Rookie forward Evens Laroche scored 28 points to lead the Concordia Stingers to a 79-76 come-from-behind victory over the UQAM Citadins in the Quebec university men’s basketball championship on Thursday night.
Before a capacity crowd at Concordia gym, Laroche put on a spectacular show. He was 11 of 12 from the field (91.7 per cent) and he was perfect from the line, going six for six. He also hauled in six offensive rebounds.
Damian Buckley, the Quebec MVP, also had significant numbers. He collected 21 points and 11 assists.
The top scorer for UQAM was Souleymne Diagne with 30 points.
The Citadins stormed to an early lead on a seven-point run at the start of the game. They held at 10-point advantage by halftime.
“In the locker room we talked about getting defensive stops,” explained Concordia head coach John Dore. “We were scoring OK, but we needed the stops, and in the third quarter we got them.”
A few key stops and the momentum turned. Concordia caught up and took its first lead of the game in the last minute of the third quarter.
The teams traded punches in the fourth fame, but it was Laroche who put the game away, sinking two free throws to make the score 79-76 with 10 seconds left to play.
This is the Stingers’ 17th Quebec title in the 34-year history of Concordia University.
The team will represent Quebec at the CIS’s Final 8 men’s basketball championship at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa March 13-15. The Stingers’ last appearance at the nationals was in 2007 when they won the consolation final.
