The Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team crushed the chances of the University of Victoria Vikes to set a record ninth Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) championship title March 8.
At the same time, they kept their hopes alive for achieving the same feat themselves.
In the final quarterfinal of the day on the first day of action at the CIS men’s basketball Final 8 at Scotiabank Place, the Ravens eliminated the Vikes by a score of 83-46.
The Victoria Vikes qualified for the CIS tournament for the first time since 2006, after finishing in second place in the Canada West University Athletics Association (CWUAA) conference. Because of their loss to the UBC Thunderwolves in the CWUAA final, they were faced with the very tough task of facing the No. 1 seeded and two-time defending champion, Carleton Ravens.
The Carleton Ravens started slow due to their inability to solve the aggressive Vikes defence.
The Vikes got out to a small lead early in the game, but the Ravens were able to rebound and lead the Vikes by a very close margin, 19-16, at the end of the first quarter.
“Our coach made some adjustments for us after the first quarter and we did a good job at stopping that run that they had,” Ravens third-year guard Clinton Springer-Williams said.
Clinton Springer-Williams led the Ravens with 15 points and seven rebounds, while fifth-year guard Michael Acheampong led the way for the Vikes with 13 points.
The host Ravens, in front of a loud and rowdy crowd of Ravens fans, took control in the second quarter outscoring the Vikes 23-3 in the quarter. All three points for the Vikes were off of free throws.
“I don’t think it was anything I really told them. I think we got a little more settled in terms of the atmosphere and we forced them to their weaknesses a little bit more,” Ravens head coach Dave Smart said of his team’s turn-around in the second quarter.
In the second half, the Ravens continued their offensive and defensive dominance and led 62-37 at the end of the third quarter. With a big lead, the Ravens emptied out their bench and let their starters sit and rest for most of the second half.
“That will help us most importantly for the guys that got in the game, now they will be more experienced and if they get into the next games then they will be comfortable. That makes our bench really deep and allows us to be the best team in the country, because I believe we have the best bench in the whole country,” Springer-Williams said.
The Ravens outscored the Vikes 16-14 in the final quarter and cruised to a 27-point victory.
Out of the three Ontario University Athletics (OUA) teams competing, all three were successful in advancing to the semi-finals. In the earlier games, seventh-seeded Lakehead University Thunderwolves upset the second-ranked Cape Breton University Capers by a score of 74-61. They will take on fellow conference member, the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees after their 82-70 victory over the McGill University Redmen in their quarterfinal.
In the only quarterfinal featuring non-OUA teams, the Acadia University Axemen defeated the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, 89-80, to advance to the semi-finals against the Ravens. The Ravens and Axemen faced each other in last year’s championships, in the quarterfinals, with the Ravens winning handily.
The Carleton Ravens will be up against a huge test with Acadia, led by fourth-year forward Owen Klassen.
“He’s going to be a problem for us. He’s a really good post so we need to control him and make sure he is not as effective as normal,” Springer-Williams said.
“I think they are really talented, if not the most talented team in the country with the toughest match-up,” Smart said of Acadia and Klassen.
The Ravens have one win under their belt, and are now two away from a record ninth CIS Championship title with their next test being March 9 at 8:15 in the semi-finals against the Acadia Axemen.
“We can’t stop now, it’s only been one game. If we stop now, we won’t win. This game has passed and we have to move on to Acadia now,” Springer-Williams said.
