All-Ottawa final set for CIS crown
Carleton eyes fifth straight, host Ryerson falls in late semifinal
They led by as many as 27 points Saturday night, on their way to clinching a spot in the Canadian university men’s basketball final. But the Carleton Ravens weren’t satisfied.
Philip Scrubb poured in 29 points, doled out 13 assists and pulled down eight rebounds, lifting the topranked Ravens to an 83-74 victory over the fourth-seeded Victoria Vikes and leaving the Ravens one win away from their fifth consecutive CIS title.
Minutes after the final buzzer sounded on what was Scrubb’s second-last game of his college career, the guard from Richmond, B.C., la- mented the mistakes his team made.
“We didn’t play well enough in the second half, and if we play like that (Sunday), we’re likely going to lose,” Scrubb said. “We’ve got a lot of things to work on, and each individual guy knows what they’ve got to do.”
Scrubb’s older brother Thomas, who will also graduate this season, grabbed 12 rebounds for Carleton. Marcus Tibbs led Canada West champion Victoria with 27 points.
Carleton faces No. 3 Ottawa, an 8475 winner over host Ryerson, the No. 7 seed, in the late semifinal.
“We were a little sloppy offensively . . . in the second half. That allowed them to get some open looks and some opportunities at the other end,” said Carleton coach Dave Smart. “Sometimes bad offence leads to bad defence because you are always in the transition mode and recovering mode.”
The Ravens roared out to a 27-15 lead after one quarter, then took a 48-32 advantage into the dressing room at halftime in front of a packed house at Ryerson University’s Mattamy Athletic Centre.
Smart said it’s fitting that two Ontario teams will face off in the final — Carleton, Ottawa and Ryerson were ranked in the top three virtually all season.
“I think Ontario’s had the best teams all year,” the coach said.
Philip Scrubb, who had already collected 14 points and 10 assists by halftime, contributed eight points of Carleton’s 10-2 run to open the third. The Ravens, who’d beaten Victoria 80-64 at an October tournament, led 67-50 heading into the fourth.