The Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team had a successful weekend of home games Jan. 16-17, defeating both the Guelph Gryphons and Lakehead Thunderwolves at home.
The Ravens easily beat the Gryphons with a final score of 101-59.
The Scrubb brothers were a force to be reckoned with, with Phil leading the team with 22 points and six assists, and Thomas ended up with 21 points and four rebounds.
The game began with relatively even play as the Gryphons held their own, but by the end of the first quarter, the floodgates had opened and the Ravens began sinking basket after basket.
Carleton was up 21-15 after the first quarter and the gap kept building to make it 49-19 after the second.
In the second half, with a notable lead on the Gryphons, Ravens head coach Dave Smart began rotating first-year players into the lineup.
Rookies Sheldon McIntosh, Mitchell Wood, and Mitch Jackson each saw the floor for several minutes.
Carleton shot 59 per cent from the floor and 48 per cent from three-point range.
The Gryphons, meanwhile, shot 31 per cent from the floor and only made 20 per cent of their three-point attempts.
The following night, the Ravens defeated the Thunderwolves 105-58.
In the first quarter, the Ravens hit four three-pointers, forcing the Thunderwolves into a corner.
In the second, the Ravens hit six more treys, with Gavin Resch sinking two, further extending their lead.
The Ravens were shooting 46 per cent from the floor in the first half alone, compared to the Thunderwolves’ mark of 23 per cent.
The Ravens continued to improve in the third, shooting 71 per cent from the floor, and led 82-41 at the end of the quarter.
In the final quarter, second-year Raven Cameron Smythe collected seven rebounds and five points, while McIntosh scored 11 points in just 13 minutes.
Ravens’ fourth-year guard Guillaume Payen-Boucard said their success was due to their strong defensive play.
“We made our focus all week to be better defensively,” he said. “We made a few changes in our defensive strategy, and I think we did a decent job this weekend.”
Payen-Boucard said communication on the floor could still improve, especially with loud crowds.
Thomas Scrubb, in his fifth year with the Ravens, agreed their defensive play was strong. He said it allowed the Ravens to speed up the pace of the game.
“As a result, I think the other teams got worn out by the middle of the second quarter and we were able to pull away,” Scrubb said.
Next weekend, the Ravens are at Windsor and Western.
