Stingers roundup

By John Austen

Concordia hoopsters complete great season-long run

You always want to win your last game. More often than not, that means some sort of championship win. The Concordia men's basketball team fell just one game short of their goal when they lost 68-48 to the No. 1-ranked Carleton Ravens in the CIS National Championship March 20 in Halifax.

Despite the loss the Stingers can hold their heads high - their silver medal a testament to a terrific season of basketball. After all, NO ONE beats Carleton.

The last time the Ravens lost a game most of Concordia's players were back in high school. Carleton has now won three straight national titles.

"That's a heck of a team over there," said Concordia head coach John Dore of his opponents. "I'm extremely proud of our guys for their great season and representing their school so well at the Nationals."

The No. 2-seeded Stingers, who finished first in the Quebec league play upsetting their nemesis from Laval in the process, defeated the 10th-seeded Saint Mary’s Huskies 87-58 to open up play in the quarterfinals. The next day, the team followed up with an impressive 59-46 semifinal victory over the Brock Badgers, a big team that entered the nationals as the No. 3 seed.

On Sunday, before a pro-Concordia crowd of 5,359, the Stingers lost the championship and were outplayed for most of the way. It was the 78th consecutive win ñ regular season and playoffs ñ for the Ravens.

Despite a quick start by the Stingers, Carleton started sinking one three-pointer after another and took the lead for good five minutes into the game. The score was 39-31 at halftime. The Ravens tallied a whopping 10 three-pointers in the first half and had 15 by the end of the game. They shot 53.2 per cent on the game, including 50 per cent from three-point range.

Third-year forward Patrick Perrotte was the leading scorer on the Stingers with 17 points and five rebounds. He was named the Concordia player of the game. Forward Ben Sormonte also chipped in with 14 points and five rebounds.

Perrotte and Sormonte, who had a lot of people talking after he hauled in 18 rebounds in the Brock matchup, were both named to the Final 10 all-star team.

Langlois an All-Canadian

Point guard and Concordia men's basketball team captain Phil Langlois was named a first team all-Canadian by Canadian University Sports late last month.

Langlois, a fifth-year senior from Varennes, is just the third first team all-Canadian in Concordia history and the first since guard Dexter John in 1992-93.

He is among the national leaders in several categories. He's No. 1 in steals with 3.44 a game, No. 2 in assists with 7.81 a game and No. 2 in free throw shooting at 90 per cent.

The Sociology major was named the outstanding player in the Quebec conference. He is a four-time QSSF all-star. He was also an honorable mention all-Canadian in 2004.