The Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team maintains its chokehold on U Sports through constant self-evaluation. The team’s standards are incredibly high; even in a blowout, the coaching staff is self-critical.
At least, that’s the mentality for the regular season. It all changes when the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) playoffs start. Domination goes out the window. Now, it’s a fight for survival. Win and move on. Lose and go home.
That attitude set in for the Ravens on Saturday, when they defeated the Ryerson Rams 87-68 in the OUA quarterfinals at the Ravens’ Nest. Carleton head coach Taffe Charles, normally demanding more of his team, said he was content with the win.
“We’ve been waiting all year for this,” Charles said. “When you have the other team’s best, there’s no excuses in terms of results … If we won by one, I’d be happy too.”
The Rams certainly brought their best, locking Carleton down in the paint in the first quarter. Instead, the Ravens turned to the three-point line and exploited Ryerson’s blind spot, going five-for-eight from behind the arc in the first quarter.
That changed in the second quarter. Ryerson started the frame 14-4 and took away the three-point shot from the Ravens, forcing them to go one-for-six from deep. The first half ended 37-32 Carleton.
The teams remained close through the third quarter. At the start of the fourth, Ryerson forward Aaron Rhooms dropped back-to-back threes and the Rams climbed to within six points of Carleton with four minutes left. The score was 74-68.
A win-or-go-home game was to be decided in the final four minutes. Two seasons teetering on the brink of elimination—but Charles said he wasn’t worried.
“No nervousness on our part,” Charles said. “Whatever happens, we do it together. If we lose today, we lose together.”
It was at that moment Carleton forward Lloyd Pandi stepped up. Pandi made one layup, then another. He scored nine points in the fourth quarter—a significant portion of his team-leading 24-point, 10-rebound, nine-assist night.
“My teammates came up to me and said it’s time to win,” Pandi said. “Go out there and just try to be aggressive and try to put us over the hump.”
Even though Pandi nearly completed a triple-double, he gave his performance a B grade. He said he wasn’t able to accomplish everything he wanted to defensively—including shutting down Rhooms, who scored a game-high 26 points despite Pandi being assigned to defend him.
Pandi played 32 minutes, similar to the playing time of guards Alain Louis and Aiden Warnholtz. Only eight players got time on the court, a significant change of pace from Carleton’s last regular season game on March 12, when all 12 dressed players logged minutes.
“We’ve had X amount of chances to see where people are at and, you know what, we gotta go with our best,” Charles said.
Charles said he plans on using a similar rotation for the OUA semifinals. Rest and recovery for those players is paramount, as is staying healthy in the first place.
This is especially relevant given recent injuries to guards Emmanuel Ugbah and Wazir Latiff, who collided during practice and both entered concussion protocol.
“At this point in time, it’s not about the reps necessarily,” Charles said. “It’s about just trying to get out of practice without being injured.”
Carleton faced Queen’s recently—the teams played a two-game series on March 11 and 12 to end the regular season. The Ravens won both games and outscored the Gaels by 59 points, so Carleton is familiar with how Queen’s will attack.
The Ravens will face the Gaels on Wednesday at the Ravens’ Nest.
“I’m looking forward to it. I know they’re looking forward to it because they told us they’re going to see us in two weeks,” Pandi said. “It’s gonna be fun.”
Featured image by Spencer Colby.
