| (1) | Carleton | 83 | ||||||
| (8) | Victoria | 46 | Carleton | 84 | ||||
| (4) | U.B.C. | 80 | Acadia | 69 | Carleton | 92 | ||
| (5) | Acadia | 89 | ||||||
| —-CARLETON | ||||||||
| (2) | Cape Breton | 61 | ||||||
| (7) | Lakehead | 74 | Lakehead | 66 | Lakehead | 42 | ||
| (3) | Ottawa | 82 | Ottawa | 62 | ||||
| (6) | McGill | 70 |
SEEDING
1. Carleton Ravens (OUA champions: 19-1 regular season/3-0 playoffs, 25-1 v
CIS)
2. Cape Breton Capers (AUS champions: 19-1 regular season/2-0
playoffs, 26-3 v CIS)
3. Ottawa Gee-Gees (OUA finalists: 15-5 regular season/2-1 playoff, 22-10 v CIS)
4. UBC Thunderbirds (CWUAA champions: 18-4 regular season/4-1 playoffs, 28-5 v
CIS)
5. Acadia Axemen (wild card, AUS finalist: 15-5 regular season/1-1 playoffs,
21-7 v CIS)
6. McGill Redmen (RSEQ champions: 11-5 regular season/2-0 playoffs, 21-7 v CIS)
7. Lakehead Thunderwolves (OUA bronze medalists: 14-7 regular season/2-1 playoffs,
26-11 v CIS)
8. Victoria Vikes (CWUAA finalists: 16-6 regular season/3-1 playoffs, 21-10 v
CIS)
Acadia was selected as the wildcard. The Axemen were ranked no lower than sixth nationally all season.
Big games are supposed to have critical turning points, junctures at which the outcome hinges on a crucible play or development that determines a team’s ultimate trajectory and fate. That turned to be a shift to full-court pressure for the 3rd-seeded uOttawa men’s basketball Gee-Gees as they awoke from an early slumber to dispatch the 6th-seeded McGill Redmen 82-70 in the quarterfinals. uOttawa dominated the defensive glass and kept effectively isolating Gabriel Gonthier-Dubue and Vikas Gill in the blocks as they built an early 12-4 lead, kept by a dazzling, spin layup by Warren Ward. But the Redmen rallied with solid off-the-ball defence and a 7-1 run ignited by a Vince Dufort trey. They extended their margin to 25-19 on Winn Clark jumpers, a Te’Jour Riley putback rebound and a clever post-up from Aleksandar Mitrovic. That’s when the Gee-Gees shifted to the fullcourt press, while Caleb Agada came off the bench and soared above the rim to tip in a rebound and then drained a trey with seconds to play as uOttawa closed out the half with a 9-2 run to take a 28-27 lead into the lockers. The Gee-Gees twice isolated Ward for buckets to start the second half but McGill kept pounding the ball inside to take a 33-32 lead. Mike L’Africain attacked off the dribble for a pair of buckets, Johnny Berhanemeskel hit a 15-foot jumper and Agada another trey as Ottawa responded with a 10-1 run. Three consecutive careless Gee-Gees turnovers led to McGill buckets as the Redmen cut the margin to 49-45 after three-quarters. Gonthier-Dubue posted up twice, Berhanemeskel drilled an 18-footer, while L’Africain and Ward hammered treys as the Gee-Gees rebuilt a double-digit lead and then withstood a furious Redmen rally down the stretch as Mehdi Tihani hit six free throws and a monstrous trey against an expiring shot clock. “We were a little bit complacent early,” said L’Africain. “But coach fired us up at half.” Ward said “we just calmed down. We had a little bit of nerves. We got a youthful group and everybody was a little sporadic, didn’t know what to expect. But we upped the tempo when we needed to.” Tihani said “we played with more energy in the second half. McGill just kind of lulled us to sleep.” Gee-Gees coach James Derouin said Agada provided a big lift off the bench. “It was kind of the wake-up call that we needed and obviously, I had a few choice words for them at half-time about the tempo.” McGill coach Dave DeAveiro said uOttawa “did a good job of isolating us and playing a two-man game, finding mismatches. They did a really good job of breaking us down.” The Gee-Gees led 16-13, 28-27 and 49-45 at the quarters. Ward said “they compete and they didn’t quit. We have a lot of respect for them.” Derouin said Agada’s energy was infectious. “The kid hasn’t even turned 19 yet, he’s a pure freshman right out of high school and on the biggest stage he comes in and knocks down two threes, just an incredible performance and we don’t win this game today without him, that’s for sure.” Ward, meanwhile, “played exactly how we need him to play. I thought he did a great job, I thought he was aggressive and he hit the big shots, he hit a big three and really put them away in that fourth quarter. But that’s nothing out of the ordinary, that’s what Warren does.” DeAveiro, who coached the Gee-Gees for nine years before bailing for McGill, said “they’re one of the best teams in the country. You don’t want to play that team, they’re very good right now and they have a great chance to win.” Simon Bibeau said “I think we gave it our best… it was really a tough matchup. Obviously, our shots didn’t fall as much as we wanted. We tried to follow the game plan as much as possible but it was pretty tough to guard a guy like Ward, who can really change the game because he can score and also find his teammates.” DeAveiro said “Dubue’s a tough match-up in the post. That’s what he does, he creates fouls. I just felt that they were being physical all game and they did some things that warranted fouls (but) weren’t called and that’s part of basketball. Today he was better in the post than we were. … They did a real good job of isolating us, playing a lot of ‘two-man game’, finding mismatches and exploiting them. Our kids played hard and I’m extremely proud of them. We just played a very good team today, one that was better than us.” Warren Ward was chosen player of the game for the Gee-Gees, while Vince Dufort earned the laurels for the Redmen. Warren Ward paced the Gee-Gees with 23 on 8-17 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 5-6 from the line and 11 boards. Gabriel Gonthier-Dubue added 15 on 4-10 from the floor, 7-12 from the line and 8 boards. Mike L’Africain added 13 on 4-9 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 3-3 from the line and 2 boards. Mehdi Tihani scored 12 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 7-8 from the line and 3 boards. Caleb Agada notched 11 on 4-5 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 6 boards. Johnny Berhanemeskel added 6 on 2-10 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Vikas Gill added 2, while Ryan Evans, Jordan Vig, Dimitrious Seymour and Moe Ismail were scoreless. The Gee-Gees hit 25-60 (.417) from the floor, 7-22 (.318) from the arc and 25-33 (.758) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 5 assists, 5 steals, 2 blocks, 16 turnovers and 15 fouls. Vince Dufort paced the Redmen with 18 on 6-12 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 9 boards and 2 steals. Te’Jour Riley added 16 on 7-15 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 6 boards and 2 steals. Winn Clark notched 12 on 6-12 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 3 boards and 3 steals. Simon Bibeau scored 12 on 4-9 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 4 assists and 3 steals. Aleksandar Mitrovic added 4, along with 2 boards, Adrian Hynes-Guery 4 on 2-9 from the floor, 2 boards and 3 assists, and Rodrigo Imperador 3, along with 2 boards, while Nathan Joyal and Christian McCue were scoreless. Joyal nabbed 4 boards. The Redmen hit 27-66 (.409) from the floor, 4-18 (.222) from the arc and 12-18 from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 11 steals, 3 blocks, 14 turnovers and 26 fouls.
The 7th-seeded Lakehead Thunderwolves stunned the 2nd-seeded Cape Breton Capers 74-61. Lakehead broke to an 11-4 lead on a pair of treys from Dwayne Harvey. Although Cape Breton all-star guard Jimmy Dorsey was forced to the bench with his second foul within five minutes, the bigger, broader Capers countered with an 8-1 run by controlling the boards and pounding the ball inside to Meshack Lufile and Arild Geugjes. Dorsey returned for 30 seconds and promptly picked up his third offensive foul. But the Capers packed the paint and the Thunderwolves seemed unable to buy a bucket from the perimeter, which allowed Cape Breton to patiently build its lead to nine before Joe Hart hit a trey and Harvey a driving layup to draw Lakehead within 33-29 at the half. Ottawa St. Patrick’s product Greg Carter hit a pair of buckets to open the second half and the Thunderwolves kept attacking off the dribble, while outhustling the Capers for offensive boards as they built their lead to 42-35 on a pair of treys by Johnson. Dorsey finally got on a track as the Capers responded with an 11-2 run capped by a runout bucket from Cedric Kasongo before a late rally from Lakehead knotted the score at 48 after three quarters. The final frame belonged to the Thunderwolves. Carter and Harvey kept attacking off the dribble for acrobatic layups, while Hart hit a trey and then Johnson added his sixth and seventh treys on the night as Lakehead exploded to a 13-point lead and then rode out the upset. “All I had to do was spot up and try and look pretty, and hopefully make a few,” said Johnson. “Greg and Dwayne did a great job playing penetrate-and-pitch.” Harvey said “we just kept attacking,” said Harvey, while Carter said the Wolves executed the game plan, which was to “try to contain Dorsey, make other guys be scorers and then just chase them around pretty much.” Lakehead coach Scott Morrison said Dorsey’s foul trouble, Carter’s defence and the Thunderwolves aggressive attitude proved the difference, along with the game plan. “When you can’t score layups with your bigs and you can’t the ball inside, you’ve got not much choice but to the attack off the bounce.” Cape Breton coach Matt Skinn said his troops got “punished on the boards,” and failed to close out properly on perimeter shooters. “And we didn’t’ really do anything to adjust or take away what they do.” The quarterfinal victory was Lakehead’s first after three consecutive years of losing their opener and vindication for the squad’s six fifth-year seniors. “I didn’t want them to retire with that monkey on their back of never getting out of this first round, so I’m happy for those guys,” Morrison said. “Now they can relax and try and get a couple more upsets this weekend.” Guard Ben Johnson was chosen player of the game for the Thunderwolves after hitting seven from beyond the arc. “I can’t say enough about Ben,” Morrison said. “I was really excited that he came out and played that well. He’s a great kid, he’s been battling his whole career and what a game he had today.” Skinn said that Greg Carter “was tremendously physical and chased [Dorsey] all over the floor and did a great job making things difficult for him.” Carter said “I took that matchup pretty personal. That was our main game plan to try and contain him, make other guys be scorers and chase him around pretty much. … By the time the fourth quarter came around they were able to get into the paint and kick it out to the shooters. We did some things defensively that we shouldn’t have, and they definitely capitalized.” Arild Geugjes was chosen player of the game for the Axemen. Ben Johnson paced the Thunderwolves with 27 on 7-11 from the floor, 7-10 from the arc, 4-6 from the line and 3 boards. Dwayne Harvey added 16 on 6-10 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 6 boards, 8 assists and 4 steals. Joe Hart added 11 on 4-8 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 5 boards. Greg Carter added 9 on 4-9 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 5 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Joseph Nitychoruk added 6 on 2-5 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 9 boards and 3 blocks. Brendan King added 3, along with 2 boards, Yoosrie Salhia 2, along with 8 boards, and Matt Schmidt 2, along with 4 boards, while Joseph Jones and Nate Wainwright were scoreless. Jones nabbed 2 boards. The Thunderwolves hit 26-64 (.406) from the floor, 10-25 (.400) from the arc and 12-19 (.632) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 10 steals, 5 blocks, 16 turnovers and 15 fouls. James Dorsey paced the Capers with 12 on 4-15 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Arild Geugjes added 12 on 6-10 from the floor, 0-2 from the line and 8 boards. Sean McCormick notched 10 on 4-9 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-1 from the line 3 boards and 3 steals. Cedric Kasongo added 10 on 5-11 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc and 2 assists. Shaquille Keith notched 8 on 3-11 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Meshack Lufile scored 6 on 3-4 from the floor, 3 boards and 2 blocks. Kayon Mayers added 3 on 1-8 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 4 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals, while Kelson Devereaux and Brennen Fule were scoreless. Devereaux nabbed 5 boards. The Capers hit 26-71 (.366) from the floor, 4-17 (.235) from the arc and 5-8 (.625) from the line, while garnering 33 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 9 steals, 5 blocks, 13 turnovers and 20 fouls.
The fifth-seeded Acadia Axemen edged the 4th-seeded U.B.C. Thunderbirds 89-80. As expected, U.B.C and Acadia clogged the paint, turning it into perimeter shootout, except for the sporadic runout off a turnover or ill-advised pass. Axemen guard Tyler Scott had the hot hand early, drilling a trio of treys as Acadia built a 19-10 lead. Although the T-Birds began finding the seams in Acadia’s zone and working the ball inside to Brylle Kamen, while O’Brian Wallace nailed three treys, turnover-plagued UBC clawed no closer than 39-31 at the half. The T-Birds opened the second half with an explosive 11-2 run to take the lead as Isaiah Solomon and Doug Plumb drained treys. But Scott drilled another trey, Owen Klassen notched a dunk and Anthony Ashe drove for a layup as Acadia regained the edge and the game soon became a parade to the foul line until Scott drilled his sixth trey at the buzzer to give Acadia a 64-57 lead after three quarters. Ashe, Klassen and of course, Scott, had the tough answers down the stretch, hitting a tough fallaway jumper, a driving layup and what else but another trey, as Acadia pulled out the win in a game marred by the need for paramedics to carry off T-Bird guard Doug Plumb by stretcher following a midcourt collision with three minutes to play. “I was feeling it,” said Scott. “Shots were falling for me today and I’m just happy to have teammates who were kicking it out and passing it to me. And they were just going in. We wanted this one. We wanted to show that we could come out and compete with the rest of Canada.” Ashe said “we knew we had to play defence. We knew we had to rebound and I think we did that. Plus, we hit some big shots.” Acadia coach Steve Baur said “Tyler had a great night for us. He kind of got hot early and just continued on. Any time someone’s hitting shots like that for you, it’s positive in terms of how the offence is going.” Baur added that his troops did a stellar job on the boards. “Our guys were pretty focused. We got a group effort, which really helps.” UBC coach Kevin Hanson said “they hit some tough shots. When their fifth option comes out and lights you up for 29 points, it’s tough to swallow. Pick your poison with that team. They’re very talented.” Acadia led 21-14, 39-31 and 64-57 at the quarters. Ashe, a product of Stittsville, said playing at Scotiabank Place was an inspiration. “It’s almost in my backyard, so it was a lot of fun.” Bauer said Ashe has “been a great player for us all year but for him to come out on fire like that and maintain it all game was great.” Hanson said “I thought it was one of our worst defensive games. Our goal was to keep them under 70 points. In 11 of the last 12 games we’ve kept opponents under 70, but give them full credit, they have a lot of guys who can score outside and Owen Klassen is just a load inside. Plumb was knocked out cold after tripping and hitting his head against the floor. He was brought to hospital, where Hanson said he was “coherent” and answering questions despite suffering a “huge gash on his head” and suspected concussion. Tyler Scott was chosen player of the game for the Axemen, while O’Brian Wallace earned the laurels for the Thunderbirds. Tyler Scott paced the Axemen with 29 on 10-12 from the floor, 7-8 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 6 boards and 3 steals. Owen Klassen added 15 on 7-11 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 0-1 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Anthony Ashe scored 14 on 5-9 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4-5 from the line, 6 boards and 3 steals. Anthony Sears notched 10 on 2-9 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 5-5 from the line, 4 boards and 2 blocks. Sean Stoqua added 9 on 2-10 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 4 boards, 4 assists and 4 steals. Bradley States added 6 on 2-9 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Thomas Filigiano scored 6 on 2-4 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards, while Shaquille Smith and Lachlan Gale were scoreless. Gale nabbed 2 boards. The Axemen hit 30-64 (.469) from the floor, 9-19 (.474) from the arc and 20-23 (.870) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 5 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 15 steals, 5 blocks, 17 turnovers and 18 fouls. O’Brian Wallace paced the Thunderbirds with 26 on 9-21 from the floor, 6-15 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 7 boards, 3 assists and 4 steals. Brylle Kamen added 16 on 7-13 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 6 boards and 3 steals. Doug Plumb added 8 on 2-7 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 7 boards and 2 steals. David Wagner added 7 on 2-3 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 4 boards. Jordan Jensen-Whyte added 7 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 3 assists. Conor Morgan added 6 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards. Isaiah Solomon added 6 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Tommy Nixon added 4, along with 4 assists, while Geoff Pippus and Michael Steele were scoreless. The Thunderbirds hit 27-66 (.409) from the floor, 10-32 (.312) from the arc and 16-24 (.667) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 12steals, 2 blocks, 18 turnovers and 17 fouls.
In the last quarterfinal, the top-seeded Carleton Ravens dug themselves out of an early deficit before blasting the 8th-seeded Victoria Vikes 83-46 to keep alive their hopes of capturing their 9th CIS crown in 11 seasons. Victoria put an early 12-7 stranglehold on the Ravens by aggressively attacking the offensive glass. But Philip Scrubb drilled a trey and notched an old-fashioned three-point play, and the Ravens began boxing out on the defensive boards, as Carleton rallied. The Ravens defence soon stiffened to Carleton standard and they promptly held Victoria scoreless for a phenomenal 10 minutes, while Clinton Springer-Williams hit a 15-foot pull-up and a putback rebound to bookend a 22-0 Ravens run. The reeling Vikes finally stemmed the bleeding when Michael Acheampong hit a free throw. The Ravens led 42-19 at the break. Whatever dim hopes the Vikes might have had of a miracle rally completed dissipated early in the second half when Carleton put together another of its patented runs (this time, of a 13-0 variety) to extend the margin to 35. The Ravens led 67-32 after three quarters and coach Dave Smart began exploring the depths and dimensions of his bench. The Vikes briefly rallied with 30 but then Carleton answered with another patented 10-0 run and soon led by as many as 44. “I thought we were focused,” said Springer-Williams. “We’ve been at the hotel for a couple of days, so the guys were focused and it’s playoffs, so we have to come with all we have. It’s all or nothing.” Scrubb noted that solid defence “allowed us to get out in transition. And we ended up making some shots. They could’ve played better. It wasn’t their best day and we shot the ball pretty well.” Smart said the Ravens 40-28 edge on the boards was a major factor in the win. After the rough start, “we got a little more settled down in terms of the atmosphere. We forced them to their weaknesses a little bit more. We didn’t play that great defensively but I thought we rebounded well. Victoria coach Craig Beaucamp said “we were probably overmatched at a couple of positions, obviously, and we had a tough time getting the ball up the court in the first half. That just led to a lot of late shot clock situations and some runouts for them.” Springer-Williams said “this is the CIS Final Eight. We (Carleton) knew we had to make a statement in our opening game and I feel that we did. We needed a win to get the hometown crowd behind us. The students and local fans are a real boost and help motivate us.” Smart said “I have to admit we did start the game sloppy but executed well after being down early. Victoria didn`t make any shots in the second quarter, if they did the outcome of the game may have been different.” Beaucamp said “we are more disappointed with how we played tonight then that we lost. We just didn’t think we played as well as we can play and that is all we can really control. We really struggled to get the ball up the court, especially in the second quarter and had a really difficult time getting into offence and that was basically the tale of the tape. Obviously, against good teams you need to play well and they played well and we didn’t. It just compounded itself. The second quarter was really the undoing and after that it was just window dressing to be honest.” Clinton Springer-Williams paced the Ravens with 15 on 6-8 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 7 boards and 2 assists. Philip Scrubb added 13 on 3-9 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 5-5 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Kevin Churchill added 11 on 4-6 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 6 boards. Tyson Hinz added 8 on 4-10 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 4 boards and 2 assists, Kewyn Blain notched 8 on 3-7 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Thomas Scrubb scored 7 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 4 assists. Gavin Resch scored 7 on 2-4 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Connor Wood scored 6 on 2-4 from the floor and 2 boards. Kyle Smendziuk added 3, along with 6 boards, Dan Penner 3, along with 2 boards, and Justin Shaver 2, while Jean-Emmanuel Pierre-Charles was scoreless. The Ravens hit 29-60 (.483) from the floor, 10-21 (.476) from the arc and 15-18 (.833) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 5 steals, 11 turnovers and 17 fouls. Michael Acheampong paced the Vikes with 13 on 5-9 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 3-5 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Terrell Evans added 8 on 3-9 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 3 boards. Kyle Peterson added 5 on 2-8 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 3 assists. Brin Taylor scored 5 on 1-4 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Chris McLaughlin added 4 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 9 boards. Ryan Erikson added 4 on 2-5 from the floor and 0-3 from the arc. Rein Theil added 3, along with 4 boards, Pierce Anderson 2, along with 2 boards, and Ted Neilson 2, along with 2 boards, while Vijay Dhillon, Brandon Dunlop and Dominic Ohl were scoreless. The Vikes hit 18-63 (.286) from the floor, 2-29 (.069) from the arc and 8-14 (.571) from the line, while garnering 28 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 4 steals, 9 turnovers and 16 fouls.
They forced shots, found shots that really weren’t there and missed open looks. The foregone conclusion from such a fruitless strategy? A frightful 66-62 flush of the 3rd-seeded and favoured uOttawa Gee-Gees in the semi-finals at the hands of the seventh-seeded Lakehead Thunderwolves. Befuddled by a style of officiating they were unaccustomed to, while uncharacteristically unable to hit from the perimeter (just 2-of-19 from the arc), the Gee-Gees folded their tents down the stretch as the Thunderwolves rallied from a four-point deficit behind the heroics of Washington, DC-product and reserve guard Joseph Jones to make their first CIS final in 36 years (and just their third championship bout in history). With Gee-Gees post Gabriel Gonthier-Dubue and Thunderwolves post Yoosrie Sahlia each picking up two quick personals in the whistle-happy first quarter, Lakehead exploded to a 15-6 lead on treys by Ben Johnson, Matthew Schmidt and Jones. But for a second consecutive night, Caleb Agada provided a big lift off the bench, hitting three buckets as the Gee-Gees rallied to knot the score at 16 after one quarter. The foul count? 7-3 in Lakehead’s favour. Both squads struggled to find their range in the second quarter as Lakehead slowly rebuilt a 25-20 lead. But Jordan Vig notched a pair of buckets in the post, Vikas Gill a pair of free throws and Mike L’Africain a trey as the Gee-Gees closed out the half with a late 7-2 run to take a narrow 32-30 lead into the lockers. The shooters remained tight and the passers turnover-prone in the second half as Ottawa opened with a 9-2 run on a pair of Gonthier-Dubue buckets in the blocks and Mehdi Tihani trey. The Western Canadian officials soon decided to whistle their unique style of game again (endless touch fouls) and the Thunderwolves again began parading to the line and drew within 46-44 before Warren Ward notched an old-fashioned three-point play off a circus shot to give the Gee-Gees a 49-44 lead heading into the final quarter. The players on both squads were often left shaking their head in bewilderment at the foul calls in the fourth quarter as Lakehead rallied to take a 60-53 lead with five minutes to play, primarily off an 11-0 run, including nine unanswered points from Jones. Gonthier-Dubue countered with three free throws and a layup, while L’Africain notched a short jumper off a rebound with 19 seconds to play to rally the Gee-Gees within 62-60. Jones hit a pair of free throws. Gonthier-Dubue countered with a putback rebound before Jones iced the upset with another pair of free throws with 6.0 seconds on the clock. “That’s what I do; I come off the bench and provide that spark. My team looks for me to take over and that’s exactly what I did. They gave me all the shots and I knocked ‘em down. They pressed me up and I took it to the hole strong every time,” said Jones. “We’re going to be fearless. We’re not going to back down for anyone, doesn’t matter who you are.” St. Patrick’s product Greg Carter, who popped his shoulder out of its socket shortly before the final buzzer but expects to play in the final, said the Thunderwolves stuck to their defensive guns. “We just played defence and we rebounded well down the stretch, got some key boards. That was pretty much our game plan.” Lakehead coach Scott Morrison said Jones, Carter and the other four fifth-year Thunderwolves seniors simply didn’t want to end their season. And when Jones hit one on his treys in the final frame, “we got rolling again. … I think our defence was pretty good tonight. Even some of the buckets they got were tough shots. And that was kind of our goal, to limit their easy ones, try to make them work for it.” Gee-Gees coach James Derouin said his troops didn’t adjust well to the Western-style officiating. “It’s frustrating because we play all season and the kids know only one way to play because we play 30 games under that style. But we did lose our composure and we took some really dumb fouls. But credit to the Lakehead defence. Knowing the three-point shot is such a major thing for our offence and for our team throughout the season. I thought we rushed some shots and we didn’t make the looks that we’ve been making all year. … We may have been just a little over-aroused I thought at times and making poor decisions out there.” The score was knotted at 16 after one quarter. Ottawa led 49-44 after three quarters. Morrison noted that “people have been writing us off all year. That’s what we love; we love when people write us off.” Jones, a product of Washington, D.C., said “my teammates look for me to step up; they told me I needed to step up and that’s what I did. I wasn’t going to let them down.” Morrison said Jones “can look like the worst player in the world at times, but those times are not when the game is on the line. I have my own personal rule; I don’t lose a game with [Jones] on the bench. If I’m going to lose a game he’s going to be on the floor because he’s a guy who fights to the buzzer.” Derouin said “they fought harder than us.” Jones was chosen player of the game for Lakehead, while Warren Ward earned the laurels for the Gee-Gees. Joseph Jones paced the Thunderwolves with 24 on 6-13 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 9-11 from the line and 6 boards. Dwayne Harvey added 12 on 5-15 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 2-5 from the line, 7 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Greg Carter added 9 on 2-9 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 5-7 from the line, 5 boards, 4 assists and 4 steals. Matt Schmidt added 8 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. Ben Johnson added 3, along with 2 boards and 2 steals, Yoosrie Salhia 3, along with 4 boards and 2 blocks, Joe Hart 3, along with 4 boards, Brenda King 2, along with 6 boards, and Anthony McIntosh 2, while Joseph Nitychoruk was scoreless. The Thunderwolves hit 21-68 (.309) from the floor, 6-27 (.222) from the arc and 18-27 (.667) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 9 steals, 3 blocks, 15 turnovers and 24 fouls. Warren Ward paced the Gee-Gees with 21 on 7-17 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 7-8 from the line, 10 boards, 4 assists and 3 blocks. Gabriel Gonthier-Dubue notched 11 on 4-10 from the floor, 3-6 from the line and 9 boards. Caleb Agada added 10 on 4-8 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 7 boards. Jordan Vig scored 5 on 2-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 2 boards. Vikas Gill added 3, along with 3 boards, Mehdi Tihani 3, along with 4 boards, and Johnny Berhanemeskel 2, along with 9 boards and 3 blocks, while Ryan Evans, Moe Ismail and Dimitrious Seymour were scoreless. The Gee-Gees hit 22-70 (.314) from the floor, 2-19 (.105) from the arc and 16-24 (.667) from the line, while garnering 55 boards, including 23 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 3 steals, 11 blocks, 15 turnovers and 25 fouls.
It’s often argued that style doesn’t matter. It’s all about the W. Yet, when you play a style that’s more likely to deliver that W, style definitely does matter, as the top-seeded Carleton Ravens demonstrated with a workmanlike 84-69 win over the fifth-seeded Acadia Axemen in the other semi. Carleton dominated the boards over the Axemen by a 50-to-34 margin, hit a trademark 13-of-33 (a .394 percentage) from the arc, and again posed an incredibly balanced attack, as four Ravens hit double figures and two notched double-doubles. Neither the Ravens nor Axemen seriously threatened the scoreboard for 3.5 minutes. But Tyson Hinz hit a free throw, Kyle Smendziuk a putback rebound and Philip Scrubb a trey to get Carleton on track. Acadia, though, rallied within 14-12 by the end of the quarter as post Owen Klassen broke free in the blocks for a layup and then drifted out to the perimeter for a trey. Ottawa products Sean Stoqua and Anthony Ashe hit tough buckets as the Axemen took an 18-17 lead before Thomas Scrubb knocked down his second trey and then flipped in a left-handed circus shot as Carleton regained the lead. Klassen countered with four free throws, and Anthony Sears a pair, while the Axemen defence forced a shot clock violation, as Acadia rallied to a 24-22 lead. The Ravens responded with a 9-2 run, featuring a Hinz trey and another spinning Thomas Scrubb circus shot before Thomas Filigiano notched a trey to draw Acadia within 31-29 at the half. National player of the year Philip Scrubb drained a trey to open the second half, Smendziuk stepped in to take a charge and then notched a putback rebound and the Ravens were soon off and running. Phillip Scrubb notched another trey and attacked with the dribble along the baseline for a breathtaking NBA-quality layup, while Hinz worked free in the blocks for a layup as Carleton extended its lead to 43-31. The Ravens marksmanship, though, briefly went astray and Acadia responded with a 6-0 run before Clinton Springer-Williams picked off a pass for a runout dunk. Philip Scrubb hit another trey, three free throws and then found brother Thomas on kickouts for a pair of treys, and Hinz for a layup in the paint as the Ravens exploded to a 61-45 lead. Carleton’s bread-and-butter standbys – outstanding defensive box-outs on the boards and quick defensive rotations – were, as always, solid down the stretch and they calmly coasted to the comfortable win, though they used up 11 fouls trying to defend Klassen in the post (including four by Dan Penner, four by Kevin Churchill and three by Smendziuk). “We rebounded in spurts and kept battling for the full 40 minutes,” said Hinz. “We just kept wearing them down.” Phillip Scrubb said the Ravens settled down after an inconsistent first half and were able to successfully pound the ball into the paint. “Our confidence kind of wasn’t where it needed to be but Tommy made some big plays for us and then in the second half, once we got the ball to Ty, then everything just opened up.” Thomas Scrubb said the Ravens balance was also a factor. “It was just a bunch of guys stepping up. We weren’t relying on any single person, so it’s tough for defences.” Smart noted the Ravens boardwork on both ends of the floor, in the second half, was exemplary. “It’s easier to dominate the boards when you’re causing help situations. We’re causing more help situations. We were getting the ball down low and then playing out of the kickout and playing off of the one-on-one in the post, which was drawing guys, even if they weren’t doubling, to help situations, which opened up some rebounding lanes for other bigs. Kyle got a couple of big ones. It just opens up some rebounding lanes for us when we actually get the ball near the rim.” Acadia coach Steve Baur said the Ravens relentless pressure undid his troops. “They never let up. Every time we made a mistake, they capitalized on that. And they’re real physical and do a great job chasing all the rebounds. They did a great job being physical on the glass. The announced attendance? 5,011. Smart said “it was tough out there, Acadia is a solid team, they defend very well. We managed to keep ourselves in the game and managed to escape with a two-point lead at the half. The guys settled down in the second half and dominated the boards for the rest of the game.” Phil Scrubb said brother “Tommy (Thomas Scrubb) gave us a boost with a tremendous performance in the first quarter. He really got us fired up when he started making shots when we needed them.” Acadia coach Steve Baur said “Carleton gave us a good lesson with their physical play and consistent ball pursuit. We were caught watching too may rebounds and it ended up costing us on the scoreboard. All we can do now is learn from our loss, get ready for Ottawa and compete for the bronze medal. I expect it to be a very good game.” Thomas Scrubb was chosen player of the game for the Ravens, while Sean Stoqua earned the laurels for the Axemen. Philip Scrubb paced the Ravens with 26 on 7-16 from the floor, 5-12 from the arc, 7-7 from the line and 5 assists. Thomas Scrubb added 20 on 8-12 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc, 5 boards, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Tyson Hinz notched 15 on 4-13 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 6-8 from the line, 11 boards, 2 assists and 4 steals. Clinton Springer-Williams scored 11 on 4-15 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 10 boards. Kewyn Blain added 7 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Kyle Smendziuk scored 4 on 2-4 from the floor and 5 boards. Gavin Resch added 1, while Dan Penner, Kevin Churchill, Jean-Emmanuel Pierre-Charles, Justin Shaver and Connor Wood were scoreless. Churchill nabbed 3 boards and dished 2 assists. The Ravens hit 27-66 (.409) from the floor, 13-33 (.394) from the arc and 17-21 (.810) from the line, while garnering 50 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 6 steals, 3 blocks, 15 turnovers and 22 fouls. Sean Stoqua paced the Axemen with 20 on 6-11 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 6-8 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. Owen Klassen added 17 on 3-9 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 10-12 from the line, 6 boards, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Anthony Ashe notched 11 on 4-10 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 6 boards. Tyler Scott added 10 on 3-18 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 8 boards and 2 steals. Anthony Sears added 5 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 3 steals. Thomas Filigiano added 3, along with 2 boards, and Bradley States 3, along with 2 boards, while Lachlan Gale was scoreless. The Axemen hit 19-59 (.322) from the floor, 8-24 (.333) from the arc and 23-31 (.742) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 4 assists, 10 steals, 3 blocks, 12 turnovers and 22 fouls.
Bronze is such a beautiful colour. Overcoming the atavistic compulsion to crawl under the covers and lick their wounds after a heartbreaking loss in the semi-finals, the third-seeded uOttawa Gee-Gees stiffened their resolve and clipped the fifth-seeded Acadia Axemen 92-85 in overtime to claim third place. Playing together for the last time as unique unit, the Gee-Gees hit 15-of-37 from the arc, including eight treys in the third quarter, to cement a 1-2-3 Ontario University Athletics sweep in the final tournament standings. The Gee-Gees turned the ball over on their first four possessions and fell behind 28-20 after one quarter as Sacred Heart product Anthony Ashe kept draining perimeter jumpers. But Mehdi Tihani came off the bench to score eight unanswered points, including a pair of treys, to knot the score. Axemen post Owen Klassen, though, kept drawing fouls and draining free throws to give Acadia a 38-35 lead at the half. Warren Ward, Johnny Berhanemeskel and Vikas Gill hit consecutive treys as the Gee-Gees took a 46-40 lead early in the second half. Gill added three more from beyond the arc but Acadia kept drilling free throws before Tyler Scott hit a pair from beyond the arc as part of a 10-2 run that gave the Axemen a 68-67 lead with four minutes to play. The teams traded buckets down the stretch before Gonthier-Dubue drew a charge from Klassen (his fifth foul) with a minute to play and the score knotted at 75. Ward hit a tough, fallaway baseline jumper to give uOttawa the lead but Scott answered with a pair of free throws that eventually forced overtime as both teams missed opportunities down the stretch. It was all Tihani in the extra session, as he hit four free throws in the extra session, drew a charge from Sean Stoqua and set up Gonthier-Dubue in the blocks. Berhanemeskel added a big trey with 47 seconds to play and Ward hit three free throws to ice it. “We wanted to finish that for our seniors,” said Tihani. “Coach told us to play loose, despite shooting just 2-of-19 from the arc in the semi-finals, and I was just shooting the ball with confidence.” Ward was ecstatic to end his career on a winning note. “I guess (gold) just wasn’t meant to be for us. It is what it is. But I’m proud of my guys the way we went out.” Coach James Derouin was elated by the Gee-Gees “let-it-fly” approach from the arc. “It’s the first time in the history of our program that we’ve medaled at nationals. There’ll still be some comfort there,” he added. Acadia coach Steve Baur said his troops gave up too many uncontested looks. “Once you get shots like, you get into a rhythm and we kind of allowed that to happen.” Tihani said “we were told to try and play loose so I went out there and tried to just shoot the ball with confidence. Luckily shots were falling so it worked out.” Derouin said “I felt like we played a lot better tonight because we just let the shots fly from beyond the arc and it worked out because that’s the kind of team we are. It’s just what we do best. I have to be very positive because moving forward we can see that there is a good foundation of players in this team. I’m excited for the years to come.” Ward finished up his career by noting “to be part of this culture and group of people has really transformed me from a kid to man and it is a really great feeling. I have the utmost faith in this team for the years to come. I want to thank the fans for the support they have shown in my tenure here because they have been great to me. … Never quit. When a mountain gets put in your way climb it, get to the top and run back down.” The game got feisty midway through the second half, as Owen Klassen got tangled with two Gee-Gees inside the paint while trying to grab an offensive rebound. A small scrum ensued, with Anthony Ashe and Ward jawing with one another as the officials sorted out the foul situation. “Watch yourself,” Ward told Ashe multiple times. The altercation seemed to ignite Ottawa. In particular, six-foot-seven forward Vikas Gill. The Stittsville, Ont., native got hot in the third quarter with four treys. The Gee-Gees just kept bombing. “I was okay with it, that’s what we do,” Derouin said. “Today, when we had a chance to get a three, we just let them fly.” Tihani took over the game in the extra frame, scoring six points, including two free throws late to put things beyond reach. “He was unbelievable tonight,” Derouin said. Mehdi Tihani was chosen player of the game for the Gee-Gees, while Anthony Ashe earned the laurels for the Axemen. Mehdi Tihani paced the Gee-Gees with 23 on 6-9 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 8-8 from the line, 2 boards and 3 steals. Warren Ward added 16 on 6-13 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 8 boards and 7 assists. Gabriel Gonthier-Dubue added 14 on 3-8 from the floor, 8-12 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Vikas Gill notched 14 on 5-14 from the floor, 4-9 from the arc, 3 boards and 3 assists. Johnny Berhanemeskel added 12 on 4-9 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc, 5 boards and 6 assists. Caleb Agada added 8 on 3-7 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 3 boards and 3 steals. Moe Ismail added 5, while Mike L’Africain, Jordan Vig, Ryan Evans and Dimitrios Seymour were scoreless. The Gee-Gees hit 28-68 (.412) from the floor, 15-37 (.405) from the arc and 21-26 (.808) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 21 assists, 6 steals, 2 blocks, 18 turnovers and 25 fouls. Owen Klassen paced the Axemen with 20 on 4-11 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 12-19 from the line, 6 boards and 3 assists. Tyler Scott added 18 on 6-11 from the floor, 4-8 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards and 2 steals. Anthony Ashe added 15 on 4-12 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 6-8 from the line, 7 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Anthony Sears added 11 on 5-11 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2 boards and 3 steals. Sean Stoqua scored 10 on 3-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Bradley States scored 6 on 2-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-5 from the line and 3 boards. Thomas Filigiano added 2, along with 4 boards, Lachlan Gale 2 and Shaquille Smith 1, while A.J. Simmonds and Jonathan Tull were scoreless. The Axemen hit 26-57 (.456) from the floor, 6-20 (.300) from the arc and 27-40 (.675) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 11 steals, 5 blocks, 16 turnovers and 28 fouls.
Excellence is a nebulous notion but when a team captures a record ninth championship in 11 campaigns, it’s entitled to constantly redefine the concept. It can even do so with a single game, as the Carleton Ravens demonstrated by being alternately sublime, scintillating, yet unstintingly Carleton-like, while annihilating the Lakehead Thunderwolves 92-42 in the title bout. In the course of doing so, the Ravens also set new championship records for the largest ever winning scoring margin in a final (50 points, topping the 24-point wins by Windsor over UBC in 1964 and Acadia over Manitoba in 1971) and lowest opponent’s output (42, topping the 48 that Carleton contained Concordia to in 2005 and the 48 points that Acadia held Manitoba to in 1971). The Ravens reacted to the win with the usual array of emotions, from elation to relief, although there was a bit of melancholy from fifth-year senior Kyle Smendziuk over the conclusion of his career. “It’ll take some time to set in” that it’s the end of five years of slogging daily in practice, he said. “I’m going to miss the guys, though, that’s for sure. … Success breeds success. We have 18, 19 guys competing their asses off every day in practice, so it’s definitely easy to get your mentality straight. Even if you come to practice and you don’t want to be there that day, there’s 18 other guys there that are getting you going.” Brock transfer Clinton Springer-Williams was floating over his first national title. “I can’t explain the feeling. It’s amazing. My friends are here. My family’s here. It’s unreal.” Post Tyson Hinz said the ultimate reward justified the constant grinding effort. “It’s tough to put in words. But at the end, after all the extra practices, all the extra shooting, you get this incredible feeling, which always make it worth it.” Were the Ravens that good? Or the Wolves that bad? “I’d say we’re that good,” said tournament MVP Thomas Scrubb. “We just went out and played hard and good things happen when you do that.” Coach Dave Smart rejected the suggestion that the win makes him a coaching legend, having now surpassed Ken Shields championship total of eight while at Victoria during the mid-1980s. “Comparing myself to Ken Shields, it’s just not a fair comparison. Ken was a groundbreaker in Canadian basketball. I followed what he had already set. He and Jack Donohue are the guys who really have changed Canadian basketball. … I still consider Ken a mentor in many ways. We talk, probably 15-20 times a year. He gives me solicited advice and he sometimes gives me unsolicited advice. I generally take his advice and sometimes I don’t like his advice but he’s generally right.” Shields would doubtless have advised the Ravens to put their foes on their heels early, as they did by exploding to an 11-0 lead as Thomas Scrubb hit a pair of treys, Springer-Williams added a third and Hinz posted up for a bucket, while their sticky, bulldog defence held Lakehead scoreless for nearly six minutes. Matthew Schmidt finally drained a trey to break the Thunderwolves bagel, and though the Ravens were a trifle slow to close out on perimeter shooters and their adrenaline forced a few overheated passes, they soon ripped off another run, of the 10-0 variety, to extend their lead to 28-8. They stretched the margin to 23 while continuing to dominate the boards and move the ball with aplomb before a late flurry drew Lakehead within 40-19 heading into the lockers. The Ravens ran their lead to a breathtaking 35 points midway through the second half on a Thomas Scrubb runner, a Dan Penner trey and two buckets in the blocks, as well as pair of free throws apiece from Phillip Scrubb and Hinz. The Wolves were left reeling in complete confusion. Problem was, it soon got worse. Springer-Williams, Penner, Connor Wood, Philip Scrubb (a pair) and Gavin Resch (a pair) drained treys as the lead was stretched to mind-boggling 48 points. Then bedlam erupted in the final seconds when Justin Shaver notched a bucket in the blocks to make it 50. Philip Scrubb said the Ravens put together their best overall effort of the season. “We knew it was going to be tough, so we knew had to come out hard and I think we did a pretty good job.” Hinz said “we had a few lapses defensively, but it was a pretty good performance.” Lakehead coach Scott Morrison said the Thunderwolves were could hold their heads high for having simply made the final. “Things didn’t go right today and to beat Carleton, you gotta be perfect.” Was it the Ravens best effort of the season? Smart graded his troops defence and boardwork as solid, but questioned their offensive decision-making. “Defensively, it was as good as could be expected. Rebounding-wise, it was as good as could be expected. But offensively, we still, I’m not saying threw away a couple of possessions but threw away a few where we didn’t run the stuff that we should have run. I mean, it’s just a case, we (need to) get more confident in terms of our stuff.” To that end, Smart said he’ll meet with members of the team by Wednesday to go over tape and start identifying skills that need improvement. “As well as we played, we’re still not making comfortable decisions. We’re still doing things on talent, not on necessarily the perfect reads.” It’s also “a case of can we put some fear in these guys where we can take it to a level where they can be better than last year’s team,” he added. “It was an interesting season for myself and the team. I had no idea how it was going to turn out. I demand so much from players every season and this year was not an exception. We had some good days and bad days. To see the players come together and work so hard for this championship is very special.” Thomas Scrubb was chosen player of the game for the Ravens, while Joseph Jones earned the laurels for the Thunderwolves. Thomas Scrubb paced the Ravens with 17 on 7-12 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 8 boards and 2 assists. Philip Scrubb added 15 on 4-11 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 5 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Clinton Springer-Williams notched 13 on 4-11 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 7 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Tyson Hinz added 11 on 3-10 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 8 boards and 4 assists. Dan Penner added 10 on 4-6 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc and 5 boards. Kewyn Blain scored 8 on 4-10 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 4 boards and 2 assists. Gavin Resch added 6 on 2-2 from the arc. Kevin Churchill notched 4 on 2-4 from the floor, 4 boards and 3 assists. Connor Wood added 3, along with 3 assists, Kyle Smendziuk 3, along with 6 boards, and Justin Shaver 2, while Jean-Emmanuel Pierre-Charles was scoreless. The Ravens hit 33-73 (.452) from the floor, 15-26 (.577) from the arc and 11-14 (.786) from the line, while garnering 57 boards, including 23 on the offensive glass, 22 assists, 9 steals, 4 blocks, 10 turnovers and 18 fouls. Dwayne Harvey paced the Thunderwolves with 10 points on 5-14 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 0-3 from the line, 10 boards and 2 assists. Joe Hart added 7 on 2-10 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 2 assists. Matt Schmidt scored 6 on 2-4 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 2 boards. Brendan King added 5 on 2-4 from the floor and 1-3 from the arc. Ben Johnson scored 4 on 1-8 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Joseph Jones added 3 on 0-5 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Anthony McIntosh added 3, along with 2 boards, Yoosrie Salhia 2, along with 3 boards, and Joseph Nitychoruk 2, along with 2 boards, while Greg Carter, Alex Robichaud and Nate Wainwright were scoreless. The Thunderwolves hit 15-61 (.246) from the floor, 6-31 (.194) from the arc and 6-17 (.353) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 22 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 14 turnovers and 16 fouls.
The all-tournament team featured MVP Thomas Scrubb (Carleton); Tyson Hinz (Carleton); Joseph Jones (Lakehead); Warren Ward (Ottawa) and Owen Klassen (Acadia).
The bronze medalist uOttawa Gee-Gees: Warren Ward; Vikas Gill; Johnny Berhanemeskel, Gabriel Gonthier-Dubue; Mike L’Africain; Mehdi Tihani; Caleb Agada; Jordan Vig; Moe Ismail; Dimitrios Seymour; Matt Plunkett; Zach Traer; Matt Nelson; Ryan Evans; Akeem Gardner; coach James Derouin; assistant Emil O’Neil; assistant Clarence Porter; assistant Kris Dale; assistant Justin Serresse; strength & conditioning David Labentowicz, therapist Jovanna Smoljanic; therapist Carolyn Smith; SID Jen Elliott; athletic director Luc Gelineau
The silver medalist Lakehead Thunderwolves: Yoosrie Salhia, Dwayne Harvey, Greg Carter, Anthony McIntosh, Joey Nitychoruk, Nathan Wainwright, Ryan Thomson, Ben Johnson, Joe Hart, Matthew Schmidt, Brendan King, Joseph Jones, Alex Robichaud, Brandon Myketa, Jamar Coke, coach Scott Morrison, assistant Matt Erdman; assistant Mark English; assistant Pat Charlebois; assistant Andrew Quirion; assistant Jamie Searle; assistant Nathan Johnson; athletic director Hugh Mullaly; strength & conditioning Adam Kates; strength & conditioning Travis Noel; manager Dillon Verado; manager Christian Mustapic; trainer Amanda Poppe; therapist Kathryn Pearson
The gold medalist Carleton Ravens: Philip Scrubb; Tyson Hinz; Thomas Scrubb; Clinton Springer-Williams; Kyle Smendziuk; Kevin Churchill; Dan Penner; Gavin Resch; Connor Wood; Kewyn Blain; Jean-Emmanuel Pierre-Charles; Ryan Augustine; Guillaume Boucard; Justin Shaver; Cole Penman; Nathaniel Cziranka-Crooks; coach Dave Smart; assistant Rob Smart Jr.; assistant Dean Petridis; assistant Shawn McCleery; assistant Many Furtado; strength & conditioning Andy Stewart; therapist Bruce Marshall; nutritionist Harinder Ghuman; manager Aaron Blakely; SID Christina Atallah; athletic director Jennifer Brenning