The Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team improved their record to 11-0 with consecutive road victories Jan. 10-11.
The Ravens opened their weekend action with a Friday evening victory over the Laurentian Voyageurs by a score of 88-54. They followed up with a 77-43 win against the Algoma Thunderbirds the following evening.
The Ravens held a 21-15 lead at the conclusion of the first quarter against the Voyageurs. Despite the lead, they did not get off to the start they wanted, according to guard Thomas Scrubb.
“We got into foul trouble early on, forcing us to substitute our bench players in earlier than usual,” Scrubb said. “The young bench stepped up and played good defence against a strong team when we needed it.”
By the end of the first half, the Ravens widened the gap to 42-28.
A 28-point third quarter helped erase any shadow of doubt Carleton would earn a victory in the game.
Scrubb led the offensive surge for Carleton with 18 points and an impressive 11 rebounds in the game.
The Ravens owned the boards in the game, out-rebounding the Voyageurs 42-25 and allowing them to maximize their ball possession to win the game.
“Rebounding is something we definitely take pride in,” Scrubb said. “It’s a team effort. It allows us to limit their possessions and take advantage offensively when we have the ball.”
The following night, the first-placed Ravens continued their onslaught of the OUA East division against the Thunderbirds.
Carleton led 41-14 at the half against the Thunderbirds. Guard Philip Scrubb said he thought the Ravens had a positive start to the game, but allowed Algoma back into it as the game progressed and players were substituted in.
The Scrubb brothers led the way for the Ravens in the match, scoring 27 of Carleton’s 41 first-half points.
Carleton outscored Algoma 36-29 in the second half, with guard Clinton Springer-Williams coming off the bench to tally 14 points of his own. Carleton continued to own the boards, out-rebounding the Thunderbirds 48-20 in the game.
While the Ravens earned their 11th victory of the season, Philip said he thinks there is still room for improvement.
“We didn’t run our offences the way we should have and that’s something we can work on in practice,” he said.
Next up, the Ravens will host the Ryerson Rams, currently ranked second in the OUA East, and the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, ranked last in the division, on Jan. 17-18.
These games will be followed by one of most anticipated match-ups of the season, the Capital Hoops Classic.
This annual game will be played at the Canadian Tire Centre against the Canadian Interuniversity Sport second-ranked University of Ottawa Gee-Gees.
The Ravens’ cross-town rivals pose a serious threat to Carleton’s success, Thomas said.
“They didn’t play their best game against us last time, so they will definitely be a much better team when we play them next week,” he said. “We have to be ready or they stand a good chance of defeating us.”
