A former basketball coach once commented on Concordia’s approach to the game, “all they do is run, run, run.”
However, as demonstrated by the landslide 78-55 victory on Saturday afternoon against McGill, and the 86-72 win over UQAM the night before, it’s obvious that the Stingers’ quick transition game isn’t the only weapon this team has.
Concordia beat McGill so bad that the REDmen left the Loyola gym black and blue. The Stingers came out solid from the get-go, not allowing the lead to change hands. Despite a 10-0 run by McGill in the final minutes of the first half, the Stingers were still up 39-28 by the halfway mark.
Continuing a hot scoring streak, keeping in double-digits every game this season, Jon Dresner tallied 15 points and grabbed a team-leading five rebounds. In comparison to previous seasons, Dresner’s contribution to the squad this year has greatly proliferated. The co-captain credits his evolution to the high expectations placed on his shoulders this year, his fifth with the team.
It’s commonly accepted that Concordia is very fast, basketball savvy, and, well, quite small in comparison to the rest of the league. Case in point: in this contest, McGill out-rebounded the Maroon and Gold by a 39-27 margin. The deciding factors in this slaughtering of McGill were turnovers and fouls.
ConU only committed 10 turnovers, considered quite exceptional by any basketball standards. In addition, McGill’s 21 fouls in comparison to the Stingers’13 allowed the Maroon and Gold to capitalize on points from the free-throw line.
Despite being undersized, more than half Concordia’s total points were scored on lay-ups and put-backs from inside the paint, showing this team won’t let height differentials overshadow the size of their heart.
A major reason for this was the commanding presence of Patrick Perrotte. Although acknowledged in the basketball realm, and the occasional press coverage, this guy is not being paid his due respect.
Perrotte, standing at 6-foot-1, is not exactly your ideal post player. However, he controls the paint with such force, it’s not surprising that opposing teams feel the need to triple team him, as was the case in the McGill game.
Furthermore, he’s proven time and time again that he can nail shots from the perimeter, solidifying his status as a true all-round player.
Even the Stingers’ bench is deeper this year; all but two players on the roster scored in the game. The good thing about having such a commanding lead in the game is that the fans get a sneak-peak at the back-up talent waiting in reserve.
In this particular game, 6-foot-6 forward Jamal Gallier proved to be the rookie to look out for. The recruit from Toronto went 3-for-4 from the field, and ran the court just as well as the shooting guards.
To McGill’s defense, they were without their veteran point guard, Denburk “Burky” Reid, and resorted to rookie J.P. Begly, who had seen a max of 10 minutes of court-time prior to Saturday’s game.
The Stingers are off to a 2-0 start and will face UQAM at home on Friday, November 19 at six p.m. in their next home game. To follow the top ballers in the “Q” visit www.qball.ca for everything Quebec basketball.
