The Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team won their 13th straight House-Laughton Classic Oct. 18-20 at the Ravens’ Nest.
The Ravens played the Lakehead University Thunderwolves in their first game of the 24th annual tournament, in a rematch of last season’s Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) men’s basketball Final 8 gold medal game. The Ravens won that game 92-42 to win their record ninth CIS title.
In this game, the Ravens beat the Thunderwolves 79-60 and were led by fifth-year forward Tyson Hinz who tallied 18 points and five rebounds.
The next day, the Ravens took on the Bishop’s University Gaiters and defeated them 87-55. They came out with confidence against the Gaiters, scoring eight points within the first three minutes.
“We wanted to make sure that the defence shot the ball better than they did last night, which I think Clinton did, and just try to get better everyday,” Ravens assistant coach Dean Petridis said.
Although the Gaiters were the first to appear on the scoreboard, the Ravens came back with a lay-up, a two-pointer, and then a free throw by fourth-year guard Clinton Springer-Williams.
By the end of the first quarter, Philip Scrubb had sunk four three-pointers, leaving the score at 30-11 for the Ravens.
Just seconds after the beginning of the second quarter, Thomas Scrubb sank a three-pointer to increase the lead for the Ravens.
In the second half of the game, fourth-year guard Gavin Resch managed to sink three three-pointers for the Ravens.
Although the Ravens won the first half of the game, the Gaiters won the second, outscoring them 31-30.
“We need to improve a lot of our energy on defence and rebounding and we didn’t play the best offence today, but I feel like that’s going to come,” Resch said.
Even though the Ravens came out with the win, Resch said the team played well in the first half, but lost a lot of their energy in the fourth quarter.
In their final game of the tournament Oct. 20, the Ravens took on the University of Victoria Vikes.
Heading into the game, the Vikes had also won both their games and Petridis said it would be evenly matched.
The Ravens also played the Vikes in the 2013 CIS men’s basketball Final 8 tournament. They beat them in the quarterfinal 83-46. The Vikes sit in second place for the most national championship titles with eight.
The Ravens closed out the tournament with an 82-62 victory over the Vikes, finishing the tournament 3-0.
Philip Scrubb led the way for the Ravens with 24 points and three rebounds. Scrubb was also named MVP of the tournament.
In their final exhibition game of the season, the Ravens will take on the University of Cincinnati Bearcats from the National Collegiate Athletic Association Oct. 26.
The Ravens will open up the regular season at home Nov. 1-2 and will take on the University of Windsor Lancers and the Western University Mustangs.
