The Capital Hoops Classic, much like the Carleton vs. University of Ottawa basketball rivalry, gets better and more competitive each season.
The long-standing Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) struggle has found new life in basketball, with recent results amplifying the intensity and importance surrounding each game between the squads.
A Jan. 10 win for the Gee-Gees over the Ravens introduced them as the new No. 1-seed in the CIS basketball rankings. With a late two-point shot from Johnny Berhanemeskel, the Gee-Gees handed the Ravens their first loss of the season, and their first meaningful loss since Ontario University Athletics (OUA) final a year prior.
The same blemish was delivered to the Gee-Gees’ record after Carleton bested them 79-66 at the Capital Hoops Classic on Feb. 6. The game was indeed a “classic” in every sense of the word. It brought new, perplexing questions about the directions of the rivalry.
If the Gee-Gees lose to Carleton by a double-digit margin in a regular-season game, how can they expect to be the bona fide favourite at the CIS Final 8 tournament later this year in Toronto?
It is a fairly easy diagnosis—and it’s one that yields a new favourite at the CIS Final 8 tournament in years to come. The Ravens have a knack for winning big games, but the Gee-Gees win just about everything else.
No. 2-ranked University of Ottawa has not lost to an opponent other than Carleton since March 2013. Berhanemeskel has speed and skill that is unmatched in the CIS. His average of 23 points-per-game is third in the nation.
Despite the 13-point loss, Berhanemeskel had an impressive 28 points. Only Carleton fifth-year Thomas Scrubb eclipsed him for the game-high record.
Joining Berhanemeskel at the top of the Gee-Gees’ lineup are Mike L’Africain and Caleb Agada. These men rank above most of the Ravens statistically, especially if you remove Thomas Scrubb and his brother Phil from the picture.
However it’s impossible to discount the Scrubbs. Phil is a three-time national player of the year, Thomas is a two-time Canadian defensive player of the year. The siblings are the personification of success for Carleton basketball.
As long as the Scrubbs stick around, it’ll be tough for the Gee-Gees to overtake the Ravens. But both brothers will graduate at the end of the year, and new leaders will need to emerge.
By the way Ravens head coach Dave Smart discusses his team’s game against the Gee-Gees, it is apparent the University of Ottawa has made tremendous strides.
Smart was not taking a break after his team’s victory at Capital Hoops, citing an off-game for the Gee-Gees despite Berhanemeskel’s breakout in points.
“Let’s call it what it is. We won the game, but we played well and they didn’t,” Smart, the Ravens coach of 16 seasons, said. “We have to take it to another level if we’re going to compete with them or even Ryerson for that matter.”
“They kicked our butts at their place,” Smart said, when talking about the teams’ first meeting. “It was a two-point game but they kicked our butt. They deserved to win that game, they outplayed us.”
While the Ravens have a head coach who never allows them to take breaks, any head coach with this attitude has it for a reason—especially when he’s the architect of the most successful Canadian basketball program in history.
For the Ravens, the road ahead is not an easy one. While both clubs need to re-tool, it is clear that the Gee-Gees are on the rise. It changes the conversation about who’s the outright leader in Canadian university basketball.
