Goaltending woes costly in classic hoops contest
Nov 29, 08 Basketball (M)
By Earl Zukerman
MONTREAL – They say that goaltending wins games. That was not the case Saturday, however, as a pair of rare goaltending calls cost the basketball Redmen dearly in a 100-90 overtime loss to visiting Laval before 367 at the Currie Gym.
Francois-Olivier Gagnon-Hebert, a 6-foot-5, 210-pound centre from Quebec City, tallied 29 points and pulled down 11 rebounds as Laval swept their two-game weekend series over the Redmen and improved to 3-1 heading into a month-long exam break. Teammate Jerome Turcotte-Routhier posted a 17-point, 13-rebound performance.
In a game that featured everything but the kitchen sink, 10 players reached double figures in scoring, including four who achieved a “double-double”. A combined total of 40 personal fouls were called and two players fouled out but the large crowd was silenced when the first goaltending foul was called on McGill with seven seconds to play and the Redmen holding a precarious 82-80 lead. The call awarded two points to Gagnon-Hebert and forced a five-minute overtime period in which Laval outgunned McGill 18-8, including two on another goaltending call.
Montreal native Moustafa El Zanaty poured in 29 points in a losing cause for McGill, shooting 10-for-23 from the field, 4-for-10 from three-point range and 5-for-6 from the charity stripe. He also had seven rebounds and three assists.
Michael White, also from Montreal, had 17 points and grabbed 10 boards for McGill, while senior Sean Anthony of West Vancouver, registered 12 and 14, respectively, along with four steals. Rounding out the high scorers for McGill was Pawel Herra (15) of Kingston, Ont., and Matt Thornhill (11) of Ile. Bizard, Que., who fouled out in the final minutes.
The Rouge et Or led 32-28 after one quarter, 47-42 at the half and 68-60 after three stanzas. They shot an impressive 48.8 percent from the field, 28.0 from beyond the arc and 75.0 from the foul line, compared to McGill which connected on 38.6, 33.3 and a dismal 56.0, respectively,
The Redmen, 10-8 overall and 1-3 in league play, have a month to improve their goaltending situation and will regroup in time to participate in the Citadins Holiday Invitational tourney, Dec. 28-30.
GAME NOTES: Erik Galas, the fifth-year Redmen football star from Ottawa who played 21 minutes in his hoops debut at Laval Friday, only saw two minutes of court time in his second contest. He drew a pair of quick fouls late in the first half and did not see the court after that… Laval’s Xavier Baribeau, a 5-foot-9, 165-pound point guard, played the entire 45 minutes and posted some solid numbers with 12 points, seven rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals.