The Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team defeated the York University Lions and Queen’s Gaels back to back on Jan. 29 and 30 to extend their win streak to three.
After dropping a pair of games to start the second half of the season, the Ravens got their swagger back with a blowout victory against the Lions on Friday. Carleton put on a show with their spectacular shooting display, hitting a season high 15 triples.
Carleton started their barrage early, hitting five threes in the first quarter. The game looked out of reach for the Lions by halftime, and they walked into their change room with a 47-24 deficit.
“We just had to stay calm on offence,” said Ravens swingman Connor Wood. “We were getting good stuff—we just had to keep with the plan.”
York looked as if they were back in the game after they hit four triples to open the second half. Gavin Resch responded by drilling four of his own in a span of under four minutes. The Ravens closed out the game strong and won by a final score of 96-53.
“We won, but we had a couple issues,” Resch said. “We almost got out-rebounded and that’s been a big focus for us. We still have a lot to improve.”
Resch had six threes in the game and Wood added four as the pair led the team to its second biggest margin of victory of the year.
On Saturday, the NBA All-Star Weekend crew, featuring former Toronto Raptors All-Star Antonio Davis made an appearance as Carleton had another victorious showing against the Gaels.
Carleton raced to an early lead, led by Wood who scored seven points in the first five minutes. The Gaels stayed close, however, pushing the pace for easy transition points. The first quarter ended with the Ravens leading 24-16.
Carleton started the second quarter on a 12-0 run, looking for another blowout victory. Ryan Ejim and Kaza Kajami-Keane both had their jumpers going as Carleton ended the half with a 15-point lead.
The halftime show included a three-point contest, dunk contest, and an appearance by “Just Fly,” a world-famous professional dunker.
Carleton stayed rolling in the third, sharing the ball well and attacking from all over the court. Queen’s was able to stay in the game thanks to fourth-year guard Sukhpreet Singh, who scored 33 points in just the first three quarters. The Gaels scored some timely baskets to round out the third, and found themselves within just two points to start the final quarter.
“We had to make sure we were rebounding hard and make sure we were helping on Singh,” said Wood, who matched up with Singh for most of the game. “We just have to cover him with all five guys.”
The Gaels tied it up briefly to start the fourth with a pair of free-throws, but the Ravens pulled away definitively to close out the game. The final score was 99-81 as Carleton rallied late to avoid their third loss in five games.
Ejim led the Ravens with 23 points, while Kajami-Keane had a double-double with 20 points and 10 assists, also grabbing eight rebounds in the process. Wood added 19 and Guillaume Payen-Boucard put up 18 with eight rebounds.
“We’re pretty even in that we try to take what the defence gives us,” Resch said. “We’ve got different players who can make different plays, and we trust [our guys] to make those plays.”
The Gaels were led by Singh, who finished with a game-high 39 points in a losing effort.
On Feb. 5, the CIS number 3-ranked Ravens will face off with the CIS number 2-ranked University of Ottawa Gee-Gees in the 10th annual Capital Hoops Classic.
