The Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team defeated the Laurentian Voyageurs Feb. 23 in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East semi-final, granting them a berth in the OUA Final Four.
The Ravens got out of the gate early and had a seven-point lead at the end of the first quarter. The Ravens increased their lead in the second quarter and were up 48-35 at halftime.
Knowing this game was do-or-die and it could possibly be their last of the season, the Voyageurs fought hard in the third quarter and cut the lead to seven heading into the fourth and final quarter. The Ravens were not going to let their lead slip away that easily and they dominated the fourth quarter outscoring Laurentian 28-15, for a final score of 95-75.
Laurentian guard Manny Pasquale was a big part of the comeback for the Voyageurs. He had an impressive 33 points in the game, but it was not enough.
A key part of the victory for the Ravens was their outstanding rebounding. They had 16 offensive rebounds to only four for Laurentian. In total they had almost double Laurentian’s 21 total rebounds, with 40.
“We battled and rebounded well and so we controlled the game,” Ravens forward Tyson Hinz said. “We didn’t do well covering one of their players, Manny Pasquale, who carried their team, but we did a good job at covering all the other players.”
Leading the way for the Ravens was veteran guard Thomas Scrubb and forward Tyson Hinz. Scrubb had 22 points and eight total rebounds, and Hinz had 18 points, nine rebounds, and one steal.
Heading into the tournament, there is still work to be done for the Ravens.
“We need to work on competing hard for a full 40 minutes,” Hinz said.
The OUA men’s basketball Final Four will take place March 1-2 in Toronto, hosted by Ryerson University.
First, the Ravens will play in one of the semi-finals against the Lakehead University Thunderwolves, who they beat earlier in the season, on March 1. With a victory, the Ravens will play in the OUA finals on March 2 against the winner of the other semi-final.
The other semi-final is the University of Windsor Lancers, the only team to beat the Ravens this season, against the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees who pushed the Ravens to triple overtime in the final game of the regular season.
Hinz said he doesn’t believe that the Ravens have more pressure to win even though they are the top ranked team in the nation and the defending OUA champions.
“All four teams in the Final Four are good teams and we all have an equal shot at winning.”
The Ravens are already guaranteed a berth in the CIS Final 8, March 8-10 at Scotiabank Place, as the hosts, where they will look to win their third national championship in a row and record 10th overall.
But first, they want to prove why they are considered the best team in the nation and repeat as OUA champions.
