While the final minutes of another quarterfinal matchup played out in front of them, the Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team huddled in a corner of the Saville Community Sports Centre. The players and coaching staff stood just steps away from green bleachers filled with University of Alberta Golden Bears fans.
The fans chanted one thing: “We want Carleton. We want Carleton.”
The Ravens had yet to step foot on the court at the U Sports men’s basketball national championship in Edmonton, Alta., but their legacy preceded them—a legacy of dominant season after dominant season and 15 national championships in the last 18 seasons.
By the end of the night Friday, the Alberta fans saw their wish come true. Carleton decisively defeated the University of Victoria Vikes 94-77 in their quarterfinal game, setting up a Carleton-Alberta matchup in the semifinals of the tournament on Saturday.
For a team as dominant as Carleton, the game was about more than winning—it was about redemption. Since the Queen’s Gaels defeated the Ravens in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) semifinals last week, Carleton has lived with the reality of missing the OUA finals for the first time in 16 years.
Winning against Victoria got the Ravens back to where they like to be.
“I think it’s more relief than celebration,” Carleton head coach Taffe Charles said. “Every time you lose a game, you have a little bit of self-confidence issues.”
Thanks to the Ravens’ early exit from the OUA playoffs, they were seeded in the bottom half of the nationals bracket for the first time this century. The first-round matchup against the Victoria Vikes—the number two seed and Canada West champions—promised to be high stakes.
Carleton achieved the win with a combination of contributions from 11 players. Forward Biniam Ghebrekidan led the team with 17 points, while guard Alain Louis posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
A high-scoring first quarter—highlighted by Carleton guard Aiden Warnholtz’s three consecutive three-pointers—gave Carleton a slim 31-25 lead. For the rest of the game, the Vikes trailed closely behind, always within striking distance.
It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that the Ravens separated themselves.
“They outscored us. They outplayed us,” said Victoria guard Diego Maffia, who scored 18 points. “We came out of the gates slow and we just had to crawl back the whole game and crawling back, you have to play a perfect game.”
One of the keys for the Ravens came at the three-point line. The Vikes led the nation in three-point shooting percentage in the regular season but went just 10-for-38 from deep against Carleton. Maffia said Carleton forced Victoria to shoot from deeper, hurting their accuracy.
The next game for the Vikes is the consolation semifinal, scheduled for 5 p.m. ET Saturday against the McGill Redbirds, who lost to Alberta in the quarterfinals. The disappointment of not advancing to the semifinals was apparent when Maffia spoke.
“It’s a lot of sadness,” Maffia said. “We had high hopes. We kind of achieved every goal we set from the beginning of the season as a team up to this point, and our last goal was to win a U Sports national championship. We had an opportunity and it didn’t go our way.”
Next up for the Ravens is Alberta—the fan base that wanted to face them so badly on home turf. Winning in front of the rambunctious Saville faithful will be a challenge for Carleton, as will be recovering in time for the 10 p.m. ET matchup Saturday.
The recovery and preparation has already begun. After fans had cleared, assistant coach Rob Smart remained on the court, giving guidance to guards Cordell Viera and Nelson Cilien. Director of basketball operations and former head coach Dave Smart pulled guard Aiden Warnholtz aside to do the same.
“[It’s] a lot of film work and a sleepless night,” Charles said. “We’re looking forward to the challenge [of playing in front of Alberta fans] and I guess they’re gonna get what they wanted.”
Featured image by Spencer Colby.
