The Carleton University Ravens men’s basketball team wrapped up their pre-season exhibition games with a 76-68 loss against the Syracuse University Orange on Saturday Nov. 1.
The Ravens started off strong in the first half, after three three-pointers from Victor Raso and two layups from Thomas Scrubb resulted in a quick 13-4 lead for Carleton, forcing Syracuse into an early timeout.
Syracuse bounced back with shots on the inside, narrowing the score 19-13, with Carleton still in the lead.
Early foul trouble from Syracuse pushed Carleton’s lead into the double digits. Midway through the first half, Carleton had a 14-point lead against Syracuse.
Heading into halftime, the Ravens were winning 39-30 after Syracuse landed two free throws and one three-pointer that helped them narrow the score.
Thomas Scrubb was the top scorer of the first half, with 12 points for Carleton. Kaleb Joseph led Syracuse with 11 points.
“We started off the game really well,” Scrubb said. “Guys were being aggressive and we were pretty tough.”
In the second half, the Ravens started losing their toughness. Syracuse came out strong right off the bat with a series of free throws and a three-pointers to narrow the gap.
The Ravens continued to lead, but Syracuse’s Ron Patterson and Rakeem Christmas’ series of three-pointers help Syracuse catch up 52-50.
A slam dunk from Patterson pulled Syracuse ahead, which is where they remained for the rest of the game.
“Once we lost the lead, even though we were able to stay in the game, we were not able to regain the edge that we had in the first half,” Scrubb said. “They just came out with a lot more intensity in the second half and we were not able to match it.”
Thomas Scrubb was the top scorer of the game with 25 points, while his brother Philip finished with only 10 after being heavily defended.
With this loss, the Ravens end their pre-season with a 10-2 record. Their other loss this season was to Indiana University, another National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) team.
Thomas Scrubb said that some of the games against NCAA teams exposed weaknesses the team needs to work on.
“Against Indiana it was our lack of ability to defend quick guards and shooters,” Scrubb said. “Syracuse and Memphis really exposed our lack of physical toughness, in that they dominated us at the post positions.”
Scrubb said after losing two of their starting posts this year, the Ravens need to work on their toughness.
The Ravens’ regular season begins Nov. 7 against the Brock University Badgers.
