LENNOXVILLE, Que. – Facing a must-win situation, the Bishop's Gaiters overcame a 17-point deficit to defeat the Laval Rouge et Or, 79-73, in Quebec university men's basketball league play at the Mitchell Gym, Saturday afternoon. The Gaiters came into the contest three games behind the fourth-place Rouge et Or, with only nine games left. With the win, the Gaiters are now two games back of a playoff spot, with a pair of contests yet to come against Laval.

Playing on only 18 hours rest, the Gaiters suffered through a difficult start, as the Rouge et Or ran out to a 27-10 lead late in the first quarter. Bishop's started to chip away at the Laval lead through the second quarter, and cut the gap to 37-28 by halftime.

The Gaiter comeback continued in the second half. Laval led by as many as 11 points halfway through the third, but Bishop's went on a 10-3 run, highlighted by three-pointers from Tim Hunter (Baie d'Urfé, Que.) and Mukiya Post (Victoria, B.C.), to cut the gap to four points with 2:34 left in the third. Laval pushed back before the Gaiters ended the third on a 6-0 run, leaving Laval up 53-50 after thirty minutes.

In the fourth, Hunter's layup at 6:32 gave Bishop's their first lead since the early stages, as he put the Gaiters up 59-58. The teams traded the lead five times before Bishop's finally went ahead for good on a putback by Onnex Blackwood (Scarborough, Ont.) with 59 seconds left. He gave Bishop's a 71-70 lead, and six straight free throws sealed the deal for the home side. The Gaiters went 13-for-15 from the free-throw line in the final quarter, allowing them to take advantage of some late Laval foul trouble.

Sophomore centre Mike Andrews (Oakville, Ont.) led the Gaiters (6-15, 6-11 CIS, 1-7 Quebec) with a double-double (17 points, ten rebounds), his second of the season. Blackwood scored a team-high 19 points, while Hunter finished with 17 points, six rebounds and five assists. Sean Monplaisir (Toronto, Ont.) and Post were the other two Gaiters in double figures, with 11 and ten points respectively.

Laval (10-13, 7-11 CIS, 3-5 Quebec) was led by 20 points from Xavier Baribeau, as he hit six three-pointers. René-Pier Mathieu came off the bench to score 13 points, while Thibaud Dezutter and Étienne Labrecque scored ten each.

The Gaiters return to action on Friday night, January 27, as they host the Concordia Stingers. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. (not 4 p.m., as indicated on some earlier schedules).