The Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team continued their dominance of the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Feb. 11, defeating the University of Toronto Varsity Blues by a score of 102-75.
The win was Carleton’s 20th in a row and second of the season against Toronto, who sit comfortably in second place in the OUA East.
Fourth-year guard Elliot Thompson was the high scorer for the Ravens, scoring 27 points to go along with six rebounds and two assists. Rookie Philip Scrubb and second-year forward Tyson Hinz also broke into the double-digits, scoring 24 and 14 points respectively.
The victory did not come easily, however. Despite a strong showing in the first quarter, in which the Ravens outscored the Varsity Blues by a score of 26-24, Toronto hit several clutch field goals in the second quarter to cut the Ravens’ advantage down and build themselves a 40-36 lead going into the half.
“They played pretty well; we didn’t really give a whole lot of resistance,” explained Ravens guard Mike Kenny, who scored nine points and three assists coming off the bench.
“We let them dictate what they wanted to do, and we just reacted to it [in the first half]. “
This did not keep the Ravens down for long, though. The team woke up in the third quarter, pouring in 29 points and limiting the Varsity Blues to only 12.
They would add 37 points in the fourth quarter to break the 100-point mark for only the fifth time this season.
“I think we showed that we can deal with some adversity,” Kenny added. “In the half court, they’re a pretty good defensive team, but when you push the pace like we did, you’re able to get some more looks that way.”
On the other side of the court, Toronto’s Alex Hill scored 17 points and Justin Holmes poured in 16 in an effort that fell short. Toronto now sits 14 points out of the top spot in the OUA East with one game remaining.
The following evening, the Ravens also toppled the Ryerson Rams in Toronto by a score of 100-62. Hinz scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds to pace Carleton to victory, while Scrubb and Thompson each had 14 points.
Ola Adegboruwa and Jahmal Jones each recorded 14 points for the defeated Rams.
Despite the weekend’s victories, Kenny said he felt that the Ravens have room to improve before the playoffs.
“In the nationals, we can’t rely on our offensive output as much,” he said. “You’re not going to win games by scoring 100 points; you’re going to win games by stopping teams. ”
The Carleton Ravens play their final game of the season Feb. 18 against the OUA East’s third place team, the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees.They will then host their first playoff game Feb. 26 at the Ravens’ Nest.