7-13 performance from three-point range. Paquin finished with 14 points while Francois Bourque and Sam Jenkins each added 11 for McGill.
Davis finished as Bishop's high man with 17 points. Abdul Kamane (Montreal, Que./Vanier College) scored 15, RSEQ Rookie of the Year Nervens Demosthene (Terrebonne, Que. ) added 11 and Yassin Naji (Lunel, France/Lycée Pothier Orleans) 10 to round out the Gaiters in double figures.
The Gaiters finished with 28 turnovers while McGill had just nine. Bishop's cooled off in the second half but still shot 45.5 percent from the floor (25-55) while McGill was 46.8 percent (37-79). The Gaiters we also just 12-28 from the charity stripe.
"We missed a lot of free throws, turned the ball over a couple times and they made some shots," said Rod Gilpin, Gaiters head coach. "They have a senior-laid team and they've been there before. I thought our guys played hard but they were just better than us."
Stay up-to-date anytime with Bishop's athletics at www.gaiters.ca or on social media using @BishopsGaiters and #GaiterNation.
-30-
