The dynasty continues as the Carleton Ravens are men’s national basketball champions once again. The Ravens won in dominant fashion over the Calgary Dinos by a wide margin of 83-49.
Ravens guard Munis Tutu led the way for the Ravens with 8-18 shooting for 18 points, six rebounds and three assists.
Sixteen of Tutu’s points were in the first half, a dominant performance that motivated the whole team.
Ravens forward Eddie Ekiyor won his third consecutive player of the game with a 12-point, 15-rebound performance.
The Ravens started with their foot on the gas, preventing Calgary from scoring a field goal until two minutes remaining in the first quarter.
The Ravens kept on pushing in the second quarter with the play running through Tutu. Tutu’s steal and fast break were the highlight of the game and were two of Carleton’s 24 second-quarter points.
The Ravens went to the locker room up 44-23.
Calgary started to feel like they were coming back at the beginning of the third quarter, with some sloppy play from the Ravens.
However, subbing guard Isiah Osborne back in was all the Ravens needed to slow down the Dinos comeback.
A nice take off the inbound from Ekiyor further turned things the Ravens way as they started running away with the score. The bench felt it coming on a layup by Osborne as each take felt one step closer.
With two minutes left, Ravens guard Aiden Warnholtz and other bench reserves subbed in for the team’s starters to signal the end of the game.
The Ravens stormed the court as they were crowned national champions for the 14th time in 17 years.
After the game, Ravens head coach Dave Smart was reserved but happy as he honoured the loss of Carleton professor Pius Adesanmi—one of 18 Canadians killed in the Ethiopian Airlines plane crash.
Smart said Munis’s stand out performance was a result of work all year.
“Last year, he was challenged. He didn’t play well in the nationals semifinals. That was brought up a lot by me, by the coaching staff and by his teammates.” Smart said.
“When he wasn’t totally focused, that was brought up, and he was challenged by it every day all year, and I think it came to fruition here.”
Smart added how the Ravens’ tight semi-final game against the Dalhousie University Tigers last night worked as a positive for the team.
“What I think it did is it allowed them to play like the underdog,” Smart said. “Because in the end, it made them feel that way. Had we won by twenty, I don’t think they would have felt like the underdog.”
“They came out fighting and shooting like they were the underdog.”
Ravens guard Marcus Anderson was all smiles post-game.
“It was a great tournament, lots of talent in the tournament. Last two games were hella tough,” Anderson said.
Anderson found motivation from another source—last year’s semi-final loss.
“Last year was definitely motivation,” Anderson said. “We kept that in the back of our mind all year. We didn’t want to have any regrets like we did last year.”
Anderson’s mind was already wandering a little to the national championships in Ottawa next year.
“As long as we keep grinding, keep working, we can be in a position to this again next year,” Anderson said.
Photo by Tim Austen
