The Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team went 2-1 at the Guy Vetrie Tournament this past weekend. Held in Victoria, B.C., this typically semi-annual tournament celebrating Guy Vetrie, eight-time CIS championship coach, ran for the second year straight to show off the new Centre for Athletics, Recreation and Special Abilities (CARSA), University of Victoria’s (UVic) and Sports Hall of Fame.
Kaza Kajami-Keane, starting guard for the Ravens and former NCAA player for the Illinois State Redbirds, spoke about what the Ravens were looking to gain during their weekend.
“We wanted to grow together. Pre-season is about competing, coming together, and sticking to the fundamentals. That is our mindset now—just to get better every day and develop into the team we know we can be,” he said.
The Ravens started the weekend by taking on the tournament hosts, the University of Victoria Vikes. Kajami-Keane, the Ravens’ go-to guy over the weekend, scored 16 points as the Ravens blew out the Vikes 80-47. Marcus Anderson and Ryan Ejim joined him in double figures off the bench, scoring 13 and 15 points, respectively.
The Vikes shot just 26 per cent from the field to Carleton’s 45 per cent, and the outcome of the game was never in question. While these two teams are all over the Canadian Interuniversity Sports (CIS) history books, the Ravens showed they were the superior team at this time.
The Ravens were challenged on the second day of the tournament, taking on the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) Cascades. When they were still down by 1 at halftime, the Ravens had to pick it up.
After some clutch plays by Kajami-Keane and Connor Wood, the Ravens came out on top 71-67. Kajami-Keane led the way with 20 points and 8 rebounds, and Wood put up 16 points, five rebounds, and four assists, including a trio of three-pointers in the third quarter. The Ravens success in this game was due to their advantage on the boards, out-rebounding the Cascades 36-21.
Undefeated until this point, the Ravens went into day three of the tournament looking to push their streak throughout the weekend. Their last game proved to be just out of reach, with the Ravens losing to the Saskatchewan Huskies by just two points.
The Ravens were lead by fourth-year Guillaume Payen Boucard, who put in 27 points, 12 of which came in the opening quarter, and Wood, who hit four three-pointers en route to 20 points.
The Huskies came out strong, led by Evan Ostertag with 23 points. Both teams were neck in neck, but the Huskies ultimately came out on top, 82-80. The Canada West powerhouse defeated the highest ranked Ravens, which left the top spot on the CIS standings in question.
“We went out and competed,” Kajami-Keane said.“We have a lot of work to do … The fundamentals, perfecting what is being taught to us, and competing and having positive energy every day.”
The Ravens play next against Acadia on Oct. 16 at the Ravens Nest to kick off the annual House-Laughton tournament.
