By Micah Della Foresta — Staff Writer

Heading into February hot off two wins, the Gaiters were looking to carry their momentum into the new month. They matched up against the reigning conference champions, the McGill Redbirds, who were entering the series with a 2-8 record but with a much stronger and experienced team than their record would reflect. On Feb. 2 in Montreal, at the Love Competition Hall, both teams were aware of the importance of the upcoming games. Bishop’s, Concordia and McGill are all in contention of securing a playoff spot, but all could potentially lose one. 

The home team came out strong, finding themselves up early and maintained a steady lead, controlling the pace and seemingly slicing their way through the Gaiters’ defenses. An uncharacteristic start for the Gaiters found them down 13 points going into the second half. Bishop’s was able to string together a third quarter push that would bring them as close as one point away. Feeling the pressure, McGill retook control and re-asserted the aggressiveness that they had been playing with during first half, closing out the fourth period with composure and efficiency. McGill took the win over the Gaiters by a score of 89-76. The freshman core contributed significantly in this game, seeing Étienne Gagnon produce another double double, along with Zachary John and Tiernan McDougall who both scored 18 points in the game. 

Next up on Saturday, the Gaiters came into their matchup with a playoff mentality and focused on neutralizing the Redbirds’ weapons that had kept the game mostly out of reach on Thursday. A win would improve Bishop’s in the standings to third place, and a loss would plummet them to fifth. An adjusted game plan and the innate desire to win propelled the Gaiters from the get go and gave McGill a taste of their own medicine. Leading by as many as 17 points, the men maintained dominant control and evened out the season series with McGill. Charles Robert had a rounded performance, almost notching a triple-double and filling the stat sheet with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists. 

The Gaiters’ final four games against UQAM and Laval will be crucial in order for the Gaiters to maintain their spot in the playoffs. They face off twice against the Citadins on Feb. 9 and 11. Head Coach Matt McLean is anticipating these matchups and the upcoming games against the first-place team in the league. “A ton has changed since then so we are excited for the challenges ahead,” he said, referring to the last time the Gaiters played UQAM, nearly three months ago.