March 17, 2006
RAVENS SQUEAK BY UQAM 62-59
HALIFAX (CIS) - Reigning player of the year Osvaldo Jeanty scored a game-high 22 points to lead the three-time defending national champion and third-seeded Carleton Ravens to a hard-fought, 62-59 win over the No. 6 UQAM Citadins in the first quarter-final at the 2006 Canadian Interuniversity Sport men's basketball Final 10 at the Metro Centre in Halifax.
Championship web site: http://www.cisport.ca/e/championships/m_basketball/2006
The Ravens, winning their 12th consecutive game at the CIS tournament going back to a one-point loss to McMaster (78-77) in the opening round of the 2001 championship, advance to Saturday's first semi-final where they will meet the winners of today's quarter-final contest between the No. 7 Cape Breton Capers and the No. 2 UBC Thunderbirds (6:30 p.m. Atlantic Time, The Score).
Making their first appearance at the nationals in only their third year of CIS competition, the Citadins move to the consolation side. UQAM barely qualified for the Quebec conference playoffs following a 6-10 regular season but proceeded to upset nationally ranked Concordia and Laval to claim its first-ever QSSF banner.
\"We played good defence and made just enough big shots on offence,\" commented Carleton head coach Dave Smart. \"They played us extremely tough. It was a hard one from start to finish.\"
\"No,\" was Smart's clear response when asked if the first game is the toughest one to win at the nationals. \"This team (UQAM) had a lot of weapons, but whoever we play next will have just as many. Every game is hard to win at this point of the season.\"
UQAM bench boss Olga Hrycak had words of praise for both teams.
\"I couldn't be prouder of our guys, I mean, to stay toe-to-toe with the three-time national champions,\" said Hrycak. \"Hats off to Carleton. They hit some unbelievable shots, some tough, tough three-pointers.\"
\"It came down to the final shot, what more can I add. It was a fantastic game,\" added Hrycak.
Trailing 34-29 at the break, UQAM refused to go away and stayed within striking distance of the champions until the very end.
The Citadins even took a 41-40 advantage, the only time they would lead in the second half, with 13:30 left on a jumper by second-year guard Samuel Johnson of Sherbrooke, Que.
The Ravens quickly responded with an 11-1 run, which proved to be the difference in the game, to go ahead 51-42. Guards Jeanty of Gloucester, Ont., Stuart Turnbull of Kingston, Ont. and Ryan Bell of Orleans, Ont. capped the run with consecutive three-pointers on three straight Carleton possessions.
UQAM came back once again with an 8-0 run of its own, to pull to within one at 51-50.
The Ravens seemed like they had finally put the match out of reach when third-year guard Jean-Emmanuel Jean-Marie of Ottawa made it 60-53 Carleton with a pair of free throws, but UQAM clawed back to within two, at 61-59, with seven seconds left when Kevin Boucher of Mascouche, Que. grabbed a rebound off a miss by Marc-Olivier Beauchamp of Montreal and tipped the ball in the basket.
Jeanty was fouled on the ensuing in-bound but converted only one of two free throws, leaving the Citadins with a chance to send the game to overtime with a three-point shot with four seconds remaining on the clock. Sophomore forward Bruno Visotzky-Bernier of Montreal made a desperate attempt from 30 feet but the ball hit the rim at the buzzer and refused to drop, sending Carleton to the semis.
Jeanty, a fourth-year guard named CIS season MVP earlier this week, scored 18 of his points on long-distance shooting, sinking three shots from beyond the arc in each half. He was 7-for-18 for the game, including 6-for-15 from long distance, on his way to claiming player-of-the-game honours for the winning side.
As is often the case for Carleton at the nationals, three-point shooting was a major factor in its victory. The Ravens converted 13 of 31 attempts from downtown (41.9%), and shot 40.8 percent overall in the match. UQAM shot 44.0 percent overall, including 6-for-19 from beyond the arc.
Bell also put together a superb effort in the win, finishing with 15 points along with six rebounds and four assists, both team highs. Jean-Marie also scored in double-digits finishing with 10 points.
Jeanty and Bell never left the court, playing all 40 minutes as the Ravens were without the services of second-team all-Canadian Aaron Doornekamp, a 6-foot-7 sophomore forward from Odessa, Ont.
Visotzky-Bernier had 13 points for UQAM in the losing effort, while second-year forward Claude Delmas-Merisier of Laval, Que. paced the Carabins with 14 points. Beauchamp, the only fourth-year player on the Citadins roster, was named player of the game for the Quebec champions following a 10-point, seven-rebound effort in 35 minutes of play.
STAT LEADERS
No. 3 Carleton Ravens 34-28:62
No. 6 UQAM Citadins 29-30: 59
Carleton
Points - Osvaldo Jeanty (22), Ryan Bell (15)
Rebounds - Ryan Bell (6)
Assists - Ryan Bell (4)
Minutes - Osvaldo Jeanty (40), Ryan Bell (40)
Player of the game: Osvaldo Jeanty
UQAM
Points - Claude Delmas-Merisier (14), Bruno Visotzky-Bernier (13)
Rebounds - Marc-Olivier Beauchamp (7)
Assists - Joseph Atangana (4)
Minutes - Marc-Olivier Beauchamp (35)
Player of the game: Marc-Olivier Beauchamp
SEEDING, SCHEDULE & RESULTS (All times LOCAL / Atlantic Time)
1. Victoria Vikes
2. UBC Thunderbirds
3. Carleton Ravens
4. StFX X-Men
5. McMaster Marauders
6. UQAM Citadins
7. Cape Breton Capers
8. York Lions
9. Saskatchewan Huskies
10. Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks
Thursday, March 16
Game #1: Cape Breton 62, Wilfrid Laurier 53
Game #2: Saskatchewan 75, York 74
Friday, March 17
Consolation (9th place): Wilfrid Laurier 76, York 65
Quarter-final #1: Carleton 62, UQAM 59
15:00 Quarter-final #2: Cape Breton (7) vs. UBC (2)
18:00 Quarter-final #3: McMaster (5) vs. StFX (4)
20:00 Quarter-final #4: Saskatchewan (9) vs. Victoria (1) (Live on The Score)
Saturday, March 18
11:30 Consolation #1: UQAM (6) vs. TBD
13:30 Consolation #2
18:30 Semi-final #1 (Live on The Score): Carleton (3) vs. TBD
21:00 Semi-final #2 (Live on The Score)
Sunday, March 19
13:00 Consolation final (5th place)
16:00 Championship final (Live on The Score)
- CIS -
(Source: Michel Belanger, CIS Communications Manager.)
(Photo: Second-team OUA all-star Ryan Bell scored 15 points to go along with team highs of six rebounds and four assists as the three-time defending CIS champion Carleton Ravens survived a scare with a 62-59 win over the UQAM Citadins. The win was Carleton's 12th in a row at Nationals, a streak that dates back to 2001.)
Championship web site: http://www.cisport.ca/e/championships/m_basketball/2006
The Ravens, winning their 12th consecutive game at the CIS tournament going back to a one-point loss to McMaster (78-77) in the opening round of the 2001 championship, advance to Saturday's first semi-final where they will meet the winners of today's quarter-final contest between the No. 7 Cape Breton Capers and the No. 2 UBC Thunderbirds (6:30 p.m. Atlantic Time, The Score).
Making their first appearance at the nationals in only their third year of CIS competition, the Citadins move to the consolation side. UQAM barely qualified for the Quebec conference playoffs following a 6-10 regular season but proceeded to upset nationally ranked Concordia and Laval to claim its first-ever QSSF banner.
\"We played good defence and made just enough big shots on offence,\" commented Carleton head coach Dave Smart. \"They played us extremely tough. It was a hard one from start to finish.\"
\"No,\" was Smart's clear response when asked if the first game is the toughest one to win at the nationals. \"This team (UQAM) had a lot of weapons, but whoever we play next will have just as many. Every game is hard to win at this point of the season.\"
UQAM bench boss Olga Hrycak had words of praise for both teams.
\"I couldn't be prouder of our guys, I mean, to stay toe-to-toe with the three-time national champions,\" said Hrycak. \"Hats off to Carleton. They hit some unbelievable shots, some tough, tough three-pointers.\"
\"It came down to the final shot, what more can I add. It was a fantastic game,\" added Hrycak.
Trailing 34-29 at the break, UQAM refused to go away and stayed within striking distance of the champions until the very end.
The Citadins even took a 41-40 advantage, the only time they would lead in the second half, with 13:30 left on a jumper by second-year guard Samuel Johnson of Sherbrooke, Que.
The Ravens quickly responded with an 11-1 run, which proved to be the difference in the game, to go ahead 51-42. Guards Jeanty of Gloucester, Ont., Stuart Turnbull of Kingston, Ont. and Ryan Bell of Orleans, Ont. capped the run with consecutive three-pointers on three straight Carleton possessions.
UQAM came back once again with an 8-0 run of its own, to pull to within one at 51-50.
The Ravens seemed like they had finally put the match out of reach when third-year guard Jean-Emmanuel Jean-Marie of Ottawa made it 60-53 Carleton with a pair of free throws, but UQAM clawed back to within two, at 61-59, with seven seconds left when Kevin Boucher of Mascouche, Que. grabbed a rebound off a miss by Marc-Olivier Beauchamp of Montreal and tipped the ball in the basket.
Jeanty was fouled on the ensuing in-bound but converted only one of two free throws, leaving the Citadins with a chance to send the game to overtime with a three-point shot with four seconds remaining on the clock. Sophomore forward Bruno Visotzky-Bernier of Montreal made a desperate attempt from 30 feet but the ball hit the rim at the buzzer and refused to drop, sending Carleton to the semis.
Jeanty, a fourth-year guard named CIS season MVP earlier this week, scored 18 of his points on long-distance shooting, sinking three shots from beyond the arc in each half. He was 7-for-18 for the game, including 6-for-15 from long distance, on his way to claiming player-of-the-game honours for the winning side.
As is often the case for Carleton at the nationals, three-point shooting was a major factor in its victory. The Ravens converted 13 of 31 attempts from downtown (41.9%), and shot 40.8 percent overall in the match. UQAM shot 44.0 percent overall, including 6-for-19 from beyond the arc.
Bell also put together a superb effort in the win, finishing with 15 points along with six rebounds and four assists, both team highs. Jean-Marie also scored in double-digits finishing with 10 points.
Jeanty and Bell never left the court, playing all 40 minutes as the Ravens were without the services of second-team all-Canadian Aaron Doornekamp, a 6-foot-7 sophomore forward from Odessa, Ont.
Visotzky-Bernier had 13 points for UQAM in the losing effort, while second-year forward Claude Delmas-Merisier of Laval, Que. paced the Carabins with 14 points. Beauchamp, the only fourth-year player on the Citadins roster, was named player of the game for the Quebec champions following a 10-point, seven-rebound effort in 35 minutes of play.
STAT LEADERS
No. 3 Carleton Ravens 34-28:62
No. 6 UQAM Citadins 29-30: 59
Carleton
Points - Osvaldo Jeanty (22), Ryan Bell (15)
Rebounds - Ryan Bell (6)
Assists - Ryan Bell (4)
Minutes - Osvaldo Jeanty (40), Ryan Bell (40)
Player of the game: Osvaldo Jeanty
UQAM
Points - Claude Delmas-Merisier (14), Bruno Visotzky-Bernier (13)
Rebounds - Marc-Olivier Beauchamp (7)
Assists - Joseph Atangana (4)
Minutes - Marc-Olivier Beauchamp (35)
Player of the game: Marc-Olivier Beauchamp
SEEDING, SCHEDULE & RESULTS (All times LOCAL / Atlantic Time)
1. Victoria Vikes
2. UBC Thunderbirds
3. Carleton Ravens
4. StFX X-Men
5. McMaster Marauders
6. UQAM Citadins
7. Cape Breton Capers
8. York Lions
9. Saskatchewan Huskies
10. Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks
Thursday, March 16
Game #1: Cape Breton 62, Wilfrid Laurier 53
Game #2: Saskatchewan 75, York 74
Friday, March 17
Consolation (9th place): Wilfrid Laurier 76, York 65
Quarter-final #1: Carleton 62, UQAM 59
15:00 Quarter-final #2: Cape Breton (7) vs. UBC (2)
18:00 Quarter-final #3: McMaster (5) vs. StFX (4)
20:00 Quarter-final #4: Saskatchewan (9) vs. Victoria (1) (Live on The Score)
Saturday, March 18
11:30 Consolation #1: UQAM (6) vs. TBD
13:30 Consolation #2
18:30 Semi-final #1 (Live on The Score): Carleton (3) vs. TBD
21:00 Semi-final #2 (Live on The Score)
Sunday, March 19
13:00 Consolation final (5th place)
16:00 Championship final (Live on The Score)
- CIS -
(Source: Michel Belanger, CIS Communications Manager.)
(Photo: Second-team OUA all-star Ryan Bell scored 15 points to go along with team highs of six rebounds and four assists as the three-time defending CIS champion Carleton Ravens survived a scare with a 62-59 win over the UQAM Citadins. The win was Carleton's 12th in a row at Nationals, a streak that dates back to 2001.)
