It wasn’t the Capital Hoops Classic, but the atmosphere inside the Ravens’ Nest Feb. 3 had a similar feel as the Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team brushed off the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees 86-57 in front of a capacity crowd.
Boisterous fans, vuvuzelas and even a man walking on stilts created an electric feel for the Ravens, who improved their record to 18-0 on the season.
The victory for the Ravens continues the team’s trend of steamrolling their opponents this season. Except for a tight three-point victory against the Lakehead Thunderwolves Nov. 26, the Ravens have won every game by no less than a 15-points margin.
But Ravens head coach Dave Smart was critical of his team’s 109-74 win last weekend against Laurentian, and although he said there were some improvements against the Gee-Gees, he said work still needs to be done.
“I thought defensively we were a bit better than last weekend and I thought we competed a bit better but obviously they competed too and they kind of took us out of our stuff in the second half,” Smart said. “It’s a credit to them, but obviously we’re not here to decide how well they’re playing.”
Veteran guard Willy Manigat said it wasn’t too hard to improve upon their performance against Laurentian.
“Last week was horrendous, so it’s hard to not be any better,” Manigat said. “So yeah, I think we improved some things, but we still have a lot of work to do before we get to where we need to go.”
Second-year guard Philip Scrubb, who had 20 points by the end of the second quarter, ended the night with a game-high 30 points. In the second half, Manigat picked up 12 of his 18 points on the night from outside the arc.
For the Ravens, who have already clinched first place in the Ontario University Athletics East division, complacency is a concern with four games left in the season.
“[It’s] the thing that’s hard to fight,” Smart said. “I don’t know, we’ve got to find some answers. Right now what we’re trying to do isn’t working.”
And that means Smart and his coaching staff are going back to the drawing board. It all starts in practice, he said.
“It’s all about what we do in practice and I think we have to change up some things we are doing in practice and figure out some things in terms of how to make guys think a little bit more in practice,” Smart said.
The Ravens head to Kingston next to take on the Royal Military College Paladins Feb. 10 and the Queen’s Gaels the following evening.
