Friday 18 February 2011

QUBL: McGill, Laval take home wins

Laval 77, UQAM 75  6'3" J.F.Beaulieu-Mahieux hit the game-winning shot with 2 seconds remaining as Laval survived a furious Citadins rally to maintain their hold on first place in the Q.  With Laval up by 11 with 4 minutes remaining, UQAM, led by Thierry Justin who had 13 fourth-quarter points, staged a 12-1 rally that tied the score as Justin had an "an 1" with just seconds remaining to knot it, setting up Beaulieu-Mahieux's heroics.  The game was very close throughout until 6'4" Jerome Turcotte knocked down back-to-back 3's midway through the fourth and Laval grabbed a 12 point lead, seemingly putting the game away.  But the resilient Citadins used their athleticism and got tremendous late-game performances from Justin (22 points), Arthaud Plesius (all 7 of his points in the fourth quarter) and 6'7" freshman Vincent Lancot-Fortier (18 points, 10 rebounds) to bring the game back.  Laval which once again shot the ball extremely well at home (11 for 22 from downtown) got 18 points apiece from Beaulieu-Mahieux and Turcotte, who was 4-5 from downtown.  Laval (10-4) and now tied with Concordia (also 10-4) atop the Q (Laval holds the tiebreaker) finishes with road games at Bishop's and at UQAM while the Stingers go to McGill and host Bishop's. Box Score

McGill 84, Bishop's 59  6'0" Olivier Bouchard had 9 points in a 19-5 run that bridged the second and third quarters, giving the Redmen a 20 point lead and McGill maintained a double digit lead the rest of the way in an easy win over the Gaiters at home.  Bouchard finished with 20 points on 4-6 shooting from downtown as the Redmen put it away in the second half with a 6-9 from 3 performance as a team.  6'3" freshman Simon Bibeau added 16 points and 7 boards for McGill (9-5).  The Gaiters shot just 1 for 16 from beyond the arc and turned the ball over 25 times in the loss.

The Redmen jumped out to an early 15-6 lead and later finished the half on a 12-3 run started by two straight jumpers by Bouchard followed by Bibeau scoring on the break with an assist from Bouchard.  Leading by 15 at halftime, McGill jumped out to a 7-2 run in the third as Bouchard knocked down a 3 and then hit a jumper.  The Gaiters never got it to single digits as McGill was able to clear the bench midway through the fourth.  The Redmen have a second place showdown at home on Saturday with cross-town rival Concordia Stingers.  Box Score

QUBL Standings
Laval  10-4
Concordia 10-4
McGill 9-5
UQAM 5-9
Bishop's 1-13

Saturday's Games:
Concordia at McGill
Laval at Bishop's

Next Weekend:
UQAM at McGill
Bishop's at Concordia
Laval at UQAM

End of Regular Season

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