Taffe Charles, head coach of the Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team, repeats a motto whenever the Ravens come close to defeat: Losing in the regular season is not bad. It teaches you a lesson.
Carleton’s surprising loss to the Queen’s Gaels on Nov. 18 appears to have done just that. The Ravens bounced back on Nov. 25 and 26, taking wins against the Windsor Lancers and Western Mustangs to improve to 6-1 on the season.
Carleton beat Windsor 98-76 on Friday, blowing out the previously undefeated team with a strong second and fourth quarter. Guard Aiden Warnholtz led the way with 23 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
Charles said Warnholtz suffered a lower-body injury against Queen’s last weekend and didn’t practice for a few days after the game. It contributed to his slow start, scoring only three points in the first half before posting six points in the third quarter and 14 in the fourth.
Warnholtz’ late-game heroics put Carleton over the edge. Entering the final minutes leading by eight points, the Ravens outscored the Lancers by 14 points to put the game away.
“Coming off of a loss, [we] just kind of re-evaluate what our strengths are,” Charles said. “Our strengths are our post game. We have the best post game in Canada.”
It showed on Friday. Forward Grant Shephard scored 17 points, while forward Gebrael Samaha scored a career-high 14 points. Rookie forward Evan Meyer also set a personal best with 11 points.
All told, 66 of Carleton’s 98 points came in the paint.
While Warnholtz struggled with the residual effects of his injury, the Ravens were still without guard Connor Vreeken, who is recovering from an upper-body injury. Charles said it’s a learning experience for the team.
“It’s nice to see young guys step up,” he said. “I thought it was a great effort all around.”
Vreeken remained unavailable for the Ravens’ game against Western on Saturday, but the team still emerged with a narrow 97-91 win. Carleton led handily after a 30-14 first quarter but struggled to keep their lead the rest of the way.
The Mustangs scored three more points than the Ravens in the second quarter, then took the lead by scoring 17 consecutive points to start the third. By the end of the frame, Carleton led by only one point.
“We thought we were playing better than we were and they came out in the second half and really were determined,” Charles said.
Until 13 seconds left in the game, when Warnholtz made two free throws, the Mustangs were within one possession of tying Carleton. Ultimately, the Ravens pulled away.
“When it gets tied, it’s just basically trying to survive,” Charles said. “We survived tonight.”
A large part of Western’s success was second-year guard Tyson Dunn, who scored a career-high 39 points.
The Ravens returned to action on Friday, when they travelled to St. Catharines, Ont., to play the Brock Badgers and suffered an 80-68 defeat. In an unusual scheduling twist, Carleton had an off-day on Saturday before facing the Algoma Thunderbirds on Sunday at the Ravens’ Nest and won 99-71.
Charles said he hasn’t played with a schedule like that before, so he’s unsure what the team will do to prepare.
“I forgot it was an afternoon game, so that’s probably the first thing,” Charles joked.
Featured image by Mark Colley.
