Facing the pressure of stopping a three-peat, the Carleton Ravens couldn’t contain their cross-town rival uOttawa Gee-Gees in this year’s Capital Hoops matchup.
In front of a packed crowd at TD Place Arena, the Gee-Gees rode their way to a dominant 73-52 victory.
The loss dropped the OUA-leading Ravens to a 16-3 record this season, splitting their season series with the Gee-Gees.
The Ravens played without X-Factors Aubrey Dorey-Havens and Emanuel Milon, who were both sidelined hours before tipoff.
“We’ve been preparing all week, almost all year for Aubrey, and then he’s not here,” Gee-Gees head coach James Derouin said after the game. “There’s always gonna be an energy drop when you find out.”
The pair has headlined the Ravens squad on both ends of the floor this season, especially on the offensive end. They make up for a third of the Ravens’ scoring this season — a piece they were sorely missing on Friday.
“You show up to the games, and whoever you got, you got to play with,” Ravens head coach Taffe Charles said. “I don’t think the people who did show up played very well, which is annoying, but you know, again, it is what it is.”
Ravens guard Nelson Cilien’s second-minute jumper claimed a 3-2 lead for Carleton to start the game, but it stood as the only Ravens lead in the contest, as the Gee-Gees pushed and controlled the pace.
“It’s hard to ask people who aren’t offensively gifted to go on and score offensively,” Charles said.
Early in the opening frame, the Ravens looked optionless in the offensive end, struggling to find quality chances before the shot clock expired. The Ravens finished the game just 25 per cent from the field.
Carleton’s league-leading defence matched against a Gee-Gees multi-levelled offence that could slash their way to the rim or strike from deep. The Gee-Gees finished the game with 36 points in the paint, 14 more than the Ravens.
The Ravens regained life late in the quarter thanks to Cedric Mbiaba’s seven first-quarter points, who pulled the Ravens to within five to wrap up the frame.
Carleton’s momentum slowed in the second, worsened with the injury of forward Louth-Mohamed Coulibaly. The Ravens went scoreless for six minutes and conceded an 11-2 run in the process.
The Ravens weren’t counting themselves out early, though.
Following the same game plan as the first quarter, the Ravens upped the pressure in the dying minutes of the half, trailing 35-28 at halftime.
Looking to sport a new identity in the third, Ravens Dylan Kayijuka — in his first start — knocked down four points to cut the lead to six.
Showing shades of last year’s Capital Hoops matchup, a deflating second half waived the Ravens’ chance to close the gap. The Gee-Gees outscored the Ravens 38 to 14 in the back half, headlined by Owen Kenney’s game-high 13 points and Alec Phaneuf’s 11.
Phaneuf transferred to uOttawa this season, playing in his first Capital Hoops. Despite early stresses, the fifth-year guard soaked in the emotions of the crowd.
“It’s a stressful environment, but I think the guys responded very well,” he said. “I’ll remember this game for the rest of my life for sure.”
With the playoffs in sight, the Ravens look to heal up ahead of their matchup against Brock on Feb. 8.
“We’ve given ourselves a little bit of a buffer zone to allow ourselves for unfortunate performances like this,” Charles said.
“But I mean, at the end of the day, we got to get healthy fast if we want to be able to compete in the playoffs.”
Featured image by Simon McKeown/the Charlatan
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