REGULAR SEASON
| McGill | 11-5 | 18-12 | David DeAveiro | ||
| Laval | 9-7 | 15-12 | Jacques Paiement Jr. | ||
| Bishop’s | 8-8 | 10-17 | Rod Gilpin | ||
| Concordia | 8-8 | 12-12 | John Dore | ||
| UQAM | 4-12 | 6-18 | Olga Hrycak | ||
Playoff non-qualifier Universite du Quebec @ Montreal Citadins: Nicholas Audet, Yassine Debache, Pablo Chicas, Alexandre Bernard, Rigo Katahwa, Rubens Poteau, Greishe Clerjuste, Jean-Samuel Malmen-Harvey, Jacob Desroches, Jean-Yves Kazadi, Simon Lavoie-Lavallee, Rudy Caufriez, Vincent Champagne, Davidson Joseph, coach Olga Hrycak, assistant Nevio Marzinotto, assistant Mario Joseph, assistant Randy Alexandre, therapist Athanasio Destounis, therapist Maxime Beaudin, athletic director Daniel Methot, SID Veronique Laberge
In the semis, the top-seeded McGill Redmen clipped the 4th-seeded Concordia Stingers 74-60. The Redmen broke to 25-7 lead after one quarter and maintained a comfortable margin for the remainder of the affair, leading 35-19 at the half and 54-38 after three quarters. “We got off to a great start and that was the difference in the game,” Redmen coach David DeAveiro said. “We made some shots early and that gave us a ton of confidence.” DeAveiro added the Redmen benefited, as they had all year, from their balance. “We don’t have one guy that can put up 20. I thought Ave [Bross] gave us a big boost off the bench and was a key to us coming out on top. … We talked about this being a boxing fight. We knew we were going to get two hard punches and they gave us two hard punches. The first one we survived. (Concordia reduced the deficit) to 11 but then we got it back to 20 and we knew they had one (push) left in them. When they came at us late, we made one adjustment offensively and got some layups and then just held on.” Michael Peterkin was chosen player of the game for the Redmen, while Mukiya Post earned the laurels for the Stingers. Michael Peterkin paced the Redmen with 16 on 7-10 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-3 from the line and 3 boards. Dele Ogundokun added 14 on 6-15 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Jenning Leung scored 10 on 4-8 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 steals. Ave Bross scored 10 on 4-5 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 8 boards and 2 assists. Vincent Dufort notched 8 on 3-10 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 3 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals. Regis Ivaniukas added 8 on 3-7 from the floor and 2-4 from the arc. Francois Bourque added 6 on 3-5 from the floor and 5 boards. Noah Daoust added 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 5 boards, while Thomas Lacy, Rodrigo Imperador and Jeremie Casant-Dubois were scoreless. The Redmen hit 31-63 (.492) from the floor, 6-19 (.316) from the arc and 6-11 (.545) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 11 steals, 3 blocks, 21 turnovers and 21 fouls. Mukiya Post paced the Stingers with 23 on 6-14 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 10-10 from the line and 5 boards. Michael Fosu scored 10 on 4-9 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 5 boards. Ken Beaulieu added 8 on 3-9 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 7 boards and 3 assists. Aamir Gyles scored 6 on 2-4 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. Gabe Riche added 5 on 1-10 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Frank Mpeck added 4 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Xander Jean added 2 on 1-4 from the floor, 2 boards and 2 steals. Garry Merisier added 2, while Christopher Doumpha, Ricard Monge and Inti Salinas were scoreless. Doumpa nabbed 4 boards. The Stingers hit 19-58 (.328) from the floor, 3-21 (.143) from the arc and 19-24 (.792) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 7 steals, 23 turnovers and 17 fouls.
In the other semi, the 3rd-seeded Bishop’s Gaiters dispatched the 2nd-seeded Laval Rouge et Or 76-65. The score was knotted at 22 after one quarter. The Gaiters led 44-34 at the half and 57-51 after three quarters. “It was a difficult game for us,” said Rouge et Or coach Jacques Paiement Jr. “I have to give all the credit to Gaiters, they played a big game. They caused us many problems defensively.” Majid Naji was chosen player of the game for the Gaiters, while Alexandre Leclerc earned the laurels for the Rouge et Or. Kyle Desmarais paced the Gaiters with 19 on 8-14 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 1-4 from the line, 8 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Majid Nadi added 18 on 7-13 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 9 boards, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Mike Andrews added 15 on 7-12 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 6 boards. David Belanger notched 12 on 4-8 from the floor, 4-4 from the line and 6 boards. Matt McLean scored 5 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-3 from the line, 6 boards and 3 assists. Jona Bermillo added 3 on 1-7 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2 boards and 4 assists. Karim Sy-Morissette added 2 on 1-5 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 3 boards and 3 assists. Kurtis Caro added 2, along with 2 boards, while Jamil Abiad and Patrick Kabongo were scoreless. Kabongo nabbed 4 boards and dished 2 assists. The Gaiters hit 30-67 (.448) from the floor, 6-17 (.353) from the arc and 10-17 (.588) from the line, while garnering 48 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 6 steals, 4 blocks, 20 turnovers and 16 fouls. Alexandre Leclerc paced the Rouge et Or with 17 on 6-16 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 4 boards. Karl Demers-Belanger added 9 on 3-8 from the floor, 3-5 from the line, 3 assists and 3 steals. Antoine Beaumier added 9 on 4-9 from the floor, 1-1 from the line and 3 boards. Thibaud Dezutter added 8 on 3-8 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 2 boards and 3 assists. Yoann Louis Folquet scored 8 on 3-6 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 3 boards and 2 steals. Boris Hadzimuratovic added 6 on 2-5 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 7 boards. Charles-Andre Edorh added 3 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 2 boards, 2 assists and 4 steals. Laurier Beaulac-Dufresne added 3 on 1-1 from the floor and 1-1 from the line. Hugues Ryan added 2, while Vincent Marier and Paul Marchand-Seguin were scoreless. The Rouge et Or hit 24-60 (.400) from the floor, 5-15 from the arc and 12-19 (.632) from the line, while garnering 28 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 11 steals, 3 blocks, 18 turnovers and 18 fouls.
In the final, the 3rd-seeded host Bishop’s Gaiters stunned the top-seeded McGill Redmen 68-63 to earn their first RSEQ title since 1999. The Gaiters built a 20-point lead in the third quarter and withstood a furious Redmen rally down the stretch. The Gaiters led 18-17 after one quarter and 37-29 at the half before expanding their lead to 20. McGill rallied to within 55-45 after three quarters and knotted the score at 60 with 2:46 to play. Jona Bermillo nailed a trey for the Gaiters and rookie Noah Daoust answered with a trey for the Redmen. Mike Andrews added a free throw and then Bermillo hit another trey with 39 seconds to play to seal McGill’s fate. Majid Nadi iced the win with a pair of free throws with two seconds to play. “I think the crowd might have made the difference tonight,” said Gaiters coach Rod Gilpin. “We played really well to push the lead to 20 but McGill fought back and made some tough shots. Down the stretch our fans helped carry us over the top. Jonah was great and he was great when we needed him.” Redmen coach David DeAveiro said “I’m extremely proud of our guys. They have a never quit attitude. It would have been easy for us to fold our tents and go home but that’s not who we are and that’s not our character. … We had a chance to win unfortunately the ball didn’t drop for us at the end. Bishop’s made some big plays and Bermillo was exceptional tonight. This is a game of making shots and they were better at that than us tonight. We weren’t hitting shots but we also weren’t defending early. That team has four fifth-year guys and their experience really showed tonight.” Jona Bermillo paced the Gaiters with 18 on 6-11 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards and 4 assists. Majid Nadi added 18 on 7-9 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 8 boards. Mike Andrews added 15 on 6-10 from the floor, 3-9 from the line and 6 boards. Kyle Desmarais added 10 on 4-10 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 3 assists. Kurtis Caro added 4 on 2-2 from the floor. Karim Sy-Morissette added 3 on 1-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 7 boards and 2 assists, while Matt Mclean, David Belanger, Jamil Abiad and Patrick Kabongo were scoreless. McLean nabbed 4 boards and pilfered 2 ball. Belanger nabbed 3 boards. The Gaiters hit 26-55 (.473) from the floor, 6-14 (.429) from the arc and 10-17 (.588) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 19 turnovers and 10 fouls. Noah Daoust led the Redmen with 17 on 6-11 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 7 boards, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Jenning Leung scored 15 on 6-15 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 6 assists and 4 steals. Vincent Dufort notched 14 on 6-12 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 6 boards, 3 assists and 4 steals. Francois Bourque scored 7 on 3-9 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 0-4 from the line and 7 boards. Michael Peterkin added 4 on 1-6 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 5 boards. Dele Ogundokun scored 3 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards. Thomas Lacy added 3 on 1-4 from the arc, while Regis Ivaniukas, Rodrigo Imperador and Ave Bross were scoreless. The Redmen hit 24-63 (.381) from the floor, 8-30 (.267) from the arc and 7-13 (.538) from the line, while garnering 33 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 11 steals, 4 blocks, 10 turnovers and 18 fouls.
After the season, John Dore stepped aside after 26 years at the helm of the Concordia Stingers. “There comes a time for everyone to move on,” Dore says. “It’s been a great run. It’s been a privilege to work at Concordia all these years. I’ve met a lot of people and made a lot of friends through basketball. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it, but now it’s time to pass the torch.” Dore took over the reins of the Stingers in the 1989-90 basketball season after serving as an assistant for nine seasons. He was also an assistant coach with the women’s program in 1976-77 and 1977-78. He took the Stingers to the national championship tournament 13 times, including seven straight appearances from 1990 through 1996. He won the national crown in 1990 and placed second in 1995 and 2005. A 13-time RSEQ coach of the year, he was named CIS coach of the year in 1991. “What I will look back on are the kids that came through the program and the successes they have had afterwards,” Dore says. “Among the highlights are seeing the guys grow up and be successful. We’ve had athletes go on to play professional basketball in Europe, get MBAs, CFAs and master’s degrees. It covers the whole spectrum.” A native of Queen’s, N.Y., Dore played for Loyola College starting in 1971 and finished playing for Concordia in 1976. Dore was a three-time Quebec conference all-star guard. Concordia Director of Recreation and Athletics Patrick Boivin appointed Rastko Popovic as the new coach. “Rastko has proven time and time again that he will work tirelessly for our program and that kind of dedication is key when needing to create trust and work ethics with our athletes,” Boivin said. “I believe together we can take this program to its full potential on the national scale while ensuring our student-athletes are well-supported and strive for success in the classroom. “He has impressed me with his drive and knowledge of what is needed for this program to develop further and succeed at the next level. As someone who came through the Quebec system and who represented the Concordia Stingers for five years he has a vast recruiting network and shares a deep passion for this program with our alumni.” Popovic becomes only the third head coach in the 41-year history of the Concordia men’s basketball program. He replaces John Dore who announced his retirement last fall after 26 seasons (1989-2015). Doug Daigneault served 15 years with the Stingers (1974-1989). “It’s a great honor for me to follow in the footsteps of two legendary coaches,” said Popovic. “I have big shoes to fill, but I will do everything in my power to build a program and develop young men everyone will be proud of.” Popovic began his university coaching career as an assistant with the Stingers women’s basketball team in 2006. He moved to the Concordia men’s team as an assistant in 2013. Popovic started his coaching career in 2003 at École Secondaire Saint-Laurent. As head coach of the high school’s midget girls’ team from 2006-11, he won three AA provincial championships and two AAA titles in the Montreal Basketball League. In November of 2012, he was named head coach of Quebec’s 15-and-under program and went on to win a silver medal at nationals. In 2015, he was head coach of the Quebec 15-and-under boys’ team. Popovic toiled for the Stingers from 2001-2006.
UQAM Citadins coach Olga Hrycak announced that she was retiring because of health concerns. “This decision was not easy. I love to coach, it’s my passion, I always love that, but it is now time to think about me and my health,” said Hrycak, who had knee surgery in 2012 and missed the early part of 2013 with a back injury. Hrycak assumed the Citadins helm in 2003, when the university resurrected its hoops program. “The decision to integrate the RSEQ UQAM basketball circuit was intrinsic to the presence of Olga. She was the most experienced and most respected college coach tour. For the UQAM program takes off, it was needed,” said Daniel Méthot, current coordinator of sports excellence at UQAM and former general manager of the Quebec Basketball Federation. Until autumn 2013, Olga Hrycak was the only woman in North America to be the head of a male university basketball team. She guided UQAM to conquer 2 RSEQ conference championships: in 2006 and 2010. Hrycak placed the University of Montreal women between 1957-1960. Methot appointed Nate Philippe as the replacement for Hrycak. For the previous seven years, Phillipe was an assistant with American University (2013-2015), the University of Maine (2011-2013), the University of North Dakota (2010-2011) and the York University in Ontario (2009-2010). In addition, at the end of the 2014-2015 season, Nate was named best assistant coach in the Patriot League. Philippe toiled for UPEI and St. Mary’s, earning a degree in economics. Philippe said “it’s been a few years that I monitor what is happening in Quebec. Things have changed a lot in basketball and when I saw that head coaching positions are liberated, I do not want to miss my chance.”
The co-bronze medalist Laval Rouge et Or: Karl Demers-Belanger; Alexandre Leclerc; Laurier Beaulac-Dufresne; Antoine Beaumier; Nicolas Begin; Thibaud Dezutter; Charles-Andre Edorh; Yoann Louis Folquet; Junior Jay Fequiere; William Grou; Boris Hadzimuratovic; Vincent Leyre; Paul Marchand-Segui; Vincent Marier; Daniel Mutanda; Hugues Ryan; coach Jacques Paiement Jr.; assistant Jacques Paiement Sr.; assistant Pascal Lehoux; assistant Vincent Plante; athletic director Christian Gagnon; SID Luc Lamontagne
The co-bronze medalist Concordia Stingers: Frank Mpeck; Aamir Gyles; Mukiya Post; Garry Merisier; Inti Salinas; Jonathan Mirambeau; Ricardo Monge; Xander Jean; Ken Beaulieu; Nicolas Maniatis; Gabe Riche; Clauderic Lemay; Michael Fosu; Jean-Louis Wanya; Christopher Doumpa; coach John Dore; associate Ernie Rosa; assistant Rastko Popovic; strength & conditioning Sean Christensen; student therapist Cory Wener; athletic director Patrick Boivin; SID Catherine Grace
The silver medalist McGill Redmen: Vincent Dufort; Dele Ogundokun; Jenning Leung; Jawara Pedican; Regis Ivaniukas; Christian McCue; Jeremie Casant-Dubois; Thomas Lacy; Ave Bross; Michael Peterkin; Noah Daoust; Abdul Atta; Sebastian Beckett; Rodrigo Imperador; Bradley Laguerre; Francois Bourque; Avery Cadogan; Jonathan Telfort; coach David DeAveiro; assistant John Dangelas; assistant Rouel Hidalgo; assistant Madhav Trivedi; basketball analyst Philip Jevtovic; manager Richard Despatie; physician Dr. Penny Baylis; therapist Rola Abouassaly; student therapist Caroline Guay; student therapist Rachelle Leclerc; student therapist Sarah Bray; student therapist Andrew Kordan; student therapist Bea Chavez; student therapist Michelle Canac-Marqui; athletic director Drew Love; SID Earl Zuckerman
The champion Bishop’s Gaiters: Kyle Desmarais; Mike Andrews; Jonathan Kabongo; Patrick Kabongo; Jona Bermillo; Kurt Caro; Majid Naji; Mathew van Doorn; Matt McLean; David Belanger; Karim Sy-Morrisette; Nikola Jovicic; Jamil Abiad; Ryan Bradley; coach Rod Gilpin; associate Craig Norman; assistant Steve Dunn; assistant Dan Pfliger; student assistant Caleb Page; athletic director Jean-Benoit Jubinville; SID Marty Rourke