The Ravens men’s basketball team continued their undefeated season by beating the Brock University Badgers 86-46 on Nov. 23 before defeating the McMaster University Marauders 115-62 the following night.
“Every day, we’ve been trying to be consistent,” Ravens point guard Munis Tutu said. “That Laurier game was definitely a wake-up call and we knew how important this was and how hard they were going to come at us this game.”
He said the coaches told them it was “going to be a war” as Carleton jumped out to a 21-13 lead after one quarter before pulling away 48-15 at halftime. T.J. Lall scored 11 of his 18 points in the second quarter.
The Ravens got off to another hot start against McMaster, led by Lall’s 23 points. The team got balanced scoring as Eddie Ekiyor, Alain Louis and Isiah Osborne each chipped in 14 points off the bench.
“He played really hard,” Ravens guard Troy Reid-Knight said on Lall. “He gave us a lot of energy and as a team, we need to be more consistent—everybody—so it doesn’t have to just be T.J. Everyone has to put [in] effort.”
Louis, who’s been working his way back from a hand injury, said he’s trying to get better and get more minutes. He and fellow second-year player Biniam Ghebrekidan played in the fourth quarter of both games.
“The biggest thing is when you’re on the bench and you’re not playing,” Louis said. “Focusing is hard so you really have to get into the game by talking and screaming and being a good teammate.”
The players said there’s still work to be done with leadership. “I still have ways to go,” Tutu said on being a leader.
“I need to do a better job being myself and holding guys accountable, but I mean, it can come from anybody,” fourth-year forward Stanley Mayambo added. “It doesn’t just have to be if you’re fourth-year. It can be if you’re first-year, second-year, anybody, even a redshirt.”
Alain credits forward Marcus Anderson as being a vocal leader who “has taken his role seriously.”
The players highlighted accountability as a major theme.
“These guys understand what [head coach Dave Smart] and the coaches ultimately want so it can be anybody holding anybody accountable and we have to respect anybody’s voice,” Mayambo said.
He said the team has to stay humble and level-headed and “never think we have anything under control.”
The Ravens edged the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks 80-77 on Nov. 2. Their next games are against the Algoma University Thunderbirds and the University of Guelph Gryphons on Nov. 30 and Dec. 2.
“It was a wake-up call, but we still have to wake up,” Mayambo said on the Laurier game. “We got lucky we won, but we still haven’t taken that as seriously as we need to be to get better and focus on stuff we need to do to be a better team—just [be] more precise.”
—With files from Tim Austen
Photo by Tim Austen
