The Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team took to the court Nov. 16-17 in their highly anticipated home opening games after already playing two games on the road, Nov. 9-10.
On Nov. 9, the defending Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) champion Ravens opened the 2012-13 season with a devastating loss at the hands of the University of Windsor Lancers. The Ravens, at that time the number one-ranked team in the country, were leading by eight points after the third quarter, but Windsor outscored the Ravens 18-6 in the fourth quarter, ultimately coming back to shock the Ravens with a final score of 71-67.
On Nov. 10, the Ravens bounced back by handily beating the Western University Mustangs 86-46.
The Ravens had the week off to regroup for their home opening games against the Brock Badgers and the McMaster Marauders.
“We know we lost, so practice this week was more intense than it would be, and we had to change our focus from offence back to defence,” Ravens forward Tyson Hinz said.
The Badgers visited the loud and rowdy Ravens’ Nest on Nov. 16. After a slow first quarter, the Ravens took control of the game, led by Hinz with 16 points, and destroyed the Badgers 89-50.
On Nov. 17, the Ravens faced off against the Marauders and trailed after the first quarter, 21-20.
The Ravens took control of the game in the second and third quarters, leading by 17 points after the third. The Marauders tried to stage a comeback in the final quarter, but came up short, losing by 12 points with a final score of 100-88 for the Ravens.
Veteran players Hinz and Philip Scrubb led the team in the game against the Marauders. Hinz had 25 points and nine rebounds and Scrubb tallied 24 points and three 3-pointers.
Although the Ravens beat the Marauders, they were not satisfied.
“The game plan was to rebound the ball and get stops. We didn’t do a very good job of it. They scored 88 points,” Hinz said.
“It’s pretty obvious [we need to work on] defence. We need to get stops.”
The Ravens offence, on the other hand, is firing on all cylinders. They currently have the most points for in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) with 342 and in the game against McMaster they shot a very respectable 58 per cent from the field.
The Ravens currently sit in a four-way tie for second place in the OUA East division standings with six points, two points behind the undefeated Ryerson Rams.
The currently CIS second-ranked Ravens have the week off to practice and work on their defensive struggles and then they are right back at it at home Nov. 23-24 against the seventh-ranked team in Canada, the Lakehead Thunderwolves, and the Guelph Gryphons.
