They were given a scare early on, but a boisterous Red Zone crowd ultimately got to breathe a sigh of relief, as the Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team defeated the University of Fraser Valley Cascades 83-65 in an exciting semifinal battle March 10 in Halifax.
Despite the commanding score line, this game was by no means a walk in the park for the heavily favoured Ravens. The Cascades led for most of the opening quarter, but were unable to complete the upset.
“Full credit to them, they came with a really good game plan defensively and they took us out of our stuff and didn’t let us get out in transition,” said Ravens head coach Dave Smart.
Struggling on the offensive end throughout most of the first half, the Ravens stayed in the game in typical Smart fashion. The fact that Carleton was able to take a lead into the break was an endorsement for his emphasis on tough defence.
“Our defence kept us in the game,” Smart said. “We did a decent job defensively keeping them off balance and we gave ourselves a chance to stay in the game, and then we made some shots.”
Despite only scoring 31 points in the half, the Ravens held a four-point lead thanks in large part to the 13 turnovers they forced. The Cascades, making a first-ever appearance in the tournament, finished the game with 23 turnovers.
“Against a team like [Carleton] we need those possessions, so we definitely had a bit of a case of nerves but you have to credit their defence because they put a lot of pressure on the basketball,” said Cascades head coach Barnaby Craddock.
The only thing keeping the Ravens from pulling away early was their inability to hit shots from beyond the arc. Carleton went 6-22 from three-point range in the opening half, but that changed after the break thanks largely to an unsuspected hero.
This game was billed as a battle between offensive stars Philip Scrubb and Joel Friesen, each of whom led their respective teams in scoring on the night.
But what the Ravens fans in attendance may not have envisioned was the impact of the older Scrubb brother. Thomas came off the bench and provided a much-needed lift on both ends of the court. He finished the game with 16 points and four rebounds, en route to being named the player of the game.
“The last few big games I’ve played I haven’t shot well,” Thomas said. “It couldn’t get any worse, so I didn’t think about it and just shot it.”
Often overshadowed due to the scoring exploits of his brother, Smart was quick to point out Thomas’ importance to the Ravens success.
“It’s nice to see. He struggled yesterday but he’s been great for us all year, so it was nice to see him step up and play the way he played,” Smart said.
With the win, the Ravens advance to yet another Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) national championship game.
“It’s exciting. It’s always good to get to the finals,” Thomas said. “It’s our goal every year. It’s not like we’re surprised to be here, this is where we should be as a team, so we need to just go out there and play our best and win.”
Carleton will play the winner of the second semifinal between St. Francis Xavier and the University of Alberta — two teams that Smart admitted “really scare” him.
