March 13, 2010
WILSON CUP THREE-PEAT FOR RAVENS; THUNDERWOLVES OFF TO NATIONALS
OTTAWA - The Carleton University Ravens men's basketball team claimed their third straight Wilson Cup Saturday night, defeating the University of Windsor Lancers, 71-52, in the OUA final at the Ravens' Nest.
The OUA basketball playoffs are presented by Investors Group.
The Ravens took an early lead in the first quarter playing focused and composed. It was clear that the Ravens had a defensive focus coming into this game, dominating the defensive rebounds and taking charges. On the offensive end, the Ravens went through veteran forward Kevin McCleery (Ottawa) who was a force to be reckoned with in the paint. Along with McCleery, the Ravens other scoring option was Cole Hobin (Ashton, Ont.), who put up eight points in the first quarter alone. The Ravens, with solid defensive effort and good scoring opportunities on the offensive end, finished the quarter with a 22-11 lead.
On the offensive end in the second quarter, McCleery was being double and triple teamed, opening up perimeter opportunities for the home team. On the other end however, the Ravens were one step too slow on defensive rotations, giving the Lancers time to get shots up and chip away at Carleton's lead. With three minutes remaining in the quarter, the Lancers brought the game within six points with perimeter shooting. This was the closest the Lancers would get before the Ravens took a timeout to regroup and refocus on defence.
Coming out of the timeout, Hobin scored a three-pointer, giving Carleton a nine-point lead. But on the next possession on the other end of the floor, fourth year Lancer forward Isaac Kuon (Mississauga, Ont.) responded, making it a basket-for-basket game to the halftime buzzer. The Ravens retained a narrow 37-32 lead despite scoring six points less than the Lancers in the quarter.
Coming out of the halftime break, the Ravens started with a great defensive possession followed by third year guard Elliott Thompson (Fredericton) getting an offensive rebound and put back. But the Lancers responded on the other end, staying within reach of the Ravens lead. Windsor started to look winded by the end of the quarter however and the Ravens put up more points, giving them the biggest lead of the game, 59-46, going into the last quarter of play.
The Lancers seemed to have lost focus in the final quarter and Carleton pulled away with effective inside play and inside-out combinations. On the defensive end, the Ravens were able to shut down Windsor, keeping the Lancers to eight points as Carleton came away with the 71-52 win.
The Ravens ability to shut down Kuon and veteran forward Nigel Johnson-Tyghter (Brampton, Ont.), who have averaged 18.09 and 12.86 points per game respectively, was a big contributor to their success. Carleton was also extremely efficient on the boards, out-rebounding the Lancers an impressive 47-17. They had 11 second-chance opportunities on offensive rebounds while keeping the Lancers to two.
The Ravens success came from a number of different players, led by McCleery who had a double-double, notching a game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds to conclude his last game at the Ravens' Nest. He was named the Wilson Canada player of the game. Teammate Hobin had a great game, playing solid defence on Kuon and contributing 20 points of his own. Thompson added to the victory with a game-high 18 rebounds while scoring seven points.
The Lancers were led by Kuon, who had 14 points while teammate Smyth was the only other Lancer in double digits with 10 points.
The two teams could very well match up one last time this season in the upcoming CIS Final 8 men's basketball national championship, which will be held at the Scotiabank Place March 19-21.
In the OUA bronze medal game up the road at uOttawa, the wait is over after 33 years – the Lakehead men's basketball team is headed to the national championships. Jamie Searle scored 18 points and iced the game with two late free throws as the Thunderwolves defeated the Ottawa Gee-Gees 78-73, Saturday afternoon at Montpetit Hall in Ottawa to win OUA bronze and secure the conference's final berth at the Carleton-hosted CIS Championships, next weekend at Ottawa.
Down 33-26 at halftime, Lakehead was unable to cut into the deficit in the third quarter but poured in on in the fourth, outscoring the Gee-Gees 30-18 in the final ten minutes. The 'Wolves, in fact went up by as many as 10 points when Anthony McIntosh (Ottawa) threw down a fast break dunk before Ottawa rallied back within two points. Lakehead weathered the storm however, and once Searle connected on his two free throws with 3 seconds left it was over.
"I think that throughout the year our fourth quarter comebacks were viewed more as a weakness early in the game but tonight we had the confidence knowing that we could win after going down early," Thunderwolves head coach Scott Morrison.
Sophomore post Yoosrie Salhia (Toronto) had a complete effort with 16 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and two steals to control the inside action while point guard Greg Carter (Ottawa) had 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Andrew Hackner added 10 points including two key three pointers for the 'Wolves which shot 54.4 percent from the field and 52.6 percent beyond the arc.
Perhaps the biggest story of the game was the play of McIntosh who played 28 minutes – more than the rest of the 2009-10 season combined – and provided that 'Wolves with the defence and athleticism needed to slow the Gee-Gees' athletic players.
Warren Ward (Brampton, Ont.) led Ottawa with 29 points with nine rebounds and two blocks. Donnie Gibson (Kingston, Ont.) and Josh Gibson-Bascombe (Toronto) added 16 points apiece, though Gibson-Bascombe was harassed into 11 turnovers. Ottawa shot 43.3 percent from the floor and 45.0 percent from the three-point line.
Courtesy of Carleton University Ravens Recreation & Athletics and Lakehead University Athletics
ABOUT ONTARIO UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and its 19 member institutions are developing Champions For Life. Giving 9,000 student-athletes the opportunity to excel academically and on the playing field, while preparing for life after university. For more information, visit OUA.ca.
The OUA basketball playoffs are presented by Investors Group.
The Ravens took an early lead in the first quarter playing focused and composed. It was clear that the Ravens had a defensive focus coming into this game, dominating the defensive rebounds and taking charges. On the offensive end, the Ravens went through veteran forward Kevin McCleery (Ottawa) who was a force to be reckoned with in the paint. Along with McCleery, the Ravens other scoring option was Cole Hobin (Ashton, Ont.), who put up eight points in the first quarter alone. The Ravens, with solid defensive effort and good scoring opportunities on the offensive end, finished the quarter with a 22-11 lead.
On the offensive end in the second quarter, McCleery was being double and triple teamed, opening up perimeter opportunities for the home team. On the other end however, the Ravens were one step too slow on defensive rotations, giving the Lancers time to get shots up and chip away at Carleton's lead. With three minutes remaining in the quarter, the Lancers brought the game within six points with perimeter shooting. This was the closest the Lancers would get before the Ravens took a timeout to regroup and refocus on defence.
Coming out of the timeout, Hobin scored a three-pointer, giving Carleton a nine-point lead. But on the next possession on the other end of the floor, fourth year Lancer forward Isaac Kuon (Mississauga, Ont.) responded, making it a basket-for-basket game to the halftime buzzer. The Ravens retained a narrow 37-32 lead despite scoring six points less than the Lancers in the quarter.
Coming out of the halftime break, the Ravens started with a great defensive possession followed by third year guard Elliott Thompson (Fredericton) getting an offensive rebound and put back. But the Lancers responded on the other end, staying within reach of the Ravens lead. Windsor started to look winded by the end of the quarter however and the Ravens put up more points, giving them the biggest lead of the game, 59-46, going into the last quarter of play.
The Lancers seemed to have lost focus in the final quarter and Carleton pulled away with effective inside play and inside-out combinations. On the defensive end, the Ravens were able to shut down Windsor, keeping the Lancers to eight points as Carleton came away with the 71-52 win.
The Ravens ability to shut down Kuon and veteran forward Nigel Johnson-Tyghter (Brampton, Ont.), who have averaged 18.09 and 12.86 points per game respectively, was a big contributor to their success. Carleton was also extremely efficient on the boards, out-rebounding the Lancers an impressive 47-17. They had 11 second-chance opportunities on offensive rebounds while keeping the Lancers to two.
The Ravens success came from a number of different players, led by McCleery who had a double-double, notching a game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds to conclude his last game at the Ravens' Nest. He was named the Wilson Canada player of the game. Teammate Hobin had a great game, playing solid defence on Kuon and contributing 20 points of his own. Thompson added to the victory with a game-high 18 rebounds while scoring seven points.
The Lancers were led by Kuon, who had 14 points while teammate Smyth was the only other Lancer in double digits with 10 points.
The two teams could very well match up one last time this season in the upcoming CIS Final 8 men's basketball national championship, which will be held at the Scotiabank Place March 19-21.
In the OUA bronze medal game up the road at uOttawa, the wait is over after 33 years – the Lakehead men's basketball team is headed to the national championships. Jamie Searle scored 18 points and iced the game with two late free throws as the Thunderwolves defeated the Ottawa Gee-Gees 78-73, Saturday afternoon at Montpetit Hall in Ottawa to win OUA bronze and secure the conference's final berth at the Carleton-hosted CIS Championships, next weekend at Ottawa.
Down 33-26 at halftime, Lakehead was unable to cut into the deficit in the third quarter but poured in on in the fourth, outscoring the Gee-Gees 30-18 in the final ten minutes. The 'Wolves, in fact went up by as many as 10 points when Anthony McIntosh (Ottawa) threw down a fast break dunk before Ottawa rallied back within two points. Lakehead weathered the storm however, and once Searle connected on his two free throws with 3 seconds left it was over.
"I think that throughout the year our fourth quarter comebacks were viewed more as a weakness early in the game but tonight we had the confidence knowing that we could win after going down early," Thunderwolves head coach Scott Morrison.
Sophomore post Yoosrie Salhia (Toronto) had a complete effort with 16 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and two steals to control the inside action while point guard Greg Carter (Ottawa) had 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Andrew Hackner added 10 points including two key three pointers for the 'Wolves which shot 54.4 percent from the field and 52.6 percent beyond the arc.
Perhaps the biggest story of the game was the play of McIntosh who played 28 minutes – more than the rest of the 2009-10 season combined – and provided that 'Wolves with the defence and athleticism needed to slow the Gee-Gees' athletic players.
Warren Ward (Brampton, Ont.) led Ottawa with 29 points with nine rebounds and two blocks. Donnie Gibson (Kingston, Ont.) and Josh Gibson-Bascombe (Toronto) added 16 points apiece, though Gibson-Bascombe was harassed into 11 turnovers. Ottawa shot 43.3 percent from the floor and 45.0 percent from the three-point line.
Courtesy of Carleton University Ravens Recreation & Athletics and Lakehead University Athletics
– OUA –
ABOUT ONTARIO UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and its 19 member institutions are developing Champions For Life. Giving 9,000 student-athletes the opportunity to excel academically and on the playing field, while preparing for life after university. For more information, visit OUA.ca.
