Both the Stingers’ men’s and women’s basketball teams won their competitions to sweep the annual three-day Concordia Classic Tournament on Thanksgiving weekend in Montreal.
The Concordia men’s team split its first two games, defeating the Regina Cougars 82-63 last Friday. The following day the Acadia Axemen eked out a 63-54 victory over the Stingers
.With all four teams in the competition evenly matched, it came down to the last game of the round-robin on Sunday afternoon to determine a champion.
With 2.2 seconds left to play, second-year guard Anthony Sanogo nailed a three-point shot to give Concordia a 74-72 victory over the Waterloo Warriors. The win also gave the Stingers the tournament title.
Concordia trailed 43-36 at halftime, but Sanogo had a strong second half to help lead his team back. He had 11 points, including three three-pointers in the final 20 minutes.
Adrian Armstrong, who was named the tournament MVP, was also instrumental in delivering the victory with 17 points in the game. Veteran guard Garry Merisier and rookie Samuel Lessard chipped in with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
The win was all the more impressive because the Stingers were missing several starters throughout the competition.
On the women’s side, Concordia compiled a perfect 3-0 win-loss record. The Stingers defeated the Memorial Sea-Hawks 71-58 last Friday. The next day, they rolled up a 75-44 win over the UPEI Panthers.
In the final game Concordia defeated the Laurentian Voyageurs 87-61 on the strength of Coralie Dumont’s 24-point, eight-rebound performance. Rookie Myriam Leclerc, who was the tournament MVP, added 19 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Nelly Osuwu, also a first-year player, chipped in with a double-double. She had 18 points and 11 rebounds.
