Redmen cagers chop Axemen to pieces
WOLFVILLE, N.S. – Sean Anthony registered a rare
"triple-double", while Moustafa El Zanaty posted a "double-double"
and Matt Thornhill contributed 24 points as No.7-ranked McGill
defeated Acadia 90-75 in men’s preseason basketball, Sunday.
Alex Traikov also registered a double-double for the Axemen with 20
points and 10 rebounds.
Anthony, the second McGill player on record to accomplish the rare
“triple-double”, posted 14 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. A
6-foot-4 power forward from Vancouver, who has managed at least a
"double-double" in four of his last five contests, also wowed the
crowd by pulling off a dunk in heavy traffic.
The only other McGill player to register a similar feat was Bernie
Rosanelli, who accomplished it in a 102-94 overtime victory over
Waterloo, at the Redmen Invitational tournament, Nov. 16,
1986.
El Zanaty, a 6-foot-4 guard who was twice picked as player of the
game over the weekend, racked up 97 points over the three contests.
The 25-year-old senior matched Thornhill with 24 points and pulled
down a game-high 11 rebounds. He shot 6-for-20, sunk three of his
eight attempted treys and drained nine of 12 free throws.
Thornhill, chosen player of the game for McGill, made nine of 16
attempts from the field, going 5-for-11 from three-point
range. The junior from Ile Bizard, Que., made his only foul
shot, was credited with four rebounds and a pair of steals and had
a monster dunk off an alley-oop pass.
McGill led 18-9 after the opening quarter, 44-25 at the half and
73-50 after three quarters. The Redmen shot 43.1 per cent from the
field, 34.5 from the arc and 81.8 from the line. Acadia replied
with 35.1, 34.8 and 65.2, respectively. McGill also held a 43-38
advantage in rebounds, an 8-3 margin in blocked shots and an 8-7
edge in steals.
The Redmen, who defeated Saint Mary’s 93-90 on Friday and lost
93-75 to Dalhousie on Saturday, improved to 8-3 in non-conference
play against CIS teams and will open the regular season at home to
Bishop’s on Nov. 14.
GAME NOTES: The three games in the Maritimes were part of the Stu
Aberdeen Challenge, a unique Atlantic conference tournament, played
over three weekends at three AUS schools. Six visiting teams play
three games apiece, while the three host teams play six contests
each. They produce a biased set of standings (which exclude
non-AUS teams) to determine an AUS champion. Dalhousie came away on
top this year with a 5-1 record, followed by SMU (2-4) and Acadia
(1-5). McGill, Windsor, Toronto and Western each posted identical
2-1 records, followed by UQAM (1-2) and York (0-3).