The Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team advanced to the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Final Four with a win over the Lakehead Thunderwolves, winning 79-54.
The quarter-final win will pit them against the Ryerson Rams, Windsor Lancers, and University of Ottawa Gee-Gees in the tournament beginning March 6.
The Lakehead game was Victor Raso’s first since returning to action Jan. 31.
The Ravens had some extra motivation with Raso back in the lineup.
“He brings intensity on defense and just communicating, that leadership role that we need in the playoffs,” said Ravens forward Jean Emmanuel Pierre-Charles.
The game had a slow start, with the Thunderwolves opening the scoring to give them a 3-0 lead.
Phil Scrubb made sure to respond, and the Ravens went on a 10-0 run as a result.
The Thunderwolves did not lead again in the game. After the first quarter, the Ravens led 17-10.
Although they defeated the Thunderwolves 85-50 in their first meeting this season, Lakehead played like a different team this game.
“It was more intense because it was a playoff game, and I think they defended us a bit differently and attacked our weaknesses a bit more, but just the intensity overall was the biggest difference because it was a playoff game,” Pierre-Charles said.
The Ravens continued to extend the lead in the second quarter with a pair of threes from Connor Wood and Raso.
They continued to dominate throughout the second quarter, and good drives by both Scrubb brothers found the Ravens on top 40-24 at halftime.
Back-to-back baskets from Thomas Scrubb opened up the third, with good drives and dishes by Pierre-Charles, who had six points in the quarter.
A three from Phil Scrubb gave the Ravens a 52-33 lead.
After this the teams exchanged buckets, but by the end of the third the Ravens were up 58-39.
Phil Scrubb finished with 28 points and six rebounds to lead the Ravens, while Thomas Scrubb had a double-double with 20 points and 13 boards.
Guillaume Boucard had 13 points and seven rebounds, and Pierre-Charles also finished in the double digits with 10 points and 5 rebounds.
For the Thunderwolves, Henry Tan finished with 17 points, including 15 in the second half.
Dwayne Harvey had 15 points and Anthony McIntosh scored 10 points and seven rebounds.
Pierre-Charles said he thinks the Thunderwolves were good preparation for the upcoming Final Four.
“Lakehead was a pretty tough team. They rebounded hard and defended hard, and that is definitely going to get us ready for Ryerson,” he said. “They also attacked our weaknesses pretty well, and that focuses us to work on it.”
The Ravens will now be pitted against the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) third-ranked Ryerson Rams in the semifinals.
Should they win, they will have punched their ticket to the CIS Final 8 championship in Toronto March 12-15.
