The Carleton men’s basketball team showed glimmers of its former self on Thursday night, as Rob Smart’s Ravens overpowered the Valparaiso Crusaders by a score of 77-59. Versatile Carleton guard Connor Wood paced the Ravens with 19 points, while Guillaume Boucard posted 17 points and brought the house down with three monstrous blocks.
“Carleton played great and really shot the ball well,” said fifth-year Valpo head coach Bryce Drew, “But if they were in our gym—on our floor—I think it’d be a bit of a different story.”
In stark contrast to their summer-opening loss against the Murray State Racers back on Aug. 3, the Ravens came out of the gate firing, shooting 73% from the floor in a dominant first quarter. Carleton went 5-for-7 from beyond the arc in the opening stanza, and held a firm 25-12 lead after ten minutes.
The game leveled out in the second quarter, and Carleton would end up edging Valpo 44-39 in the remaining three quarters. Ultimately, Valpo’s inability to sink make-able shots (35% FG-pct) and foul trouble (19 personal fouls) sealed the fate of the Crusaders, who have appeared at two of the previous three NCAA March Madness tournaments.
Carleton summer transfer and likely starting point guard Kaza Kajami-Keane had a mediocre performance on Thursday night against Valpo. While the Ajax native dished out an impressive eight assists, he also tried to do too much offensively for the second game in a row. The former Illinois St. guard shot 3-of-12 from the floor against the Crusaders, and went just 1-of-6 on deep balls.
Ravens rookie Marcus Anderson looked poised and confident in his 17 minutes of action on Thursday, draining a pair of three’s and snapping up three defensive rebounds. The freshman also went 0-for-3 from the charity stripe.
Carleton’s Can-Am Shootout exhibition schedule will continue on Friday, with the Baylor Bears scheduled to roll into the Raven’s Nest for a doubleheader. Baylor should provide the Ravens stiffer competition, having swept the U. of O. Gee-Gees in their doubleheader on Thursday by commanding scores of 92-73 and 100-84
