Concordia 71, Laval 59: Stingers Men’s Basketball Handles Rouge et Or

Twelve-Point Lead Gives Stingers Extra Win Ahead of Semi-Finals

SportsWala Amara — Published February 26, 2018

Not to be complacent and hold a one or two point gap, the team made sure that they kept well ahead of their opponent, leaving almost no hope for the Rouge et Or to mount a comeback.

Guard Adrian Armstrong, led the team in points, tallying 16 points and two steals throughout his 18 minutes of playing time. The chemistry between him and point guard, Anthony Sanogo was off the charts, and the pair put up a combined 28 points together.

“Right now it seems like we’re clicking,” confirmed Armstrong. “Especially during the last couple of games. We’re having good starts offensively as well as defensively, and we’re peaking at a good time.”

Rouge et Or guard Frantson Désmothène, on the other hand, scored ten points, along with four turnovers and 11 rebounds, guard Alexandre Leclerc gave up nine points and two rebounds.

In honor of Senior’s Night, Concordia head coach Rastko Popovic made a few unfamiliar adjustments to his starting lineup, giving a starting spot to fourth year senior forward, Dvir Cahana, who played a total of 27 minutes in this game.

“It’s a tradition in basketball and they do it a lot in the NCAA,” said Popovic. “He’s a senior, they start the last game.”

Cahana received a cheerful and warm welcome before the game for his dedication and passion towards basketball and his teammates. He put up a total of nine points and had three turnovers, three steals, and two rebounds.

When it came to the rest of his lineup, everyone in the roster got their chance to play. Each player had the chance to give their all out on the court, which allowed for every one of them to rest longer and perform their best when it was show-time.

“I feel like I worked hard for [this opportunity], and now I’m getting rewarded”, said Sanogo.

Popovic said he wanted players on the reserve to get the experience of finishing a game, so he planned for all of them to play a little bit more. He thought that they were practicing and working hard all year and felt like it was a good decision to reward them, and to show them that they earned the extra playing time to go out and compete.

This good-natured game honouring senior players comes just before a more serious game, the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec semi-finals, which will seal their fate for the season.

The Stingers will once again be facing the Rouge et Or this Wednesday night with big hopes of taking home the win to advance to the finals.

“This is what we’ve been working towards since July,” said Popovic. “We’re ready to play this game and it’s this one game that decides the [results of] the season.”