Concordia was unable to defeat UQÀM in the first round of the playoffs.
On March 11, the Concordia Stingers played the UQÀM Citadins in the RSEQ semi-finals. The Stingers swept the regular season series, but on Friday night, they could not pull out a win as they lost 70-63, which eliminated them from the playoffs.
The Stingers had a slow start to the game as they did not register a point until late in the first quarter. The Citadins led 13-0 before the Stingers scored their first points. After their slow start, the Stingers rebounded and ended the quarter, only trailing by eight points, 22-14 after a late three-pointer by guard Garry Merisier.
“I’m pretty happy how our guys responded after a rough start. Being down 13-0 is not the kind of start you want to have in a playoff game,” Stingers coach Rastko Popovic said.
The Citadins started the second quarter strong as they got two early three-pointers by guard Greiche Clerjuste. The Citadins in the quarter pushed their lead to ten points on three separate occasions throughout the quarter. A late run by the Stingers narrowed the Citadins lead to 37-34 at halftime.
The Stingers came out of halftime strong as they scored nine points in a span of three minutes to take a 43-37 lead. Stingers forward Ken Beaulieu scored four points including a dunk during the run while Stingers guard Jaleel Webb scored a three-pointer. The Stingers led throughout the quarter but with two minutes left, the Citadins went to their excellent three-pointing shooting game as they recorded three three-pointers to take a 52-49 lead heading into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter was filled with dramatics. The Stingers got a huge three-pointer by Webb to start the fourth quarter to tie the game. For the first five minutes of the quarter, both teams traded baskets, keeping it a close game. At one point in the quarter, the Stingers hit a cold streak and were unable to score points. The Citadins took advantage and scored 10 points during that time.
The Stingers made things interesting with a minute left as they cut the Citadins lead to just two points. However, that was as close as the Stingers came to tying the game. Clerjuste if the Citadins took control in the final minute and scored six points to end the game.
“At the end of the day when you play the same team this many times, it comes down to who can make the big shots,” Popovic said. “[The Citadins] definitely made the big shots down the stretch.”
Clerjuste had 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Citadins in the win.
“We did a better job rebounding and boxing out off the glass and keeping the Stingers out of transition,” said Citadins coach Nate Philippe.
For Beaulieu, the lack of execution and effort was what lost the Stingers the game.
“They showed up more than us and played harder than us,” said Beaulieu.
