Late turnovers in the fourth quarter cost Concordia the game
Concordia’s men’s team hosted the Laval Rouge et Or on Thursday night’s double-header in an exciting back-and-forth game. The Rouge et Or finally won the game 79-77 thanks to costly turnovers by the home team late in the game. The Stingers committed 22 turnovers all together in the game.
The game’s first points came on a slam dunk by Stingers forward Ken Beaulieu. A few seconds later, Rouge et Or center Boris Hadzimuratovic hit two free throws. The Stingers respond with a 5-0 run which included another slam dunk by Beaulieu to give Concordia the early cushion.
As the first quarter was drawing to end, the Stingers would increase their lead on a three-pointer by guard Mukiya Post. Concordia’s quick start was evident and the score at the end of the first quarter was 22-14 .
The Rouge et Or had a strong start to the second quarter as they scored the first points of the second quarter on a basket by forward Antoine Beaumier. Beaumier’s basket started a 4-0 run for Laval to give his team much-needed life. Laval would score eight unanswered points midway through the second, led by Dezutter who scored five points on the run.
Late in the half, Stingers guard Aamir Gyles stepped out from beyond the arc and hit a three-pointer to maintain Concordia’s advantage. The maroon and gold went into halftime with a five point lead as the score was 43-38.
Like the second quarter, Laval had a fast start to the third quarter as they opened the quarter with a 7-0 run and took their first lead of the night. The quarter went back and forth between the two teams and it seemed as neither team could miss.
The Stingers took back the lead on a three-pointer by point guard, Ricardo Monge midway through the third. Not to be outdone, the Rouge et Or then came storming back and took an eight point lead.
By the time the buzzer sounded for the end of the third quarter, both teams had put on an offensive explosion. The Stingers had erased the Rouge et Or’s big lead and trailed the visiting team by just two points, 64-62.
The Rouge et Or scored their first points of the final quarter with five minutes left in the game on free throws by Thibaud Dezutter which tied the game. The Stingers then scored six unanswered points and looked to be in control. However, the Rouge et Or did not give up and rallied with 12 seconds left in the game to tie it at 77 with a basket by forward Alexandre Leclerc.
Just as it looked like the game was headed to overtime, Leclerc got the ball back for his team and drew a foul. A pair of free throws would settle the game and stun Concordia.
After the game, Stingers head coach John Dore was disappointed with his team’s performance and timely turnovers.
“We had far too many turnovers which really hurt us in the end,” Dore said.
