Ravens feast on Gee-Gees
Top-ranked Carleton notches its 19th consecutive win over Ottawa
The holidays will be happy once again for the Carleton Ravens and their ravenous fans. Top-ranked Carleton closed out the pre-Christmas component of its Ontario University Athletics campaign by dispatching those nettlesome grinches otherwise known as the 2nd-ranked Ottawa GeeGees 94-73 on Friday on the Raven’s Nest.
The Ravens notched their 19th consecutive win over the Gee-Gees to improve their league record to 9-0, a game ahead of the 8-1 Gee-Gees as Tyson Hinz lit up Ottawa for 32.
The Ravens were locked and focused from the start, exploding to a 20-8 lead as Hinz hit a pair of treys and posted up for a pair of buckets. But the Gee-Gees finally calmed their nerves and rallied to within 25-24 as St. Francis Xavier transfer Terry Thomas, in an impressive debut game for Ottawa, nailed two treys.
Hinz, though, went back to work, drilling two more treys and repeatedly working free in the blocks while taking advantage of isolation sets. With Thomas Scrubb shooting over top of the smaller GeeGees guards, Clinton Springer-Williams adding treys and the Ravens dominating the boards, Carleton extended its lead to 54-37 at the half.
The Gee- Gees trimmed the margin to six early in the second half by aggressively attacking off the dribble.
But Hinz posted up for a bucket and Springer-Williams nailed a trey as Carleton regained a double-digit margin and pulled away down the stretch.
Hinz, though, expressed a measure of disappointment. “I turned it over a few times and gave them a few easy points.”
Carleton coach Dave Smart called it the Ravens best performance of the season. “We shot the ball well.”
Gee- Gees coach James Derouin said a periodic lack of focus and exhaustion undid his squad. “You can’t dig yourself a big hole.”
Scrubb added 18 for Carleton and Springer-Williams 16. The Ravens hit 15-34 from the arc. Johnny Berhanemeskel led Ottawa with 17. Caleb Agada added 14 and Vikas Gill 11.
The women’s showdown proved a battle in the blocks, as the Ravens forced a 6-3 deadlock atop the East standings by edging the 8th-ranked Gee-Gees 60-55.
Although both squads were altogether turnover prone, shot the ball like their fingers were frozen, and lacked offensive rhythm in the absence of starters Kellie Ring (Ottawa-and Lindsey Suprunchuk (Carleton-leg), the Gee-Gees more effectively worked into the blocks while building a 29-23 lead at the half.
Lindsey Shotbolt and Natasha Plaskacz nailed treys, while Heather Lindsay notched a pair of buckets as Carleton exploded for 10 unanswered points early in the second half. But Catherine Traer bookended an 8-0 Gee-Gees run with a 12-foot jumper and a trey, and twice found Katherine Lemoine with perfect passes in the paint as the GeeGees regained a 43-39 lead.
Elizabeth Roach and McKenzie Sigurdson countered with midrange jumpers as Carleton took a 52-48 lead with three minutes to play and then iced it at the line.
“It got pretty physical but we battled out there,” said Lindsay, who scored 18 and nabbed 14 boards. “We hit our foul shots and kept our cool.”
Shotbolt added 13 and Plaskacz 11. Maddie Stephen paced Ottawa with 15.