The losses just keep stacking up.
They started as a rarity—a once-in-a-generation, text-your-friend, did-you-see-what-just-happened event. Now, for the fourth time this year, the Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team has lost.
On a weekend trip to Toronto, the Ravens dropped back-to-back games to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues Jan. 20 and Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold Jan. 21, pushing Carleton to a new low in a season full of them.
Soon, there won’t be records left to break. The loss to Toronto was Carleton’s first in more than 20 years. The Ravens’ point total in the 56-54 loss was the smallest since February 2005. And the 86-80 loss to TMU marked only the second time Carleton has lost back-to-back games in the last 20 years.
Despite jumping to an 11-0 start and 18-point lead against the Bold, the Ravens collapsed in a frenetic, pressure-filled second half. Now, the number in the loss column reads four. It’s the most losses Carleton has had in a season since 1999-00.
For the opposition, though, the wins are still just as rich.
“[Carleton is] still really, really good,” said Madhav Trivedi, head coach of the Varsity Blues. “Everyone says they’re not as talented, or whatever it may be, but they’re still winning games, they’re still closing out games, they’re still doing what they have to do. So for us it was like, we gotta go, we gotta fight, and we gotta see where we’re at against the best.”
The Ravens struggled from tip-off against Toronto, trailing 21-11 by the end of the first quarter. A 14-4 run to start the second quarter and near-even third quarter made it a two-point game with 10 minutes left.
While both teams scored only 10 points in the fourth quarter, Carleton missed crucial opportunities. Connor Vreeken missed three shots from beyond the arc in the final two minutes, including a wide-open shot with three seconds left on the clock that would have given the Ravens the lead.
Holding Carleton to its fewest points in nearly 18 years was a win in itself for Toronto, who made a brief appearance on the U Sports top 10 rankings earlier this month and will be knocking at the door again as the season continues.
“In the OUA, if you hold anyone in the 70s, you’re pretty much happy, so holding anyone to the 50s, that’s tremendous,” Trivedi said.
The Ravens entered the game against TMU with high intensity, resulting in a game that seemed over by halftime.
Then it all fell apart. As the score narrowed, the dial of intensity the Ravens had been turning higher and higher became too much. Intensity became desperation and desperation became sloppiness.
Aiden Warnholtz fouled out. Vreeken hit a three-pointer with less than a minute left to make it 82-80, but the moment became too much. For the second straight night, the walls caved in.
What had turned the Bold around mid-game was a message at halftime from head coach David DeAveiro.
“People were saying, maybe we hadn’t played anybody that was this level before and maybe we don’t belong with these guys. So at halftime we talked about that,” DeAveiro told The Eyeopener. “Maybe they’re right. Maybe we don’t belong here. Maybe we can play really good [defence] against teams that are below us, but can we play really good [defence] against teams that are above us?”
In the second half, the Bold did. After scoring 30 points in the first quarter, Carleton scored just 29 points in the entire second half.
Carleton head coach Taffe Charles did not respond to the Charlatan’s interview requests. But after Carleton went on to defeat the Queen’s Gaels 103-89 last weekend, he’ll have his work cut out for him on Friday, as Carleton prepares to face the 13-3 uOttawa Gee-Gees at the annual Capital Hoops game.
With files from The Eyeopener.
Featured image by Tayssir Benchoubane.
