Gaiters 85, Stingers 60: Concordia men’s basketball falters against Bishop’s

The Stingers started strong, but collapsed in an opening-night loss

SportsSamuel Kayll — Published November 10, 2024 0 minutes

Concordia had taken an early lead, but Bishop’s stormed back to match their tally 27-27 at the end of the first quarter. The Gaiters never looked back, taking a six-point advantage into halftime and cruising from there. A rough second half doomed the Stingers, as Bishop’s outscored Concordia 37-18 in the final two periods to blow the game open.

Guard Alec Phaneuf led the Stingers with 13 points and five assists, but shot just 4-for-14, including 0-for-3 on three-pointers. Forward Ba-Amara Djame added 10 points and eight rebounds. Centre Bradley Louidon and guards Jordan Telfort and Jaheem Joseph chipped in seven points each. 

Stingers head coach Rastko Popovic was critical of his team’s performance after the match. 

“Our defence wasn’t as good as it had been for most of the preseason, and our shot selection on offence wasn’t great,” he said. “Our level of competition wasn’t to the level that I was expecting for the first game of the year.”

Gaiters forward Charles Robert led all scorers with 24 points. Forward Étienne Gagnon finished with a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds, rounding out a balanced Gaiters attack that shot a blazing 55.7 per cent from the field.

Djame acknowledged the poor performance but also expressed his confidence in his teammates.

 “I know my team,” Djame said. “We’ve been working hard to improve, and it was just a bad shooting game for us.” 

The Stingers shot 33.3 per cent from the field throughout the game. Djame emphasized consistency as the key to Concordia’s future success. 

“We’re a good team, but we need to stay consistent and present,” he said postgame. “From the second quarter to the end of the game our shot wasn’t going in, so we need to find other ways to impact the game.”

Turnovers played a major role in the Stingers’ downfall, as the margin swung 19-11 in favour of Bishop’s. The Gaiters turned those chances into counterattacks, evidenced by their 22-12 edge in points off turnovers. Phaneuf placed the blame on himself despite a solid performance, accepting the responsibility to improve the team around him.

“I took a lot of shots—I scored, but I also had turnovers and I didn’t organize the guys,” Phaneuf said. “I didn’t play [well] today. But we do have to do a better job of getting everyone involved. I think other guys just didn’t get involved tonight, and I think it’s my fault.”

Popovic pointed to the third quarter as the game’s turning point.

“In the third quarter, we got outscored 16 to eight,” he said. “That’s unacceptable for us.”

Concordia secured its first win of the season in a 70-60 victory over the rival McGill Redbirds on Saturday, Nov. 9. The Stingers will now look forward to their matchup against the UQAM Citadins on Nov. 16. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.