It was business as usual for the Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team on Jan. 20, as they were able to collect a win against the Guelph Gryphons with a dominating final score of 90-54 at the Ravens’ Nest.
The Ravens later played host to the Lakehead Thunderwolves the following night, completing the weekend series sweep after a thrilling 96-58 win.
The pair of wins extended Carleton’s undefeated record for the season and continued their winning streak of 12 straight games, tying them with the Ryerson Rams for first place in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) conference standings.
Carleton was able to display their elite skill early through the first as the Ravens’ offence, accompanied by their league best defence. They were able to build a 15-point lead on the Gryphons, which included an 18-4 run to end the quarter.
Ravens guard Emmanuel Owootoah was the highlight of the quarter, firing the crowd up with a display of impressive ball skills and crossovers on Guelph defenders. He would finish the game with nine points, five assists, three rebounds, and one steal.
The second quarter offered much of the same, as turnovers and poor passing by Guelph’s offence prevented them from making any type of comeback. As a result, the Ravens were able to muster up a 46-22 lead going into the half.
The play of the first half came from Ravens guard Joe Rocca, when he was able to bury a shot clock buzzer beating three with only 1.1 seconds remaining in the first half. Rocca finished the game short of a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.
“[Rocca] gave us a really good spark in the first half that made [the score] look better than it really was,” said Ravens head coach Dave Smart.
After the halftime break, the Ravens showed no signs of letting up as a couple of dunks by Carleton forward Ryan Ejim were able to get the crowd back into the game. The Ravens strengthened their lead with 14 unanswered points midway through the third, outscoring the Gryphons 27-12 in the quarter.
A balanced attack from Carleton’s reserve players in the fourth quarter were able to keep it smooth sailing for the Ravens, highlighted by Ravens guard Stanley Maymbo draining 8-8 from the free throw line in the last 12 minutes.
Despite Carleton’s dominance on both sides of the court—in addition to having 22 points off of turnovers and 47 points from bench players—Smart said his team must play better if they want to contend with stiffer teams in the league.
“We didn’t defend like we’ve been defending [in previous games], we didn’t rebound, we gave up a ton of offensive rebounds in the first half,” Smart said. “We gotta get back to doing what we’re doing and what we’ve been doing defensively.”
The first quarter of the game against Lakehead made it very clear that the Thunderwolves would be no walk in the park, as they were able to keep within four points of the Ravens to finish the quarter.
Ravens guards Connor Wood and Kaza Kajami-Keane proved to be offensive juggernauts for most of the game, combining for 20 of Carleton’s 24 points at the end of the quarter.
The second quarter proved to be no different, as the Ravens were able to add a little bit of insurance to their lead, ending the first half with a score of 41-31 for Carleton. A tough and physical display of defence by Lakehead became problematic for the Ravens inside the paint, highlighted by Lakehead guard Bacarius Dinkins’ three blocks going into halftime.
Missed opportunities were once again plaguing the Ravens’ front court after they were only able to make 14 of 35 of their field goal attempts in the first half.
The third quarter opened up with both teams trading scores back-and-forth, with most of the points coming from inside the paint. The Ravens’ offence was finally able to capitalize on the mistakes of the Thunderwolves with two dunks from Kajami-Keane.
Rocca joined in on the action by converting on two crucial three-point attempts to help give the Ravens a 66-51 lead going into the final quarter. Rocca finished the game with 21 points, 18 of which were from the second half.
Carleton’s bend-but-don’t-break style of play ultimately became the difference maker in the fourth quarter, as the Ravens went on a big 30-7 point run to end the quarter.
The Ravens were able to out-rebound the Thunderwolves 31-10 during the second half, through the efforts of Ravens forwards TJ Lall and Ejim, who finished with a team high five offensive rebounds.
Kajami-Keane finished the night falling just short of a triple-double by recording a season best stat-line of 27 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds—along with a team high 30 minutes.
The Ravens will now look to take sole possession of first place in the OUA conference this week when they travel up north to face off against the Windsor Lancers on Jan. 27.
