The Ravens men’s basketball team was back in action after their winter break. They travelled to Toronto to play the Ryerson University Rams on Jan. 5 and the University of Toronto (U of T) Varsity Blues the following night.
The Ontario University Athletics (OUA) top-ranked Ravens and second-ranked Rams are familiar with each other play, meeting in the last four Wilson Cup finals and in last year’s semi-final of the U Sports Men’s Basketball Championship, which the Ravens lost.
The rivalry has gone both ways over the last few years with both programs known for being two of the best in U Sports men’s basketball.
The start of the game had a rhythm which has become familiar for Carleton this season, with the Ravens jumping out to an early 12-0 lead. The Ravens came out with their foot on the gas as a pick-and-fade jumper by Eddie Ekiyor silenced the rowdy Ryerson crowd.
Ryerson was forced to take an early time out, clearly gut punched from the fast start. The tide turned when Marcus Anderson, who earned 2018 U Sports defensive player of the year, got into foul trouble early.
With Anderson getting benched, the Ryerson offence jumped into action, but the Rams didn’t get closer than eight points for the first half.
With the Ravens’ depth on full display, the team looked to Ekiyor and guard Yasiin Joseph to lead the team in scoring.
“I, personally, really didn’t have my best game at all, but I’m glad the team rallied and we could win,” Ravens guard Munis Tutu said after the game. Tutu, usually a key piece in the offence, was held to three points, seven rebounds, and two assists.
The score remained in favour of the Ravens for most of the first half.
The Rams came back late in the third quarter and early into the fourth quarter, narrowing the gap to six points. The arena had an electric tension to it as the Rams entered the bonus and inched closer.
In the end, missed shots in the critical minutes were the difference, and the Ravens held on with clutch plays from Joseph.
Joseph said he took responsibility for needing to come through on every play.
“I was thinking, just, I have to make the shot for my teammates,” Joseph said. “I have to make plays down the stretch.”
The Ravens’ turbulent weekend continued, with the team playing the U of T Varsity Blues and coming out with a surprisingly close two-point victory.
The Ravens were in for their closest game of the season against a rejuvenated Varsity Blues team. U of T lost the day before against the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees but led until the third quarter and kept it competitive to the final buzzer.
Coming into the game, the odds seemed against the Varsity Blues as their leading scorer for the season, guard Evan Shadkami, was out.
Carleton’s offence sputtered, shooting 36 per cent from the field and 23.1 per cent on 6-26 from beyond the arch—well below the team’s season averages of 49.5 per cent and 36.3 per cent, respectively.
While the Ravens struggled to find momentum, the Varsity Blues found an offensive explosion in first-year guard Iñaki Alvarez exploding for a career-high 22 points on 7-14 shooting.
Alvarez’ showing earned him U of T male athlete of the week honours.
“I really have to thank my teammates—they had all been joking around for a couple of months saying ‘oh Iñaki is going to go off and drop 20 plus against Carleton on his birthday,’ then it actually happened,” Alvarez said.
“They just believed in me and supported [me] so much, showed me so much support, it was great.”
Alvarez also celebrated his 18th birthday with this breakout performance—his young age at university a result of transferring from the Spanish system.
He was overlooked by division one schools in the NCAA and team Ontario for the 2017 Canada Summer Games due to his young age and high standing in school.
“Yeah, Evan [Shadkami] and I are good friends—we’re neighbors. We’ve known each other for a while. Since he was out, before the game, he took me aside and told me to stay composed and to play my game,” Alvarez said.
The two teams will meet again on Jan. 25 at the Raven’s Nest.
“Don’t sleep on U of T,” Alvarez said.
The Ravens will head on the road for their next games when they take on Laurentian University on Jan. 11 and Nipissing University on Jan. 12.
Photo by: Tim Austen
