March 19, 2006
CARLETON SHOOTS FOR FOUR-PEAT
HALIFAX (CIS) - CIS player of the year Osvaldo Jeanty scored 22 points and Jean-Emmanuel Jean-Marie added 20 as the three-time defending champion and third-seeded Carleton Ravens qualified for the national final for the fourth straight year with a 68-57 win over the No. 7 Cape Breton Capers in the first semi-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
Carleton becomes the third team in history to advance to the CIS gold-medal game for four consecutive seasons. The Victoria Vikes played in eight straight national finals from 1979-86, winning the last seven to set a CIS mark that still stands, and the Windsor Lancers made it to the big dance four straight years from 1964-67, coming out on top on three occasions.
This marks the 12th consecutive win for the Ravens at the CIS tournament, dating back to a 78-77 loss to McMaster in the opening round of the 2001 championship. Carleton, looking to become only the second school in history to claim the W.P. McGee Trophy four straight times, will meet either the top-seeded Victoria Vikes or the No. 4 StFX X-Men on Sunday at 4 p.m. Atlantic Time (The Score).
\"We just found a way to get it done again I guess,\" said Carleton head coach Dave Smart. \"We struggled to score for a long time in the second half, we went scoreless for about 10 minutes I think. And it's not going to get easier tomorrow (Sunday).\"
\"I think the key was our defensive rebounding,\" commented Jeanty, whose teammates collected 24 boards at their end of the court. \"Last night (Friday), Cape Breton absolutely dominated UBC in that aspect of the game, and we had to make sure it wouldn't happen to us.\"
Jeanty, who has a reputation of elevating his game when the stakes are high, was money in the bank again for the defending champions. The fourth-year guard from Gloucester, Ont., who has been named player of the game in each of the three national finals won by the Ravens, earned the honours against Cape Breton following a 22-point effort, including 18 on three-point shooting. He was 6-for-13 from beyond the arch in the match.
\"Thanks to my coaches, I've developed a shooter's mentality,\" said Jeanty. \"The secret is to take a lot of shots, practice a lot, keep shooting even if you miss. The ball is bound to drop at one point, the net doesn't change, it's the same rim.\"
Jean-Marie, a third-year guard from Ottawa, had a 20-point, nine-rebound performance, and was perfect from the free-throw line banking his eight attempts.
Carleton didn't miss a single foul shot all night, finishing 14-for-14.
Cape Breton was paced by a spectacular outing by fourth-year guard Ryan Keliher, who tied a tournament-high with 27 points, and grabbed a team-high nine boards. The native of Charlottetown was also perfect from the charity stripe, going 9-for-9, and was 8-for-15 from the field.
The only Caper to tally more than eight points, Keliher was the player of the match for CBU.
Jeanty, Jean-Marie and Keliher all spent the entire 40 minutes on the floor.
\"Carleton is a very, very good team,\" said Cape Breton bench boss Jim Charters, whose team was making its first appearance at the nationals since reaching the semi-finals in 1995. \"I think they might have been a little fresher than us, this being our third game in as many nights. But I'm not here to make excuses. They beat us fair and square, and I tip my hat to them.\"
\"I'm not surprised by Ryan's (Keliher) performance,\" continued Charters. \"He's been our leader all year. This said, I agree this could be the best game of his career.\"
The first semi-final of the 2006 tourney was a game of runs, and the 11-point margin of victory for Carleton doesn't reflect how close the contest was, especially in the second half.
Carleton came out fire in the opening stanza and didn't slow down for 14 minutes.
A trio of Jeanty three-pointers gave the Ravens 14-5, 19-5 and 24-10 leads, before a jumper by guard Ryan Bell of Orleans, Ont. opened a 16-point gap for the defending champions, making it a 28-12 affair with nine minutes remaining in the first.
Trailing 30-14, Cape Breton suddenly came out of hibernation and put together a 12-0 run of its own to cut the deficit to four points. Keliher sank a pair of free throws to cut the lead to single-digits (30-21) with 4:38 on the clock, and hit from beyond the arch 90 seconds later to cap off the Capers streak and make it 30-26.
Smart called a timeout to calm his troops and the Ravens showed they got the message, closing out the period on a 9-2 run for a 39-28 halftime lead.
Jeanty led all scorers in the first stanza with 13 points, while Keliher had 12.
Back from the break, Cape Breton held Carleton to four points in the first 11 minutes outscoring its OUA opponent 18-4 in the process, and found itself ahead for the first time in the contest.
With the Ravens now trailing 46-43, Jeanty took control.
The season MVP tied the affair at 46 all with nine minutes to go with his fourth three-pointer of the game, and moments later fourth-year forward Shawn McCleery of Ottawa sent Carleton ahead once again, at 48-46. The reigning champions would not trail again in the duel.
Jeanty hit another three-point shot with seven minutes on the clock to make it 51-47, and helped the Ravens regain a double-digit advantage, at 62-52, with his final trey of the night with 2:22 left.
Jeanty's sixth trey capped off a 19-6 Carleton run, which would prove the difference as Cape Breton didn't get closer than six points after that point.
Carleton shot 40.4 percent from the field, including 34.8 percent from downtown (8-for-23). Cape Breton finished with a 36.7 percent success rate from the floor, and went 5-for-17 from three-point land (29.4%).
STAT LEADERS
No. 3 Carleton Ravens 39-29:68
No. 7 Cape Breton Capers 28-29:57
Carleton
Points - Osvaldo Jeanty (22), Jean-Emmanuel Jean-Marie (20)
Rebounds - Jean-Emmanuel Jean-Marie (9)
Assists - Ryan Bell (7)
Minutes - Osvaldo Jeanty (40), Jean-Emmanuel Jean-Marie (40)
Player of the game: Osvaldo Jeanty
Cape Breton
Points - Ryan Keliher (27)
Rebounds - Ryan Keliher (9)
Assists - Eric Breland (3)
Minutes - Ryan Keliher (40)
Player of the game: Ryan Keliher
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
Quarter-final #2: Cape Breton 80, UBC 62
Quarter-final #3: StFX 81, McMaster 77 (OT)
Quarter-final #4: Victoria 79, Saskatchewan 64
Saturday, March 18
Consolation #1: UBC 85, UQAM 79
Consolation #2: McMaster 81, Saskatchewan 79
Semi-final #1: Carleton 68, Cape Breton 57
21:00 Semi-final #2 (Live on The Score): StFX (4) vs. Victoria (1)
Sunday, March 19
13:00 Consolation final (5th place): McMaster (5) vs. UBC (2)
16:00 Championship final (Live on The Score): No. 3 Carleton vs. TBD
- CIS -
(Source: Michel Belanger, CIS Communications Manager.)
(Photo: Jean-Emmanuel Jean-Marie scored 20 points for the Carleton Ravens as they earned a shot at a fourth consecutive national championship with a 68-57 win over the Cape Breton Capers Saturday in Halifax. CIS MVP Osvaldo Jeanty poured in a team-high 22 points for the Ravens.)
Championship web site: http://www.cisport.ca/e/championships/m_basketball/2006
Carleton becomes the third team in history to advance to the CIS gold-medal game for four consecutive seasons. The Victoria Vikes played in eight straight national finals from 1979-86, winning the last seven to set a CIS mark that still stands, and the Windsor Lancers made it to the big dance four straight years from 1964-67, coming out on top on three occasions.
This marks the 12th consecutive win for the Ravens at the CIS tournament, dating back to a 78-77 loss to McMaster in the opening round of the 2001 championship. Carleton, looking to become only the second school in history to claim the W.P. McGee Trophy four straight times, will meet either the top-seeded Victoria Vikes or the No. 4 StFX X-Men on Sunday at 4 p.m. Atlantic Time (The Score).
\"We just found a way to get it done again I guess,\" said Carleton head coach Dave Smart. \"We struggled to score for a long time in the second half, we went scoreless for about 10 minutes I think. And it's not going to get easier tomorrow (Sunday).\"
\"I think the key was our defensive rebounding,\" commented Jeanty, whose teammates collected 24 boards at their end of the court. \"Last night (Friday), Cape Breton absolutely dominated UBC in that aspect of the game, and we had to make sure it wouldn't happen to us.\"
Jeanty, who has a reputation of elevating his game when the stakes are high, was money in the bank again for the defending champions. The fourth-year guard from Gloucester, Ont., who has been named player of the game in each of the three national finals won by the Ravens, earned the honours against Cape Breton following a 22-point effort, including 18 on three-point shooting. He was 6-for-13 from beyond the arch in the match.
\"Thanks to my coaches, I've developed a shooter's mentality,\" said Jeanty. \"The secret is to take a lot of shots, practice a lot, keep shooting even if you miss. The ball is bound to drop at one point, the net doesn't change, it's the same rim.\"
Jean-Marie, a third-year guard from Ottawa, had a 20-point, nine-rebound performance, and was perfect from the free-throw line banking his eight attempts.
Carleton didn't miss a single foul shot all night, finishing 14-for-14.
Cape Breton was paced by a spectacular outing by fourth-year guard Ryan Keliher, who tied a tournament-high with 27 points, and grabbed a team-high nine boards. The native of Charlottetown was also perfect from the charity stripe, going 9-for-9, and was 8-for-15 from the field.
The only Caper to tally more than eight points, Keliher was the player of the match for CBU.
Jeanty, Jean-Marie and Keliher all spent the entire 40 minutes on the floor.
\"Carleton is a very, very good team,\" said Cape Breton bench boss Jim Charters, whose team was making its first appearance at the nationals since reaching the semi-finals in 1995. \"I think they might have been a little fresher than us, this being our third game in as many nights. But I'm not here to make excuses. They beat us fair and square, and I tip my hat to them.\"
\"I'm not surprised by Ryan's (Keliher) performance,\" continued Charters. \"He's been our leader all year. This said, I agree this could be the best game of his career.\"
The first semi-final of the 2006 tourney was a game of runs, and the 11-point margin of victory for Carleton doesn't reflect how close the contest was, especially in the second half.
Carleton came out fire in the opening stanza and didn't slow down for 14 minutes.
A trio of Jeanty three-pointers gave the Ravens 14-5, 19-5 and 24-10 leads, before a jumper by guard Ryan Bell of Orleans, Ont. opened a 16-point gap for the defending champions, making it a 28-12 affair with nine minutes remaining in the first.
Trailing 30-14, Cape Breton suddenly came out of hibernation and put together a 12-0 run of its own to cut the deficit to four points. Keliher sank a pair of free throws to cut the lead to single-digits (30-21) with 4:38 on the clock, and hit from beyond the arch 90 seconds later to cap off the Capers streak and make it 30-26.
Smart called a timeout to calm his troops and the Ravens showed they got the message, closing out the period on a 9-2 run for a 39-28 halftime lead.
Jeanty led all scorers in the first stanza with 13 points, while Keliher had 12.
Back from the break, Cape Breton held Carleton to four points in the first 11 minutes outscoring its OUA opponent 18-4 in the process, and found itself ahead for the first time in the contest.
With the Ravens now trailing 46-43, Jeanty took control.
The season MVP tied the affair at 46 all with nine minutes to go with his fourth three-pointer of the game, and moments later fourth-year forward Shawn McCleery of Ottawa sent Carleton ahead once again, at 48-46. The reigning champions would not trail again in the duel.
Jeanty hit another three-point shot with seven minutes on the clock to make it 51-47, and helped the Ravens regain a double-digit advantage, at 62-52, with his final trey of the night with 2:22 left.
Jeanty's sixth trey capped off a 19-6 Carleton run, which would prove the difference as Cape Breton didn't get closer than six points after that point.
Carleton shot 40.4 percent from the field, including 34.8 percent from downtown (8-for-23). Cape Breton finished with a 36.7 percent success rate from the floor, and went 5-for-17 from three-point land (29.4%).
STAT LEADERS
No. 3 Carleton Ravens 39-29:68
No. 7 Cape Breton Capers 28-29:57
Carleton
Points - Osvaldo Jeanty (22), Jean-Emmanuel Jean-Marie (20)
Rebounds - Jean-Emmanuel Jean-Marie (9)
Assists - Ryan Bell (7)
Minutes - Osvaldo Jeanty (40), Jean-Emmanuel Jean-Marie (40)
Player of the game: Osvaldo Jeanty
Cape Breton
Points - Ryan Keliher (27)
Rebounds - Ryan Keliher (9)
Assists - Eric Breland (3)
Minutes - Ryan Keliher (40)
Player of the game: Ryan Keliher
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
Quarter-final #2: Cape Breton 80, UBC 62
Quarter-final #3: StFX 81, McMaster 77 (OT)
Quarter-final #4: Victoria 79, Saskatchewan 64
Saturday, March 18
Consolation #1: UBC 85, UQAM 79
Consolation #2: McMaster 81, Saskatchewan 79
Semi-final #1: Carleton 68, Cape Breton 57
21:00 Semi-final #2 (Live on The Score): StFX (4) vs. Victoria (1)
Sunday, March 19
13:00 Consolation final (5th place): McMaster (5) vs. UBC (2)
16:00 Championship final (Live on The Score): No. 3 Carleton vs. TBD
- CIS -
(Source: Michel Belanger, CIS Communications Manager.)
(Photo: Jean-Emmanuel Jean-Marie scored 20 points for the Carleton Ravens as they earned a shot at a fourth consecutive national championship with a 68-57 win over the Cape Breton Capers Saturday in Halifax. CIS MVP Osvaldo Jeanty poured in a team-high 22 points for the Ravens.)
