Sunday, 2 March 2008

QSSF: Laval Stifles McGill to reach "Q" Final

Laval 89, McGill 54; Laval wins QSSF sudden-death semi-final in Ste. Foy Le Rouge et Or put on one of their best defensive efforts of the season, especially in the first half, to defeat the Redmen and reach the championship game of Quebec league. Laval will host arch-rival Concordia Stingers this coming Friday night at 7 PM in Sainte-Foy. This afternoon, it was Laval's ability to stifle the offensive exploits of McGill's Big 3 of 6'4" Sean Anthony, 6'3" Moustafa El-Zanaty and 6'4" Matt Thornhill. 6'8" Marc-Andre Cote, not expected to play after coming off a concussion suffered when he slipped on some ice and fell directly on his head, had the strongest effort, holding Anthony, McGill's 1st Team All-Star, to only 4 points and 4 rebounds before fouling out. After the concussion, Cote was expected to miss the remainder of the season however his condition improved earlier this week and his re-addition is a key for Laval going forward. El-Zanaty played only 13 minutes due to foul trouble, scoring 11 points while Thornhill, guard primarily by 6'4" Jerome Turcotte, finished with 10 points. The Redmen shot only 29% for the game and were only 4-23 from beyond the arc, including 3-8 by guard Nicolas Pronovost. Laval led by as many as 21 in the second quarter before the Redmen made a late run to cut the lead to 39-24 at halftime but McGill quickly took charge out of the second-half gates in front of about 800 fans, as Laval's men's and women's volleyball teams took center stage this weekend. Expect a sellout crowd of 2,500 for next Friday's league championship game against the Stingers. 6'3" J.F. Beaulieu-Mahieux had 25 to lead Laval while Quebec Player-of-the-Year 6'7" J.P. Morin added a 19 point/11 rebound double double and Turcotte added 16 points on 4-7 from downtown plus 4 steals. Cote added 12 rebounds including 8 on the offensive glass, part of an astounding 21 offensive rebounds for le Rouge et Or. Next week's game can be heard en francais on Laval campus radio.

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