As Concordia and McGill meet this week in hockey playoff action, it remains a possible post-season match up on the basketball court as well. And that has to suit the Stingers just fine.
The second-ranked Stingers were 76-61 winners at McGill last Friday, completing a four-game season sweep of the cross-town Redmen. Concordia has now won 20 straight in the series, with McGill’s last win coming in Nov. 2002.
Of the combined 24 players on Concordia and McGill’s current rosters, only Stinger Senior Patrick Perrotte was around to see that Redmen win.
“For sure it’s been a long time,” Perrotte said, “but I didn’t know exactly how long [since McGill last beat Concordia]. It doesn’t really matter to us what happened three or four years ago though. to beat them every time this year is what we’re interested in.”
And beat them this year the Stingers did, by an average of nearly 12 points a game.
Makes you wonder just what the Stingers are able to do that gives McGill so much trouble. According to Redmen head coach Craig Norman, this year’s Concordia team just has too much size and muscle.
“We know what we have to do to beat them,” the six-foot-three 230-pound Perrotte said, “and we’re lucky we have the guys who can get the ball to us near the basket.”
Perrotte had a game-high 21 points during last Friday’s win, while six-foot-three swing-man Dwayne Buckley was just one rebound shy of a double-double with 18 points and nine boards.
With the win the Stingers improve to 11-1 on the season, and reduce their magic number to clinch the division at one. A win this Friday against Laval, and the Stingers will have themselves their third straight regular season title.
Laval visits Loyola Gym Friday at 6 p.m., with Bishop’s in town Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.
