Benjamin Hamilton – The Concordian

The Concordia Stingers men’s basketball team was issued their first loss of the regular season against their rivals the McGill Redmen on Saturday afternoon by a score of 69-68. Concordia now has a record of three wins and one loss.

The game started at a fast pace with both teams playing with a high tempo. However, the Stingers did not shoot the ball well in the first

The Stingers will look to finish the first half of their season strong against the Laval Rouge et Or on Friday, Nov. 30

quarter resulting to a 22-10 lead for the Redmen. McGill’s Christian McCue started the game with the hot hand and was deadly from behind the arc, hitting two three-pointers.

During the second quarter, the Stingers played a very scrappy game getting to the free-throw line and looking for their big men, notably Kafil Eyitayo, to provide them with the scoring punch they were missing in the first 10 minutes. Concordia clawed its way back to a 36-30 deficit at halftime.

“We’re trying to find an answer but we just got to get hungrier and got to have that sense of urgency,” said Stingers guard Jerome Blake about the team’s poor first-half performance.

As the second half started, that sense of urgency overcame the Stingers. They started off on fire thanks to an assertive block by Eyitayo that lead to a transition layup and a foul by Evens Laroche.

At around midway in the quarter, Eyitayo fell to the ground clutching his leg and was helped off the court by his teammates. He would later return in the fourth quarter and when asked about his leg he said, “It was my calves, I just cramped up.”

In spite of Eyitayo’s injury, the aggressive Stingers’ defense paired with their strong offense led them to dominate the third quarter by a score of 24-11 giving them a 54-47 advantage entering the final quarter.

That was when things started to go south, especially in the last three minutes of the game. The Stingers lost the advantage as the Redmen, led by Vincent Dufort’s 25 points, charged back and ended up winning the game in the final seconds.

“We let it get away from us,” said Stingers head coach John Dore about the loss. “We just lost our composure a little bit but we’ll get that up.”

“We missed so many open shots, open layups and everything,” Eyitayo said. “At least it shows us we can be so much better.”

at PEPS. The game is scheduled for 8 p.m., following the women’s game. Rouge et Or TV will stream the game live online.

The Concordia Stingers women’s basketball team edged out the McGill Martlets, 72-63, in a back-and-forth game. Concordia is now undefeated with four wins and no losses.

Right from the tip off the Stingers caught McGill off-guard, scoring the game’s first 15 points thanks to their swarming zone defence and their deadly three point accuracy.

“My shots were going in and we were just playing good as a team,” said Stingers forward Richelle Gregoire.

Midway through the first quarter, Martlets’ centre Valérie L’Ecuyer fell down hard on her ankle and didn’t return to the game. This gave Concordia a clear advantage.

“You don’t like to say things like that,” said Stingers coach Keith Pruden. “But yes, that made our job a little bit easier.”

The Concordia Stingers women’s basketball team edged out the McGill Martlets, 72-63.

The Stingers went on to outscore the Martlets in the first quarter with a score of 23-9.

“I was very pleased with how we started but at no point did I think we were going to blow them out,” said Pruden.

The second quarter was a different story. After a few adjustments made on both offense and defense by McGill, the Martlets were able to cut the Stingers’ lead down to three points, in part thanks to Anneth Him-Lazarenko’s 12 first-half points. The score at the half was 34-31.

The story was more of the same in the third quarter as McGill’s dominant post game paired with bench player Marie-Pier Bastrash’s sudden hot hand helped them take the lead, for the first time of the game and into the fourth quarter by a score of 52-50.

However in the fourth quarter the Stingers regained their confidence that had propelled them on their first quarter run. Coach Pruden was satisfied with his team’s performance.

“I expected McGill to make it close but we found a way to win,” he said.

In the fourth quarter, Gregoire hit a quick three to help Concordia regain the lead. From there, Concordia never looked back. Led by Kaylah Barrett’s team high 21 points, the Stingers ended up winning the quarter by a score of 22-11 leading them to the victory over the Martlets.

“It’s my job to pick up my team and go forward. I vibe off everyone’s energy,” said Barrett. “If we’re all doing well together, it’s all just a continuous thing.”

“We’re going to try to keep improving,” said coach Pruden. “I do think we’re better than last year.”

The Stingers will hope to remain undefeated before heading into the winter break with a final game at Laval on Nov. 30. Tip off against the Rouge et Or is at 6 p.m..