2008-09 RSEQ – men

REGULAR SEASON

	Concordia	12-4	20-6	John Dore
	Laval	10-6	13-15	Jacques Paiement Jr.
	UQAM	8-8	13-14	Olga Hrycak
	McGill	5-11	15-15	Craig Norman
	Bishop’s	5-11	8-19	Rod Gilpin

Playoff non-qualifier Bishop’s Gaiters: Emmanuel Jr Nicolas, Donald Lindo, Cam Mowat, Rob Findlay, Tim McAleenan, Hermon Tesfaghebriel, Alex Audette-Genier, Tim Hunter, Kevin Selman, Jesse Feith, Ryan Steele, Damon Thomas-Anderson, D’Arcy Nash, coach Rod Gilpin, assistant Brian Forsythe, assistant Charles Kobelt

In the semis, UQAM dusted Laval 84-73. Laval led 24-12 after one quarter and 35-32 at the half. UQAM led 62-56 after three quarters. Adil El Makssoud paced UQAM with 23 on 8-20 from the floor, 7-11 from the line, 10 boards and 7 assists. Souleymane Gueye added 21 on 8-16 from the floor, 5-5 from the line and 8 boards. Neil Ze Mbo notched 13 on 4-10 from the floor, 4-9 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 7 boards and 2 steals. Eric Cote-Kougnima added 11 on 3-5 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 3-3 from the line and 6 boards. Gregory St-Amand added 8 on 4-12 from the floor, 7 boards and 2 steals. Abdoukarim Gueye added 6 on 2-3 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Arthaud Plesius added 2, while Thierry Justin and Steve Jerome were scoreless. The Citadins hit 30-70 (.429) from the floor, 6-17 (.353) from the arc and 18-23 (.783) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 14 fouls, 17 turnovers, 9 steals and 3 blocks. Jean-Francois Beaulieu-Maheux paced Laval with 26 on 10-19 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 4-7 from the line, 2 boards, 2 assists and 6 steals. Xavier Baribeau notched 17 on 5-14 from the floor, 3-11 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Francois-Olivier Gagnon-Hebert added 12 on 6-10 from the floor, 5 boards and 2 blocks. Jerome Turcotte-Routhier notched 10 on 4-10 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 5 boards and 3 blocks. Yves-Andre Levasseur nabbed 3 boards, while Maxime Cloutier, Olivier Gravel, Kevin Crevant and Christian Deslauriers-Trottier were scoreless. The Rouge et Or hit 28-62 (.452) from the floor, 8-30 (.267) from the arc and 9-13 (.692) from the line, while garnering 23 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 22 fouls, 17 turnovers, 10 steals and 5 blocks.

        In the other semi, Concordia routed McGill 80-63. Concordia broke to a 19-4 lead and was never threatened. The Stingers led 26-16 after one quarter, 44-31 at the half and 59-48 after three quarters. “We knew coming in that 45% of McGill’s (field goals) are from 3-point range. That’s where they can really hurt you and trying to limit them as much as we could was the game plan,” said Dwayne Buckley. McGill closed to within 70-62 with five minutes remaining but the Stingers had the answers. “Damian Buckley is the best point guard in the league. The best in the country,” said Concordia coach John Dore. “He did a great job and Jamal was a beast inside. They couldn’t control them.” McGill coach Craig Norman said his troops dug too deep a hole. “We came out and for whatever reason, we were rattled. Give Concordia credit. They attacked on the glass, came out tougher than us.” Damian Buckley paced Concordia with 22 on 6-10 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 9-11 from the line, 4 boards and 10 assists. Jamal Gallier added 12 on 4-6 from the floor, 4-6 from the line, 13 boards and 2 blocks. Decee Krah added 11 on 3-7 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 4 boards and 2 steals. Pierre Thompson added 9 on 4-11 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 2 boards. Sebastien Martin added 6 on 1-4 from the floor, 4-5 from the line and 4 boards. Dwayne Buckley scored 6 on 3-9 from the floor, 3 boards and 2 assists. Adam Carneol notched 6 on 2-4 from the floor and 2 boards. Evens Laroche added 4 on 2-4 from the floor, 3 boards and 3 assists. James Clark added 2 and Kafil Eyitayo 2, while Desmond Murphy was scoreless. The Stingers hit 26-57 (.456) from the floor, 7-21 (.333) from the arc and 21-32 (.656) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 19 fouls, 12 turnovers, 5 steals and 4 blocks. Moustafa El Zanaty led McGill with 23 on 6-19 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 9-10 from the line, 3 boards and 9 assists. Sean Anthony added 17 on 7-19 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 9 boards and 3 steals. Pawel Herra notched 6 on 2-8 from the arc, 3 boards and 2 steals. Jesse Woods added 5 and Michael White 5 on 2-4 from the floor and 5 boards. Matthew Thornhill scored 4 on 2-7 from the floor and 5 boards. Erik Galas notched 3 on 1-1 from the arc and 2 boards, while Jeff Cumming, Greg Gause, Sebastien Gatti and Nicholas Nishikawa were scoreless. The Redmen hit 22-67 (.328) from the floor, 6-22 (.273) from the arc and 13-18 (.722) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 23 fouls, 12 turnovers, 5 steals and 2 blocks.

        In the final, Concordia rallied to edge the UQAM Citadins 79-76 as rookie Evens Laroche took command down the stretch. The Citadins stormed to an early 27-18 lead after one quarter and led 46-36 at the half. “In the locker room we talked about getting defensive stops,” said Concordia head coach John Dore. “We were scoring OK, but we needed the stops, and in the third quarter we got them. … Our whole team stepped it up in the second half. They came out and competed a lot harder in the first half than we did. They got off to a good start, made their shots, but I think we did what we had to do to win the game.” Concordia took its first lead of the game late in the third quarter. Concordia rallied to a slim lead but the Citadins forced several turnovers to knot the score at 75. Laroche put the game away with a pair of free throws with 10 seconds to play. “it was crazy,” said Damian Buckley. “First we were down 10 at halftime. It was also my brother’s last year. It was Jamal’s last year and I felt like I couldn’t go any more. I was cramping for the entire second half. I felt like asking for a sub but I continued, I played and we came through.” Laroche said that “for me it was now or never. I played like it was the last game of my life. I came in stronger, worked hard and was tougher and we came away with the win.” Dore said Laroche was “great in the second half. “He rebounded. He was active on the glass and benefited from feeds from Damian inside. He adds a different dimension to our team.” The Stingers trailed by 10 at the half but fell behind 51-39 in the second half before rallying with a 17-3 run. “We told the guys there was a lot of time left,” said Dore. “There were 20 minutes left and we had to do what we did and that’s get defensive stops. We came out in the second half with lots of intensity. We had a couple of emotion plays, with Pierre Thompson taking a charge. We scored some baskets and we were right back in the game.” Thompson said “playing defense was the most important thing. We couldn’t just try and score because they are just as good as us offensively. We had to get stops and that’s what we did.” Dwayne Buckley said “at halftime, I said this wasn’t going to be my last game. We pulled together, played harder and pulled it off.” Jamal Gallier added that “I am so proud of the guys. We could have easily folded. WE haven’t played one good third quarter all season but we pulled together, came back and took the lead.” Damian Buckley said “we believed we could win. We knew we could do it. The guys didn’t falter. We played as a team and got the job done.” UQAM had a chance to tie the game with 10 seconds remaining but a trey attempt by Adil El Makssoud missed.

Evens Laroche paced Concordia with 28 on 11-12 from the floor, 6-6 from the line, 6 boards and 2 steals. Damian Buckley added 21 on 9-17 from the floor, 3-6 from the line, 3 boards, 11 assists and 3 steals. Dwayne Buckley added 8 on 3-11 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards. Jamal Gallier added 6 on 3-7 from the floor and 4 boards. Decee Krah added 5, James Clark 5, Adam Carneol 3, Pierre Thompson 2 and Sebastien Martin 1, while Desmond Murphy was scoreless. The Stingers hit 32-62 (.516) from the floor, 3-14 (.214) from the arc and 12-18 from the line, while garnering 24 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 18 fouls, 13 turnovers, 8 steals and 3 blocks. Souleymane Diagne led UQAM with 30 on 10-17 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 9-12 from the line, 3 boards and 4 steals. Adil El Makssoud added 17 on 7-11 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Gregory Saint-Amand added 13 on 6-10 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 6 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Abdoukarim Gueye notched 8 on 3-8 from the floor, 2-3 from the line and 2 steals. Eric Cote-Kougnima added 6 on 3-4 from the floor. Arthaud Plesius added 2, while Vincent Towner and Neil Ze Mbo were scoreless. The Citadins hit 30-56 (.536) from the floor, 3-13 (.231) from the arc and 13-18 (.722) from the line, while garnering 21 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 22 fouls, 14 turnovers, 9 steals and 2 blocks.

The co-bronze medalist Laval Rouge et Or: Jean-Francois Beaulieu-Maheux; Xavier Baribeau; Francois-Olivier Gagnon-Hebert; Jerome Turcotte-Routhier; Yves-Andre Levasseur; Maxime Cloutier; Olivier Gravel; Kevin Crevant; Christian Deslauriers-Trottier; Eric Monkam; Marc-Andre Cote; Martin Verreault; Etienne Labrecque; Francois Mpabe; coach Jacques Paiement Jr.

        The co-bronze medalist McGill Redmen: Moustafa El Zanaty; Sean Anthony; Pawel Herra; Jesse Woods; Michael White; Matthew Thornhill; Erik Galas; Jeff Cumming; Greg Gause; Sebastien Gatti; Nicholas Nishikawa; Michael Flannery; Vartkes Mandilan; Paul Costello; coach Craig Norman; assistant Bill MacArthur; assistant Denburk Reid; assistant Kevin Dulude

        The runner-up Universite du Quebec @ Montreal Citadins: Souleymane Jules Diagne; Adil El Makssoud; Gregory Saint-Amand; Abdoukarim Gueye; Eric Cote-Kougnima; Arthaud Plesius; Vincent Towner; Neil Ze Mbo; Arthaud Plesius; Thierry Justin; Steve Jerome; Francois Rheaume; Mathieu Landry; Olivier Hudon; Paul-Emile Colas; Michael Sweeney; coach Olga Hrycak

The champion Concordia Stingers: Damian Buckley; Dwayne Buckley; Jamal Gallier; Decee Krah; James Clark; Pierre Thompson; Levi Vann; Hamza Ruhezamihigo; Desmond Murphy; Sebastien Martin; Adam Carneol; Kafil Eyitayo; Evens Laroche; Stanley Guillaume; Carl Toussiant; Stanley Guillaume; coach John Dore; associate Ernie Rosa; assistant David Bloom; assistant Emerson Thomas; doctor Ian Shrier; social psychologist Alan Turowetz; student therapist Caitlin Dodd; athletic therapist Sean Christensen; manager Hannah Lusthaus; assistant athletic therapist Matt Heron; assistant athletic therapist Laurie Augustin; student therapist Daniel De Palma; athletic director Katie Sheahan