Men’s Basketball: One Critical Dunk

Stingers Close Out Regular Season With Win at UQAM

SportsHarrison-Milo Rahajason — Published March 6, 2016 | Updated March 7, 2016 at 12:30am

The Stingers, who held out star swingman Ken Beaulieu for precautionary reasons, were able to pull out the back and forth affair to end their regular season on a high note.

The Stingers scuffled for most of the first half. Their 19-13 first quarter deficit put them in some early trouble. With 4 minutes left in the second quarter, the Stingers trailed 28-21.

Following a missed shot by UQAM guard Greishe Clerjuste, freshman forward Schneiders Suffrard pulled down a defensive rebound, ran the floor and stuffed home an emphatic dunk. That was the game’s turning point.

Suffrard’s dunk sparked an 11-4 run by the Stingers, giving them a 34-32 halftime lead. More importantly, it got them back into the game.

“These are momentum plays,” said Suffrard when asked about his key play. “Basketball is a mental game. We realized that we had all the momentum after the dunk, and they couldn’t make a shot. So we went on a run.”

That run got them back in it. They now had to find ways to stay in it, without their best player.

The Stingers were able to out rebound the Citadins 41-39. More critically, they pulled down 27 defensive rebounds. Limiting second chances for the tall UQAM frontcourt went a long way towards offsetting their size advantage.

The Stingers were also able to generate more close range offense than the Citadins could. The Citadins centers combined for two points on four total attempts from the field.

Forward/center, Ahmadu-Tijani Umar, conversely, scored 20 of his game-high 26 points from close range. He took 13 of his 13 total shots from close to the basket, and made 10 of them.

That gave him a field goal percentage of 76.9 per cent on the night—higher than his already team-high 50.6 per cent. This came in addition to a game-high 13 rebounds.

Umar was not the only one who shot well from inside. Suffrard, forward Michael Fosu and guard Jaleel Webb also generated close range offense. Playing effectively from around the basket was something the Stinger coaching staff emphasized.

“It is something we’ve been asking them the whole year because we’re not a great outside shooting team,” said Stinger head coach Rastko Popovic when asked about his team’s inside production. “When we get the ball inside to TJ [Umar] the percentages are much higher. Higher percentages, better for us.”

The Stingers built off of their late first half rally, and turned out better overall shooting numbers in the second half. Most importantly, they gave the staff what they asked for and were more efficient from around the basket.

They shot 8/14 (57.14 per cent) from inside in the second half compared to 9/21 (42.85 per cent) in the first. Their aggressiveness on the inside also led to far more free throw opportunities for the Stingers in the second half. They were 5/11 (45.5 per cent) in the first half compared to 13/19 (68 per cent) in the second.

Until Suffrard’s late first half dunk, the Stingers looked like a team that would be reeling without their best player. The jolt that he provided brought his team to life. They were able to stick with the Citadins, and eventually win the game.

The Stingers’ will open postseason play against these very same Citadins at the RSEQ Final Four, Friday March 11 at McGill’s Love Competition Hall.

“Yeah, I feel we’re prepared,” said Inti Salinas when asked about their next game. “We played without possibly the best player in the league in Ken [Beaulieu]. If we get Ken back I fully expect us to win.”

Beaulieu will return to the lineup for Stingers next week, according to coach Popovic. If they can beat UQAM without him, they are even more optimistic about their chances with him.