OTTAWA – For the first time since 2015, the Bishop's Gaiters men's basketball team is just three wins from a U SPORTS National Championship.  They open their quest for the W.P. McGee Trophy begins on Friday at 6 p.m. against the UBC Thunderbirds at The Arena at TD Place in Ottawa.
 
How they got there
Bishop's
The Gaiters qualified for the annual championship in the most dramatic fashion.  They topped the UQAM Citadins 73-72 on a last second three-pointer from Joany Castor Thadal (Montreal, Que./Champlain Collge St-Lambert). The victory earned them their first conference championship since 2015 and send Mitchell Gym into a frenzy.
 
The Gaiters finished the regular season at 8-8, good for third in RSEQ.  They topped the second place Concordia Stingers in the semifinal and coupled with UQAM beating top-ranked McGill in the other semi, the Gaiters hosted the conference championship last Saturday.
 
The Gaiters enter the U SPORTS Final 8 Championships as the tournament's sixth seed.
 
The Bishop's Tournament Media Guide is available here.
 
UBC
The Thunderbirds also entered the Canada West playoffs as the third seed.  They beat Saskatchewan in a quarter-final neutral site game then upset Calgary on their home floor in the semifinal.  Finally, they clinched the conference title with a victory over top-ranked Alberta in the championship.
 
UBC enters the U SPORTS Final 8 Championships as the tournament's third seed.
 
Key players
Bishop's
The Gaiters will lean on RSEQ first-team all-star Nervens Demosthene (Terrebonne, Que./Cegep de Montmorency) who led the conference in scoring from his guard position.  Fifth-year senior Abdul Kamane (Montreal, Que./Vanier College) had a strong playoff run after battling injury down the stretch.  He led the Gaiters in scoring in both playoff games. The second team all-star scored 20 points in the semifinal at Concordia and 15 against UQAM in the championship.
 
Castor Thadal is the current Provigo, Robert Lafond Bishop's University Athlete of the Week and the RSEQ Athlete of the Week.
 
UBC
Leading the Thunderbirds is fifth-year guard Jadon Cohee.  He earned a second-team all-Canadian selection at Wednesday's U SPORTS awards gala and was also a Canada West first-team all-star.
 
Third-year forward Grant Shephard was a third-team Canada West all-star.
 
All time vs. UBC
The Gaiters and Thunderbirds have played just four times, all in pre-season tournaments.  UBC holds a 4-0 advantage with the most recent meeting coming in Vancouver in 2017.
 
Does size matter?
The two schools are on opposite ends of the size spectrum.  The University of British Columbia posted an enrollment of 51,130 students in Fall 2018 while Bishop's checked in at 2,706. They are the largest and smallest schools at the tournament respectively.
 
The U SPORTS Final 8

The 2020 U SPORTS Final 8 Championships seeding is as follows:

1. Carleton
2. Dalhousie
3. UBC
4. Alberta
5. Western
6. Bishop's
7. Ottawa
8. Calgary

The complete U SPORTS preview is here.
 
The Bishop's Factor
In 2015 in Toronto the Bishop's Gaiters fans were the talk of the tournament.  Their reputation has followed them to Ottawa for 2020.  Look for #GaiterNation to be out in full force.
 
Those who can't make it to Ottawa can also watch the game on the big screen at the Golden Lion Pub in Lennoxville.

Tickets
Tickets for Friday's game and the entire U SPORTS Final 8 Championships are available at: https://www.tdplace.ca/event/2020-u-sports-final-8-championships/
 
Webcast
Friday's game can be viewed live at www.cbcsports.ca.
 
Social Scene
Follow the Gaiters throughout their road to nationals at www.gaiters.ca or on social media by using @BishopsGaiters.
 
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