One Final Time

Stingers Men’s Basketball Team Loses Semi-Final Game Versus McGill

SportsTristan D’Amours — Published March 7, 2015 | Updated March 7, 2015 at 6:40pm

It was the final game for head coach John Dore and players Gabe Riche and Mukiya Post as Stingers.

The game drew the curtain on Dore’s 26-year career as Stingers head coach. The coach led the Stingers to 13 National Championship tournament appearances and a championship in 1990.

Meanwhile, Post had 23 points in his final game as a Stinger, while teammate Riche finished with five points and three rebounds.

McGill ran ahead with the score from the beginning of the game, scoring the game’s first seven points. The two-time reigning RSEQ champions soon raced to a 25-7 lead after the first quarter.

Frustration was building on the Concordia bench. Dore started to get very vocal in the second quarter, so much that he received a warning from the referees. Understandably, this was not the start
Dore envisioned for his last-ever game.

Concordia ended the first half down 35-19. The team had only converted five of their 25 field goals and sunk none of their 10 three-point attempts in the first
half.

In the second half, Concordia tried to get back into the game, but faced an uphill battle against a squad led by the RSEQ’s most valuable player, forward Francois Bourque, and defensive player of the year, guard Dele Ogundokun.

Difficulties on their offensive possessions prevented Concordia from scoring crucial points against McGill. However, the Stingers began clawing back into the game by drawing fouls against the Redmen.

First-year Redmen player Jawara Pedican had committed four fouls in the third quarter and missed a portion of the third quarter as a result. This gave Concordia an opportunity to make up a 20-point deficit, and they managed to reduce it to 11. However, the Stingers still had work to do, as they trailed 54-38 after three quarters.

The Stingers tried to fight back once more in the fourth quarter by being aggressive, bringing back the deficit to 11 points.

Post and forward Ken Beaulieu were behind the late rally for the Stingers, and the latter scored an impressive dunk, keeping hope alive for the Stingers fans in attendance.

However, it was too little too late for the Stingers, as two breakaway dunks by the game’s most valuable player, Pedican, were the final nails in Concordia’s coffin.