Though the Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team didn’t put on their best out-of-town show of the season this weekend, they were able to return to Ottawa with wins over both Laurentian and Nipissing.
The wins capped off the last two games of the regular season, leaving the Ravens with a record of 16-3 and a bye into the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) quarterfinal playoffs taking place March 5 at the Ravens’ Nest.
Friday’s game against the Voyageurs saw a tough rally between the two teams, with Laurentian keeping Carleton on their toes going into half-time, although the Ravens maintained a narrow 46-39 lead.
In the second half of the play Carleton was able to pick it up and put some points between the two teams. An impressive show of three-pointers by fourth-year guard Connor Wood and senior Gavin Resch lifted the team to a 19-point advantage going into the fourth quarter.
The Ravens finished off the Voyageurs by a score of 87-67, although the victory was not nearly as impressive as the game back in November where the Ravens pulled off a 93-48 win.
Wood went on to receive player of the game for his efforts on the court. He scored a team high 25 points while shooting 9-19 from the field.
“I felt like I got pretty frustrated in the beginning due to some defensive mistakes we were making, so I used that to fuel energy and try and get us to work harder on defense,” he said.
Saturday’s game in North Bay against the Nipissing Lakers was, again, not a highlight game for the Ravens. In the first, Carleton tied a season low with just 11 points in the opening quarter.
The second quarter proved to be more successful for the Ravens, who went into the locker room with a lead of 35-17 by halftime and finished off the Lakers 68-39 at the end of the fourth.
Ravens guard Kaza Kajami-Keane was awarded player of the game in North Bay. The fourth-year player put on a notable performance, scoring a total of 10 points, six assists and five rebounds.
“The game came to me,” he said. “I didn’t want to force anything or get ahead of myself. It helps as well when your teammates are knocking down shots and things like that.”
“I just went out there with the same focus and tried to get the guys to understand it’s about laying another brick in becoming a better team,” he said.
After returning from a below-average set of road games, the Ravens are gearing up to face a to-be-determined opponent on March 5. The winner of a preliminary-round matchup between Laurier and Brock on March 2 will move on to take on Carleton in the quarterfinal.
“It was definitely not our best trip, but I think we learned some new things and grew from it,” Kajami-Keane said. “If we just rebound the ball and defend we will place ourselves in a good position to win [the quarterfinal playoffs]. That’s the biggest thing.”
“We just want to continue doing the things that we’re doing—make sure that we’re getting more and more confidence at our base,” said head coach Rob Smart about the first round of playoffs. “Making sure we’re solid and everyone is on the same page will give us our best chance.”
Smart said his team does not have a preferred opponent for the March 5 game.
“They’re both good teams—both have got some really good scorers. At this stage of the game pretty much every team that makes it through our round is going to be a solid team,” Smart said. “It’s just a matter of match-ups and figuring out where your advantages are.”
The Ravens will host either Laurier or Brock on March 5 at the Ravens’ Nest.
