KINGSTON Ont. (October 5, 2014) - Queen's finished their home tournament 2-1 to win the Tindall Invitational, beating McGill in the head-to-head matchup. The Gaels men's basketball team welcomed Guelph, McGill, and Trinity Western to the Tindall Invitational basketball tournament from October 3 to 5 at the Athletics & Recreation Centre in Kingston.

Tournament All-Stars
MVP - Greg Faulkner (Kingston, Ont.) dominated the tournament for Queen's, putting up 65 points, 26 rebounds, and seven steals overall, including a double-double performance against Guelph with 28 points, 13 rebounds, and four steals.
Queen's - Dan Thompson (Oakville, Ont.) scored 35 points, seven assists, and four rebounds in the tournament, including a 13 point, four assist, and two rebound game against McGill.  
McGill - Thomas Lacy shot 45 points, grabbed five rebounds, and contributed four assists in the tournament, including a 23 point, three rebound performance against Guelph.  
Trinity Western - Denmark McDonald put up 38 points and hauled in 23 rebounds over Trinity Western's three games at the Tindall Invitational, including a 15 point, 11 rebound double-double against Queen's.
Guelph - Daniel Dooley totalled 35 points for Guelph, including 16 points in the Gryphons win against the Spartans.

Day 3
Trinity Western vs Guelph - BOXSCORE
Guelph edged past Trinity Western 73-70 in the dying seconds of the game, thanks to seven late points from Daniel Dooley, as both teams finished the Tindall Invitational 1-2 on Sunday.Guelph's Dooley and Trinity Western's Denmark McDonald earned tournament all-star honours.

With Guelph trailing late in the game, Dooley hit a three-pointer off the dribble before draining four consecutive free throws to tie and then gain the lead. Trinity Western's turnovers killed their chance to get back in front, falling to the Gryphons 73-70. The Spartans totalled 30 turnovers in the game to the Gryphons 16.

Both teams finished the Tindall Invitational 1-2, out of contention for the best recod at the tournament.

Queen's vs McGill - BOXSCORE
The Gaels scored a 77-61 victory against McGill, giving both teams a 2-1 record leaving the Tindall Invitational. Greg Faulkner (Kingston, Ont.) of Queen's earned the tournament MVP, while Dan Thompson (Oakville, Ont.) was named as the Gaels tournament all-star. 

McGill's Thomas Lacy was also named a tournament all-star.

Queen's was quick off the tip off, opening up an early 11-0 lead against McGill. Ryall Stroud (Toronto) dominated offensively early in the game, leading all scorers with 12 points at halftime. McGill picked up offensively in the second half with Michael Peterkin throwing down two consecutive dunks and scoring 12 points overall. The Gaels responded by shooting 57.7% from the floor in the second half, allowing Queen's to maintain their lead with a final score of 77-61.

Patrick Street (Etobicoke, Ont.) led all scorers at the final buzzer with 15 points, while Thompson added 13 points of his own, and rookie Martin Kulinich (Maple, Ont.) put up 11 points.

The Gaels will be on the road next Thursday when they take on Nipissing at 6pm in exhibition play.

Day 2
Queens vs Trinity Western - BOXSCORE
It came down to the final seconds again for the Gaels in their second game of the home invitational, but this time the Gaels were unable to catch the Trinity Western Spartans, who won 69-60.  

It was a fast first half with a lot of quick rebounds and back and forth action from both teams. The Gaels had the early lead, but the Spartans dominated the boards, almost doubling the Gaels in offensive rebounds, and managed to gain a 33-28 lead at halftime. Despite being down, the Gaels stayed close behind the Spartans and had Greg Faulkner (Kingston, Ont.) leading all scorers with 14 points at half.

The Spartans defensive pressure continued in the second half, shutting down drives to the basket and forcing the Gaels to shoot from the perimeter. Queen's settled down and responded by breaking through the Spartan defense and drawing fouls, scoring 73% at the foul line. The Gaels gained on the Spartans thanks to the strong offensive showing of Dan Thompson (Oakville, Ont.) with eight points and Mike Shoveller (Arnprior, Ont.) with six points.

Going into the fourth quarter, Queen's tied it up at 48-48. The teams fought for the lead, with the Spartans pulling away in the final minutes. Faulkner drew a foul and sunk a clutch three pointer to try and close the gap but, in the end, the Gaels were unable to regain the lead, leaving the final score at 69-60.

Denmark MacDonald had a standout performance for the Spartans, getting a double-double with 11 rebounds and 15 points. Faulkner led all scorers for the second time in the tournament with 27 points overall.  

The Gaels will finish off the Tindall tournament Sunday, when they take on McGill at 4pm. Trinity Western has Guelph at 12pm.

Guelph vs McGill - BOXSCORE
McGill put Saturday night's game against Guelph out of reach in the first half en route to winning their second game at the Tindall Invitational 101-78.

Thomas Lacy put up a game-high 23 points in the win for the Redmen, hitting seven of nine three-point attempts. Michael Peterkin also contributed to the McGill victory, chipping in with 16 points of his own.

The game got physical as Guelph tried to claw their way back into it, with Andrew Grant and Jeremie Casavant-Dubois trading technical fouls after a jump ball. Although Trevor Thompson scored 16 points for the Gryphons, McGill held on for the big 101-78 win.

McGill will try to make it a perfect weekend in Kingston, closing out the tournament on Sunday at 4pm against the Gaels. Guelph plays Trinity Western as 12pm.

Day 1
McGill vs Trinity Western - BOXSCORE
The McGill Redmen and Trinity Western Spartans got the men's side of the Tindall Invitational started on Friday afternoon, with McGill coming out on top 71-51.

The Redmen shot 48.4% from the field in the first half, giving McGill the edge they needed to wear down an athletic Spartans team. Thomas Lacy led a balanced McGill attack with 14 points, while Jeremie Casavant-Dubois and Francois Bourque added 13 and 12 points, respectively. Bradley Laguerre dominated the boards for the Redmen, bringing down 10 rebounds.

Kevlin Smith picked up 11 points in the loss for Trinity Western, while his Spartans teammate Denmark McDonald put up 10 points.

Trinity Western plays Queen's on Saturday at 4pm, while McGill will play at 8pm against Guelph.

Queen's vs Guelph - BOXSCORE
The Gaels claimed a huge 78-75 victory against their OUA rivals, the Guelph Gryphons, in their first game of the Tindall Invitational on Friday night.

A close game from the start, Queen's and Guelph battled down to the last second. Guelph jumped ahead 75-70 with three minutes remaining, but Greg Faulkner (Kingston, Ont.) led the Gaels on a thrilling comeback, scoring the last eight points of the game. A pair of buckets brought the Gaels within one with 42 seconds on the clock. After a big stop on defence, Faulkner was fouled as he spun to the basket, making the layup and the foul shot to complete the three point play and give the Gaels a 77-75 lead with 8.5 seconds remaining. Faulkner stepped on defence to make the steal, and sunk an additional foul shot in the dying seconds.

Faulkner had an outstanding performance throughout the game, dominating the boards and leading all scorers with a double-double on 13 rebounds and 28 points. Dan Thompson (Oakville, Ont.) contributed 14 points of his own to the Gaels score.   

It was a close game with three lead changes in the first frantic minutes, both teams battling to get ahead early. The Gryphons came out of the first quarter leading Queen's 22-18, but the Gaels kept it close, and with 10 first half rebounds from Faulkner, managed to surpass Guelph to lead 44-40 at halftime.

The second half continued to see lead changes, and the game became increasingly physical with the Gaels reaching the foul line 50 times and the Gryphons 31 in the game. Guelph's Jonathon Wallace and Daniel Dooley put up strong performances, scoring 16 and 12 points respectively.

The final minutes of the game had the crowd at the ARC on their feet, cheering the hosts to victory.

Catch the Gaels back in action on Saturday at 4pm when they play Trinity Western. Guelph plays against McGill at 8pm.