SHERBROOKE, Que. – Coming off a bye week, the Bishop's Gaiters men's basketball team plays arguably their biggest game of the year on Thursday night in Montreal.  They tip-off with the UQAM Citadins at 8 p.m. in RSEQ University action.
 
Why it is Big
The Gaiters (3-18, 3-8 RSEQ) sit in fourth place in the RSEQ, with six points through 11 games. Meanwhile, UQAM (5-21, 2-10 RSEQ) is in fifth place with four points through 12 contests. The top four schools qualify for the playoffs in the 16-game season.
 
Elsewhere, No. 7 McGill continues to top the conference standings at 10-2. Concordia at 8-4 is in second and Laval sits third at 6-5.
 
Head-to-Head
Bishop's and UQAM have tipped off three times this season.  They opened the regular season campaign in Mitchell Gym with Bishop's winning 83-77.  After Christmas, the squads split a home-and-home series. UQAM won 88-85 in Montreal and Bishop's answered with a 84-77 victory in Lennoxville.
 
RSEQ MVP candidate Abdul Kamane (Montreal, Que./Vanier College) led Bishop's in the first two games.  The conference's leading scorer tallied 24 points in the November victory and scored 31 in the loss in Montreal.  He also had 20 points and nine rebounds in the third meeting.
 
Senior David Belanger (Sherbrooke, Que./Champlain-St. Lambert) has also been a force against the Citadins. He registered a double-double in the most recent game with 24 points and 12 rebounds.
 
For UQAM, Misi Boye Jeanneau scored in double figures in each of the three games.  He netted 15, 16 and 11 points respectively.
 
Last Time Out
Bishop's enters the contest well rested as their last game came on Jan. 27^th, a 106-57 loss at McGill.  That was a day after the Gaiters stunned the fifth-ranked Redmen 86-81 in Mitchell Gym.
 
UQAM played a pair against the Concordia Stingers last week.  They fell 93-90 in overtime at home on Thursday and 76-61 at Concordia on Saturday afternoon.
 
Who to Watch
Bishop's
Kamane leads the conference in scoring by a wide margin.  His 21.7 points per game is 7.6 points more than second place in the RSEQ and places him in ninth in Canada. He is also fourth in assists in the conference at 2.9 per game, seventh in rebounding at 6.3 per game and fifth in free throw percentage at 67 percent. At 9.3 free throw attempts per game, he is tops in all of U SPORTS and his 6.3 makes per game place him fifth in the country.
 
Nervens Demosthene (Terrebonne, Que. ) is making his presence felt since suiting up after Christmas.  Through six games he's averaging 11.8 points per game (eighth in RSEQ), 6.8 rebounds per game (fifth in RSEQ) and 3 assists per game (third in RSEQ).
 
Belanger, in his final year, is scoring at a rate of 10.7 points per game (13^th in RSEQ) while he is the conferences second best rebounder at 8.2 per contest.
 
UQAM
The Citadins do not have a scorer in the top 11 in the RSEQ.  Charles Miller sits in 12^th at 10.8 points per game while Christopher Adu is 15^th with 9.9 per game.
 
Coach's Corner
"It is going to be a playoff-type game for both teams," said Rod Gilpin, the Gaiters' bench boss. "I think if we win this game we are really in the driver's seat.  For us we have to make sure we are solid defensively, not giving up easy hoops and taking care of the ball.  If we do that I think we have a good opportunity to be successful."
 
Watch Live
Thursday's game can be watch lived at https://www.facebook.com/citadins.uqam/
 
Next Up
After Thursday night's contest in Montreal, Bishop's will play a pair against the Laval Rouge et Or.  On Sunday, Feb. 11 they are in Quebec City and will tip-off at 3 p.m. while on Tuesday, Feb. 13 the teams play in Mitchell Gym at 8 p.m.
 
Social Scene
Stay up-to-date anytime with the Bishop's Gaiters at www.gaiters.ca or on social media using @BishopsGaiters or #GaiterNation.
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