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MONTREAL - The McGill men's basketball team will open their 109th season on Wednesday (Aug. 25), when they play host to the University of Maine Black Bears, an NCAA Division 1 team from Orono, Me.

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Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. and a large crowd is expected at the 1,000-seat Love Competition Hall (475 Pine Avenue West). Advance tickets are now on sale at the Redbird Sports Shop in the McGill Sports Centre. Admission is $7 for adults, $4 for students and seniors. Children 12 and under are admitted free.

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Maine will face an ambitious schedule in Canada, playing five contests in six days beginning with a game against Bishop's in Lennoxville, Que., on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Black Bears then battle McGill on Aug. 25 and Universit茅 du Quebec a Montreal on Aug. 26 (7 p.m.). Maine then travels to Ottawa to take on the Carleton Ravens on Aug. 28 and finishes the tour in Quebec City with a game at Universit茅 Laval on Aug. 29.

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"This is a great opportunity for our young team to gain some valuable experience against a very good Maine team," said new Redmen head coach Dave DeAveiro, who posted an impressive 210-127 overall record in eight years with the Ottawa Gee-Gees and spent the summer working with the Canadian national team." It's an excellent way for us to evaluate our talent and it gives our players a taste of the tough preseason schedule that lies ahead."

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The new-look Redmen lineup will feature two seniors, one junior, four sophomores and seven newcomers, including a couple of NCAA transfers. Maine returns 11 players and four starters from a squad that finished third in the America East Conference and had the third-most wins in school history with a record of 19-11.

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McGill posted a 12-18 overall record last year under head coach Craig Norman. They finished third in the five-team Quebec conference with an 8-8 record. It was the highest regular-season win total for McGill since 2001-02, when they finished second with a 12-3 record.

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"We are very excited to have the opportunity to travel in Canada and play some quality schools for an exhibition series," says Maine head coach Ted Woodward. "It is a wonderful experience, both athletically and culturally for our team.听 Our former student-athletes have always remarked that tours like this were amongst their most cherished learning opportunities at Maine.听 We have worked hard since our last tour six years ago to secure private funding to accomplish this trip, and would like to especially thank our donors who have generously given to our program for this specific experience.听 Without their help, this wouldn't be possible."

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McGill will also be in Ottawa over the Labour Day weekend to play the University of Cincinnati Bearcats on Sept. 3 in a game to be played at Carleton's Raven's Nest. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m.

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The Redmen schedule also features a pair of road games against NCAA Division 1 schools in early November: at Rutgers (Big East) in Piscataway, N.J., and at Robert Morris in Moon Township, PA (just outside Pittsburgh). Robert Morris, the defending Northeast Conference champions who dropped a tight, three-point game to Villanova Wildcats in the first round of this past NCAA tournament.

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McGill has surprised many observers with a number of respectable showings against NCAA teams over the past three seasons. Last year, the Redmen were beaten 90-55 by the Saint John's Red Storm (Sept. 5). 听In 2008, McGill lost 72-67 to the Kansas Jayhawks (Aug. 30), defeated the Virginia Cavaliers 88-83 (Aug. 31) and lost 87-73 to the Northeastern Huskies (Sept. 1). In 2007, the Redmen lost 97-88 to Alabama (Sept. 1) and 107-103 to Illinois in double overtime (Sept. 3). In 2005, McGill lost 70-45 to Western Illinois.

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SOURCE:

Earl Zukerman

McGill Athletics & Recreation

514-398-7012

earl.zukerman [at] mcgill.ca

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