HALIFAX — Steps from where he inbounded the ball, UQAM Citadins guard Bahaide Haidara waited. He received the pass from teammate Kevin Civil, then released his three-pointer.
It was the shot that could determine the Carleton Ravens’ season. With four seconds left on the clock, the Ravens led by two points in the quarterfinal of the U Sports men’s basketball national championship.
The shot bounced off the backboard and down for a rebound. One final Hail Mary also missed. The Ravens won, 73-71.
With the win, Carleton advanced to the national semifinal against the uOttawa Gee-Gees, who blew out the Winnipeg Wesmen 91-70. But the Ravens barely squeezed past UQAM, struggling to pull away and sending the Citadins to the free throw line with foul after foul.
“They gave us everything we could handle,” Carleton head coach Taffe Charles said. “It’s about winning at this point in time, so as much as I want to sit there and critique everything that we did wrong, at the end of the day, we just need to figure out a way to get the victory. Survive and advance.”
The Citadins got out to an early 8-2 lead. Carleton took its first lead at the end of the first quarter and went on a 9-2 run in the second frame to widen its lead to eight points, but UQAM kept fighting back. After a jump shot from Anthony Felisma, the Citadins entered the half with a 36-34 lead.
Through the third quarter, Carleton had yet to sink a free throw. That was in stark comparison to the Citadins, who had sunk 14.
Finally, with 30 seconds left in the quarter, Carleton’s Wazir Latiff went to the line and netted Carleton’s first free throw of the game.
It was the first of many. In the fourth quarter, UQAM’s advantage became Carleton’s, with the Ravens going to the line 12 times and sinking 10 shots. It proved to be the difference.
Latiff scored six points in the fourth quarter, capping off a 12-point performance. While Aidan Warnholtz finished with 29 points and forward Grant Shephard had 18, Charles said Thursday the key to victory at nationals would be a third player stepping up. Today, that was Latiff.
“He’s been here in the past. He’s one of the few guys who has experience,” Charles said. “We just got enough from him to come out with a result.”
Tomorrow will be the Ravens’ 20th consecutive trip to the national semifinal, a run that dates back to 2003. It comes after a season in which they struggled more than most.
“It’s like chasing ghosts,” Charles said. “It’s not about what we did in the past, it’s what we’re doing now … These guys are a different team. It’s always been a different team. These guys have done pretty well so far to get to this point.”
Up against the Gee-Gees, the Ravens will get the chance to avenge their loss in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championship last weekend. It will be a heavily-anticipated matchup, with the winner fighting for a national championship on Sunday and the loser relegated to the bronze medal game.
For basketball fans in Ottawa, you couldn’t draw it up any better.
Featured image by L. Manuel Baechlin.
