LENNOXVILLE, Que – Senior
Anthony Sanogo (Montreal, Que./) knocked down a three-pointer with 34 seconds remaining to seal the deal as the Bishop's Gaiters came back to beat the Laval Rouge et Or on Saturday night after trailing by as many as 11 points.
The win puts Bishop's (3-5) in the driver's seat for an RSEQ University men's basketball playoff spot. Laval falls to 2-8 on the year and does not have the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Gaiters and has just two games remaining.
RSEQ Standings
An up-tempo first quarter paced Bishop's early as they went 10-16 from the floor to grab a 27-16 lead after 10 minutes.
Laval responded by grabbing the momentum in the second frame and outscoring the Gaiters 26-8 for a 42-35 halftime lead.
Led once again by their defense Bishop's was able to flip the script in the second half. They trimmed the deficit to 57-54 after the third quarter to set-up a finish for the ages.
In the fourth, the lead changed five times and there were four additional ties before Sanogo connected to send the 450 fans in Mitchell Gym into a frenzy.
Bishop's trailed 71-70 with 2:06 remining when point guard
Ibrahim Ngom (Montreal, Que./Vanier College) snuck through for a lay-up to give Bishop's a lead they did not relinquish.
Matthis Guerut (Paris, France/Cegep de Thetford) made his impact a minute later by grabbing a massive offensive rebound and putting it back to stretch the Gaiters lead to three. Then it was Sanogo's turn and Bishop's defense again held strong to propel them to a 79-72 victory.
Bishop's forced 22 turnovers and scored 23 points off them, while only committing 14.
Guret finished with 13 points, as did
Michel Hakizimana (Gatineau, Que./) off the bench for Bishop's. Leading their offensive output was veteran sharp-shooter
Connor Kelly (Brockville, Ont./St. Mary's C.S.S.) who tallied 14, including four made triples. He added six assists, three rebounds and two steals. Ngom finished with eight points and eight assists.
For Laval their point-production came primarily from the bench as reserves Loic Savard, and Steeve Joseph scored 21 and 11 respectively and were the only two Rouge et Or in double figures.
Next up the Gaiters will host McGill (8-0) on Thursday at 8 p.m. in Mitchell Gym. The Redbirds are coming off their bye week.
Stay up to date anytime with the Bishop's Gaiters at
www.gaiters.ca or on social media by using @BishopsGaiters.
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