With recent injuries to some of their big men, the Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team went to a guard-heavy lineup, as they beat the McMaster University Marauders 108-64 in the quarterfinals of the Wilson Cup Playoffs with guards Yasiin Joseph (22 points) and Alain Louis (21) leading the way.
“The game was very fast,” Louis said. “We played well in some spurts but at other times, we didn’t execute the game plan.”
The Marauders–who lost to Carleton 108-54 in the last weekend of the regular season–got off to a strong start. They scored off drives by second-year guards Jordan Henry and Tristan Lindo as well as three pointers by fifth-year veteran Connor Gilmore. Carleton led 24-20 after one quarter.
“We were already told that they were going to come out playing hard,” Carleton forward Biniam Ghebrekidan said. “They know what the stake is, we know what the stake is. It’s do-or-die for them.”
By the second quarter, the Ravens started to make runs and the lead grew. A lot of their offence was off of drives from the guards.
“We only have guards out there,” Ravens head coach Taffe Charles said. “We try to find mismatches, try to find people out there we want to attack and we know how they are defensively.”
Carleton often went to a four or five guard lineup, with Isiah Osborne or Ghebrekidan as the lone big. Louis highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of playing with a guard-heavy lineup.
“It gives you more spacing for shooting because guards shoot it better and it also makes us way faster,” Louis noted. “At the same time, we’re vulnerable in the post because they’re bigger and they rebound too.”
Louis said the guard-heavy lineup suits his playing style. “It fits well with me because the first thing I want to do is drive,” he said. “If we get more space, I can just go.”
Louis and Ghebrekidan came in together as rookies in 2017.
“I’m proud of what he’s doing right now,” Ghebrekidan said. “I always thought he had the capability to do it. I always thought it was a matter of when is it going to start showing out.”
“He’s a very powerful player and he likes to get downhill,” Charles noted of Louis. “He gets to the rim hard. In the last game against Ottawa [Gee-Gees], we got into foul trouble and we kind of forgot about him a little bit. We’re not going to do that again.”
The Ravens and Gee-Gees have faced off twice already. Carleton won the first match-up 69-65 while Ottawa won the Capital Hoops Classic 68-67. Charles said the Gee-Gees were hungrier in the last game, evident by their hustle plays, loose balls and rebounds.
“That’s the sign of people who are willing to do what it takes to win,” Charles said. “They know they’re probably not as talented as us and they need to do more.”
Now, the two teams will face off at Carleton in the semifinals on Feb. 26.
If the Ravens win, they will clinch their spot at nationals. If they lose, the Ravens will have to play in the bronze medal game to earn their spot at nationals.
“What [Ottawa] did was probably good for us,” Louis said.
“They gave us our first loss. I feel like as a group, we’re going to come in and we’re going to think they’re better so we’re going to play harder and hopefully we’re going to come out aggressive and play well.”
Feature image by Tim Austen.
