The Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team lost an 86-79 thriller to the Ryerson Rams in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Gold Medal game on March 4 at the Ravens’ Nest.
This marks the second consecutive OUA silver medal for the Ravens, as they fell to the Rams by a score of 73-68 last season at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto.
Ryerson guard Ammanuel Diressa was named Player of the Game, and he led the Rams in the closing stages of the game. He stole the ball and scored to put the Rams on top 67-66 halfway through the fourth quarter in what was a tight back-and-forth game.
The Rams never looked back, outscoring the Ravens 32-21 in the final quarter. Diressa’s jump shot gave Ryerson a 74-69 lead, before hitting a three-pointer to extend the score to 80-72.
“We just didn’t defend as well as we needed to,” Ravens guard Kaza Kajami-Keane said. “Shots didn’t fall but we could have stayed to our defence and we didn’t do that, so we just got to get back and get better at it.”
“I think we let [Ryerson] play in a comfort zone and defensively we didn’t do what we needed to do and they’re a good team,” Ravens assistant coach Rob Smart said. “If you let them get comfortable, they’re going to continue to get shots.”
The Rams got off to a quick 9-2 lead thanks to three-pointers by Adika Peter-McNeilly and Adam Voll. They shot 7-for-14 from beyond the arch in the opening quarter, and 38.9 per cent in the game.
“They’re on fire,” Kajami-Keane said of Ryerson. “They shot a lot of good shots and they made a lot of tough shots, but they’re a good team so we can’t expect anything less than that.”
Carleton battled back with an Emmanuel Owootoah three-pointer and an Eddie Ekiyor slam dunk to tie the game 26-26. The teams continued to trade baskets, but no team was able to take a significant lead until the fourth quarter.
“We faced adversity when they’re making a lot of shots and we got better throughout the game,” Kajami-Keane said.
Carleton ended the third quarter with a 10-2 run as Ravens guard Connor Wood knocked down an open three on a three-on-one fastbreak. Owootoah finished the quarter with a triple to give the Ravens a 58-54 advantage.
But it was Ryerson who went on a run and pulled away late in the fourth. Ekiyor made a block with four minutes remaining—getting the crowd on its feet—before Peter-McNeilly dunked on him and drew the foul as well.
A three-pointer from Wood, one of seven for him, cut the deficit to 70-69. The Rams answered with a 10-3 run, capped off by Diressa’s three-pointer, to seal the title.
“We’ve got to take away the three-point line a lot better and we just got to play team defence,” Kajami-Keane said of the game that marks his last Ravens home appearance.
“Defensively we lost some of our edge and that translates to the offensive end getting a little bit tighter,” Smart said.
“I’m obviously upset we lost the game,” Kajami-Keane said. “I’m not even emotional about the game. I’m more emotional about the fact that it’s my last game here and I’m going to really miss this place.”
The Ravens will travel to Halifax, N.S for the U SPORTS men’s basketball Final 8 Championship as the second-place seed, and will take on the Calgary Dinos on March 9.
