The Ravens men’s basketball team was hoping to defeat another high-profile American program when they took on Syracuse University Aug. 23 at the Canadian Tire Centre, but Carleton fell short in their upset bid.
The game ended with Syracuse winning 69-65 in an overtime thriller, and it marked the first loss for the Ravens in their swing of exhibition games against National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition.
Carleton finished the first half up by nine points, but some second half mistakes led to Syracuse coming back to force overtime.
“We blew that lead in the second half,” Ravens point guard Phil Scrubb said. “They just wanted it more, they rebounded better, and they were tougher than us.”
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said he was impressed with his team’s Canadian opponents.
“They got a really tough, good basketball team. They pass the ball well, they got a lot of guys that can shoot, they make you really work on defence,” he said.
Until the 3:50 mark in the second half, Syracuse never took the lead. The Ravens’ largest lead was by 15 points at 15:41 in the third frame, but the Syracuse Orange began to mount a comeback.
With the game late in regulation time and tied at 59, a Ravens player missed a last-second buzzer-beater that could have lifted Carleton to victory.
“[We learned] the intensity at which you have to make shots,” Rob Smart, the Ravens acting head coach during Dave Smart’s absence, said.
“Some of those guys, they’re 6-9 and they’re 12 feet in the air flying at you and you gotta be able to keep your eyes focused on the rim and make the shot.”
After the game, Boeheim rattled off points of concern and things the team did well, and then remarked, almost to himself, “It was a pretty darn good comeback.”
Boeheim spoke high praise of Carleton following the contest, and said they would fare well against other NCAA teams.
“They can beat a lot of people. They’re tough, physical, they’re veterans, and they move the ball well,” he said.
