Whether it’s the high-capacity seating at Scotiabank Place or just the Ravens’ Nest on a chilly, Feb. 20 evening, the intensity is always the same for a Carleton versus University of Ottawa basketball game.
Throughout the game, both sides had their fair share of supporters, with the “Let’s go Ravens” and “Let’s go Gee Gees” cheers drowning each other out.
Despite questionable refereeing and blowing an 18-point lead in the second half, the Ravens fought back for a thrilling 87-86 overtime win.
After being tied early, the Ravens began to take control of the game after creating plays with precise passing and catching the Gee-Gees out of position.
Aaron Chapman showed true hustle throughout the game, grabbing boards and giving second and third attempts.
After Carleton led 19-17 after the first quarter, the Bloomfield native was able to fight for a team rebound and finish the layup on the ensuing fast break on the other end.
As usual, neither team was particularly happy with the officiating.
Despite the obvious slip-ups, the Ravens secured a solid lead of 34-24 with sheer grit and picture-perfect passing.
But the blunders by the referees continued and had both coaches visibly upset.
Carleton capped off a solid quarter with a long ball from Elliot Thompson and led 39-30 at halftime.
The key to the success of the Ravens’ half was distribution.
That trend continued in the third as Carleton took a stronghold on the game with a 12-3 run to extend the lead to 51-33.
In a repeat of the first half, both coaches yelled from opposite sides at the referees who were in the middle.
The Ravens continued to increase their already massive lead by draining three-balls at the top of the key over and over again by different players.
Carleton’s combination of timely passing and hustle allowed them to score points on nearly every possession.
However, Ottawa went on a 14-3 run of their own to trim the deficit to 61-53 at the end of the third.
It was going into the fourth that the drama really began.
Intensity started to boil when Ottawa’s leading scorer Warren Ward was blocked in what could only be classified as a volleyball spike by Raven Kevin McCleery.
On the next possession both players stood nose to nose, exchanging heated words.
After Ottawa cut the lead to come within four, 75-71, the Ravens had possession with under a minute left.
Despite missing three shots, the Ravens recovered each time with offensive rebounds only to turn it over with seven seconds to go.
As Ottawa ran up the floor, a flagrant foul was called, an absurd call at best.
Ottawa only hit one from the charity stripe and were down 75-72.
On the possession, uncontested Gee-Gee Donnie Gibson hit the long ball to tie the game.
With one second left, Raven Cole Hobin could not find a player to inbound it to and instead took a shot from out of bounds which landed out of bounds, giving Ottawa another crack at the win with a second left.
Ottawa could not get a clean shot off, sending the game to overtime.
The Ravens looked frozen in the extra frame before McCleery hit his trademark post up fade. Thompson converted a three-point play, three of the team-high of 22, before Ottawa’s Gibson dominated the floor once again.
While Carleton had a slim lead of 82-79, Ottawa was in the game because of its own hustle, especially Ryan Malcolm-Campbell. The Mississauga native flew across the baseline to throw back the ball for his team to keep possession, while hitting advertising boards and a few fan-filled chairs on the way.
Hobin hit a key three-point play to give the Ravens an 86-83 lead before controversy began once again.
Ottawa hit a three-pointer, but the referee switched the call, indicating it was a two-pointer since his foot was on the line.
This had Ottawa’s coach upset before the call was reversed once again, which had Raven head coach Dave Smart just as infuriated.
With the score 86-86, McCleery was fouled on the play but only hit one free throw, giving Ottawa one last chance for the win with eight seconds on the clock.
Ottawa went up court, but the pass on the inside to Malcolm-Campbell went off his finger tips, giving Carleton the 87-86 win.
But Smart was less than thrilled at the close win.
“We’re young and we make mistakes, we’re talented but we’re also pretty immature for our sport. I don’t know how much we can prove in four weeks but we’re going to have to change something,” he said, referring to the upcoming Ontario University Athletics’ playoffs.
“It’s bad enough to be young, but it’s worse being young and thinking that you have everything under control.”
Chapman played a pivotal role in the game with his aggressive mentality.
“For now my game is just rebounding, hustle and defence,” Chapman said. “The crowd here definitely helped us pick up our game in overtime.”
Both teams showed the true definition of hustle in what will go down as one of the most thrilling games in Carleton history.