In the last decade, the Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team has only lost eight regular season games. Their last regular season loss was on Feb. 7, 2020, more than 750 days ago.
That winning stretch will continue for at least another seven months, as Carleton completed the 10th perfect season in program history with an 86-46 win on the road Friday and a 94-75 victory at home Saturday, both against the Queen’s Gaels.
The Ravens now move on to the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) playoffs, where they have a first-round bye before facing off against either the Ryerson Rams or Laurentian Voyageurs on Saturday.
“Perfect season—I guess I can think about that when I’m retired,” Carleton head coach Taffe Charles said. “We don’t spend too much time worrying about perfect seasons … We need to be perfect in our next game.”
Carleton leaned heavily on their bench on Friday and Saturday, with every player getting at least five minutes on the court in both games. That included guard Wazir Latiff, who played 20 minutes on Friday and netted 15 points, his highest single-game total of the season.
It also included guard Alain Louis, who had been out since Feb. 24 with an upper-body injury.
Louis sat out Friday’s game at the Queen’s Athletics and Recreation Centre in Kingston, Ont. but played 16 minutes on Saturday and netted 11 points with two assists. His return came on Senior’s Night at the Ravens’ Nest, marking Louis’ final regular season home game as a Raven.
In the three weeks since Louis’ last game, Carleton played some of its closest games of the season. The Ravens barely edged out the University of Toronto Varsity Blues on Feb. 25, trailing as late as 9:39 in the fourth quarter, and beat the uOttawa Gee-Gees by only five points on March 2.
Louis’ return is a welcome addition for the team as it gears up for the playoffs and nationals. But the rust of 22 days without game action showed for Louis, as he struggled at several points on Saturday.
Just seconds after coming off the bench, Louis was called for a charging foul. Later, with two minutes left in the second quarter, Louis stole the ball from Queen’s and had a clear shot but couldn’t get enough height to finish the dunk.
“He hasn’t practiced … You try to get him some minutes. You try to get him as ready as you possibly can,” Charles said. “We’re probably going to need him for next week and we didn’t want to wait till next week to see whether he can get in it or not.”
Louis’ return also posed additional challenges for the Ravens. Charles said the team lost its rotation, especially when trying to get all 12 players time on the court. The Ravens lost their rhythm defensively.
On Friday, this showed in all quarters but the third, which Charles said was the only frame in which the team played the way he wanted them to. On Saturday, only the second quarter was particularly strong, as the Ravens outscored the Gaels 31-15.
One standout from the weekend was Carleton guard and Kingston native Connor Vreeken, who played 27 minutes and scored 12 points in front of family and friends on Friday. On Saturday, he had 16 more points.
“At the end of the day, it’s another game, but it’s always nice to be in front of those people that you care about,” Vreeken said.
As the playoffs begin and the Ravens are six wins away from a 16th national championship, COVID-19 is an unfamiliar factor for a team with more banners than any other program in Canada. Positive tests at this point in the season could spell disaster.
Vreeken said players are tested weekly and staying cautious, as they have been all season, even as COVID-19 restrictions ease across Ontario.
“Our goal every year is obviously to win a national championship,” Vreeken said. “We’ve known from the start that if we’re doing stupid stuff off the court, someone’s gonna get it and then you forfeit games. It messes up your season. We’ve been keeping our circles small and it’s business.”
Featured image by Spencer Colby.
