| (1) | Ryerson | 79 | ||||||
| (8) | St. Mary’s | 70 | Ryerson | 59 | ||||
| (4) | Alberta | 65 | Dalhousie | 58 | Ryerson | 69 | ||
| (5) | Dalhousie | 67 | ||||||
| —–CARLETON | ||||||||
| (2) | Carleton | 85 | ||||||
| (7) | Calgary | 69 | Carleton | 74 | Carleton | 78 | ||
| (3) | McGill | 63 | McGill | 58 | ||||
| (6) | Manitoba | 53 | ||||||
SEEDING
1. Ryerson Rams (OUA champions: 17-2 regular season / 3-0 playoffs / 22-4 v CIS)
2. Carleton Ravens (OUA finalists: 19-0 regular season / 2-1 playoffs / 27-1 v CIS)
3. McGill Redmen (RSEQ champions: 13-3 regular season / 2-0 playoffs / 21-5 v CIS)
4. Alberta Golden Bears (Canada West champs: 14-6 regular season / 4-1 playoffs / 25-10 v CIS)
5. Dalhousie Tigers (AUS champions: 16-4 regular season / 3-0 playoffs / 27-7 v CIS)
6. Manitoba Bisons (Canada West finalists: 12-8 regular season / 5-1 playoffs / 22-12 v CIS)
7. Calgary Dinos (Canada West bronze medalist – wild card / 16-4 regular season / 3-1 playoffs / 24-5 v CIS)
8. St. Mary’s Huskies (AUS finalists: 13-7 regular season / 2-1 playoffs / 23-10 v CIS)
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Ryerson Rams dispatched the 8th-seeded St. Mary’s Huskies 79-70. The Huskies were within one with two minutes to play but guard Adika Peter-McNeilly notched six straight points to pull out the win. Rams coach Roy Rana wasn’t shocked by the Huskies competitiveness. “There are no surprises at this level, at this stage and you just have to be prepared for everything, lots of crazy things happen, games are never clean. You play it and move on to the next one.” The Rams led 18-10 after one quarter primarily on the marksmanship of Ammanuel Diressa. They extended their margin to 12 before a late 12-4 Huskies run keyed by the offensive boardwork of Achuil Lual, and aggressive attacks off the dribble by Brian Rouse and Theon Reefer, trimmed the lead to 39-35 at the half. Both teams sunk a trio from beyond the arc, including a buzzer beater by Peter McNeilly, as Ryerson took a 59-53 lead into the final frame. Lual and Kemar Alleyne brought the Huskies to within one with treys down the stretch before Peter-McNeilly took command, including a driving hesitation dribble for an and-one and a trey that buried Huskies hopes. Huskies coach Jonah Taussig said “I don’t think there were nerves initially. But we just seemed to get off to a slow start, I mean they got up by 12 in the first quarter and I was super proud of the way the team fought over 40 minutes. I know a lot of people weren’t giving us much of a chance, but no one in our locker room believed that and I didn’t believe it. I thought we could beat these guys…A couple shots down the stretch in the fourth quarter just didn’t fall for us and yeah, that could have been ours.” Ammanuel Diressa was chosen player of the game for the Rams, while Achuil Lual earned the laurels for the Huskies. Ammanuel Diressa paced the Rams with 24 on 5-14 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 10-11 from the line, 7 boards and 4 assists. Adika Peter-McNeilly added 17 on 4-11 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 7-7 from the line, 7 boards and 2 assists. Myles Charvis scored 12 on 6-11 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 5 boards, 5 assists and 5 steals. Filip Vujadinovic added 9 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 2 boards. Adam Voll scored 6 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-6 from the line and 2 boards. Juwon Grannum added 6 on 3-8 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc and 4 boards. Keevon Small scored 4 on 2-6 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc and 2 steals. Chase Vassell added 1 on 1-2 from the line, while Warsame Mohamed and Roshane Roberts were scoreless. The Rams hit 26-63 (.413) from the floor, 7-25 (.280) from the arc and 20-26 (.769) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 4 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 8 steals, 2 blocks, 11 turnovers and 19 fouls. Theon Reefer paced the Huskies with 17 on 7-20 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 11 boards. Brian Rouse added 15 on 6-17 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. Achuil Lual scored 14 on 5-11 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 14 boards. Marquis Clayton scored 10 on 2-9 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 5-7 from the line, 6 boards and 4 assists. Kemar Alleyne added 10 on 3-7 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Will Fiander added 2 on 0-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 5 boards. Brent Martindale scored 2 on 0-1 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards, while Tristan Arthurs and Kordeiro James were scoreless. The Huskies hit 23-70 (.329) from the floor, 4-19 (.211) from the ac and 20-25 (.800) from the line, while garnering 50 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 7 steals, 1 block, 14 turnovers and 20 fouls. The Huskies (coach Jonah Taussig, assistant Damon Cole, assistant Jeff Paris, assistant Brandon Brown, student assistant Adam Dionisopoulos) also included Kadeem Thompson, Alfred Burgesson, Isaiah Thomas, Osman Barrie and Asher Lewis.
The 5th-seeded Dalhousie Tigers edged the 4th-seeded Alberta Golden Bears 67-65 on a layup in traffic by Kashrell Lawrence off a feed from Ritchie Kanza-Mata with 1.4 seconds to play. The Golden Bears led 20-15 after one quarter, primarily on the shooting of guard Lyndon Annetts and a late 7-0 run, featuring a steal and runout layup by Lawrence. But the Tigers clamped down on defence and countered with an 11-0 run in the first four minutes of the second quarter and eventually led 38-36 at the half. Mamadou Gueye caught fire for the Golden Bears in the third quarter, nailing a trey to cap a 12-3 Golden Bear run, as Alberta took a 55-50 lead into the final frame. The Tigers extended their defence full-court in the final frame and effectively prevented the Golden Bears from getting into their offence. Sven Stammberger notched a layup to give the Tigers a 4-point lead with 5 minutes to play but the Bears responded with a 7-1 run capped by a Gueye jumper. Kanza-Mata tied the game on a pull-up with 21 seconds to play and then Golden Bear swingman Mamadou Gueye was whistled for an extraordinarily questionable travel call, setting the stage for Lawrence’s winner. Tigers coach Rick Plato said defence proved the difference down the stretch. “I push these guys, they’re used to it and really in all the close games, it’s really been our trademark.” Alberta coach Barnaby Craddock said “we’re obviously really disappointed. “It was a tough loss and we have to own that. Credit to Dalhousie.” Kashrell Lawrence was chosen player of the game for the Tigers, while Mamadou Gueye earned the laurels for the Golden Bears. Kashrell Lawrence paced the Tigers with 28 on 11-21 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 6-7 from the line, 10 boards and 4 steals. Ritchie Kanza-Mata added 16 on 7-15 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 assists and 2 steals. Sven Stammberger scored 8 on 3-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 8 boards. Jarred Reid added 6 on 2-9 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 8 boards and 2 assists. Jordan Aquino-Serjue added 5 on 2-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 2 steals. Ryall Stroud scored 3 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-3 from the line and 2 boards. Sascha Kappos added 1 on 0-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 2 boards, while Warren Liang and Matt McVeigh were scoreless. The Tigers hit 26-66 (.394) from the floor, 0-13 from the arc and 15-21 (.714) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 14 steals, 1 block, 11 turnovers and 21 fouls. Mamadou Gueye led the Golden Bears with 18 on 6-11 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 5-9 from the line, 6 boards and 2 steals. Lyndon Annetts added 14 on 5-7 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 6 boards. Austin Waddoups added 11 on 3-11 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 3 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Brody Clarke scored 8 on 4-9 from the floor, 8 boards and 2 assists. Brett Roughead added 5 on 2-2 from the floor and 1-2 from the line. Geoff Pippus added 4 on 2-6 from the floor, 7 boards and 2 assists. D’Wan Williams added 3 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Andre Kelly scored 2 on 0-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 2-2 from the line, while Ivan Ikomey was scoreless. The Bears hit 23-52 (.442) from the floor, 3-11 (.273) from the arc and 16-23 (.696) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 6 steals, 22 turnovers and 20 fouls. The Golden Bears (coach Barnaby Craddock, assistant Kent Johnson, assistant Nick Maglisceau, assistant James Jones, assistant Jonathan Verhesen, assistant Habib Ademi, manager Zale Smordin) also included Jonah Weyessa, Sam Newman, Sheldon Pittman, Cole Knudsen and Joel Lutz.
The 2nd-seeded Carleton Ravens mauled the 7th-seeded Calgary Dinos 85-69. “We knew Calgary was going to be a tough matchup,” said Ravens coach Dave Smart. “When it really came down to it in the fourth quarter, I thought our depth did some positive things and I think [Calgary] wore out a little bit at the defensive end. I think that’s a credit to how hard we work throughout to turn it into a 40-minute game.” The Ravens led 26-15 after one quarter after hitting four treys and dominating the boards. The Dinos drew within 8 in the second quarter but Carleton continued to clear the glass and took a 41-31 lead into the lockers. Calgary was more effective in boxing out in the third quarter and rallied to within 62-57 after three quarters. But Connor Wood nailed a pair of treys, and Kaza Kajami-Keane notched an and-one, in a decisive 13-2 Carleton run as the Ravens rebuilt their lead to as many as 17 and coasted to the win. “I thought we battled in the third very well, we started hitting some shots and getting some things on offence that helped us,” said Calgary coach Dan Vanhooren. “And then we ran out of steam part way through the fourth for a bit there and couldn’t sustain the energy level that we needed to be on top of that team.” Connor Wood was chosen player of the game for the Ravens, while Thomas Cooper earned the laurels for the Dinos, who played without forwards Lars Schlueter, Dallas Karch and Matt Ellis (all out with injuries) and were dominated on the glass. Connor Wood paced the Ravens with 16 on 4-11 from the floor, 4-8 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Kaza Kajami-Keane added 16 on 6-13 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 3 boards and 9 assists. Emmanuel Owootoah added 16 on 6-11 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc, 2 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Eddie Ekiyor notched 10 on 5-6 from the floor, 7 boards and 2 assists. Cam Smythe scored 10 on 4-7 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 9 boards and 2 assists. Joe Rocca scored 8 on 3-9 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc and 6 boards. Ryan Ejim added 4 on 2-3 from the floor and 3 boards. Marcus Anderson scored 3 on 1-3 from the floor and 1-3 from the arc. Mitch Wood added 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 3 boards, while T.J. Lall, Mitch Jackson and Stanley Mayambo were scoreless. Mayambo nabbed 3 boards and Lall 1. The Ravens hit 32-69 (.464) from the floor, 14-35 (.400) from the arc and 7-7 from the line, while garnering 48 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 20 assists, 5 steals, 21 turnovers and 23 fouls. Thomas Cooper paced the Dinos with 17 on 6-17 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 6 boards and 4 assists. Mambi Diawara added 15 on 4-9 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 6-8 from the line, 2 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. David Kapinga scored 11 on 3-11 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 2 assists and 2 steals. Mitch Ligertwood added 8 on 3-5 from the floor, 2-3 from the line and 4 boards. Jhony Verrone scored 7 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 steals. Maximilian Eisele added 5 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-1 from the line, 3 assists and 2 steals. Jasdeep Gill scored 4 on 1-1 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Connor Foreman added 2 on 1-2 from the floor. The Dinos hit 22-52 (.423) from the floor, 4-14 (.286) from the arc and 21-28 (.750) from the line, while garnering 24 boards, including 4 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 10 steals, 1 block, 14 turnovers and 15 fouls. The Dinos (coach Dan Vanhooren, assistant Matt Skinn, assistant Sean Foote, assistant Blaine Miciak, assistant Andy Vorhies, manager Dean McCord, strength & conditioning Rich Hesketh) also included Jake Nielson, Aloysius Callaghan, Dallas Karch, Ethan Scott, Lars Schlueter, Sasha Pojuzina, Matthew Ellis, Jeff Rodehutskors and Sunny Johal.
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded McGill Redmen clipped the 6th-seeded Manitoba Bisons 63-53. “The key for all our wins is our defence,” said Redmen coach David DeAveiro. “We held a team today that scores about 80, one of the top-ranked teams offensively in the country and we shut them down and made everything difficult for them. We turned it into a grind it out game and we’re used to playing those games in our conference.” DeAveiro added that Francois Bourque, who notched a double-double “did a great job on both ends of the floor. He continues to be one of the top rebounders in the country and it is hard to find anyone with a better motor than him.” The Redmen led 18-10 after one quarter by parading to the foul line. The Bisons rallied to within 3 before McGill responded with a bucket to take a 35-30 lead into the lockers. The Redmen locked down Manitoba on defence to expand their lead to 46-38 after three quarters. The Bisons fought back within 3 before Jenning Leung ignited a 9-2 run to rebuild the lead to double digits and Dele Ogundokun drilled a trey to bury Bison hopes. Manitoba coach Kirby Schepp said “I’m proud of our effort. I didn’t think our execution was necessarily great today, but the larger picture is we’ve made huge strides as a program and these guys will always go down really in the history of our program as lifting it to a new place, which is great.” Jenning Leung was chosen player of the game for the Redmen, while Keith Omoerah earned the laurels for the Bisons. Bisons guard A.J. Basi told the Winnipeg Sun that “it sucks coming to such a big stage as a team and individually, knowing you didn’t play your best, give your best effort. We didn’t play nearly as good as we could have.” Basi added that he never expected the Bisons to be limited to 53 points. “Maybe 53 points in three quarters, or by half-time. Kudos to their defence, and the ball not being too friendly.” Bisons coach Kirby Schepp said “we played into their hands a little bit. Unfortunately, we just didn’t make plays. Didn’t play all that smart. And that hurt us a little.” Basi said “we made a couple of silly turnovers” early because of nerves. “We’ve played in more hostile environments. So, I don’t think the big stage got to us too much, as much as maybe one might think. Maybe a mix of some early butterflies and some bad luck – we had some open looks not going in. … They kind of beat us up… you’re not going to win many games at this level allowing 17 O-boards. And that fed into keeping us slow. They wanted to play a slow game and we want to get up and down, play a fast tempo. Them crashing the glass sort of slowed down our transition.” Jenning Leung led the Redmen with 13 on 5-15 from the floor, 3-10 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Francois Bourque added 13 on 5-13 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 3-6 from the line, 14 boards and 4 steals. Dele Ogundokun added 9 on 3-9 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Noah Daoust scored 8 on 3-9 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 1-4 from the line and 5 boards. Sebastian Beckett added 8 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 4 boards and 2 steals. Michael Peterkin scored 4 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 7 boards and 2 assists. Avery Cadogan added 4 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 assists. Isaiah Cummins added 2 on 1-2 from the floor. Daniel Pieper scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor. The Redmen hit 23-63 (.365) from the floor, 6-28 (.214) from the arc and 11-22 from the line, while garnering 45 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 7 steals, 1 block, 14 turnovers and 17 fouls. Keith Omoerah paced the Bisons with 13 on 6-9 from the floor, 1-3 from the line, 9 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Amarjit Basi added 13 on 5-14 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Justus Alleyn added 9 on 3-9 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards and 2 steals. Ilarion Bonhomme scored 4 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-1 from the line, 6 boards and 2 assists. Brett Jewell added 5 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards. Joey Nitychoruk added 4 on 2-5 from the floor and 2 boards. Jonathan Alexander added 2 on 1-2 from the floor. James Wagner scored 2 on 1-4 from the floor, while Malik Irwin was scoreless, nabbed 2 boards and pilfered 2 balls. The Bisons hit 22-55 (.400) from the floor, 2-8 (.250) from the arc and 7-10 from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 4 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 11 steals, 3 blocks, 14 turnovers and 18 fouls. The Bisons (coach Kirby Schepp, assistant Don Fowler, assistant Grant Richter, assistant Mike Page, assistant Suk Singh, assistant Herve Vincent, strength & conditioning Shawn Preston, director operations Tyler Penner, manager of personnel Hudson Isaac, manager Narv Mulchand, manager Nick Stewner, analytics Luke Penner, therapist Byron Bahniuk, student therapist Darin Soung, student therapist Richard Libera) also included Keiran Zziwa, Keenan Benarroch, Raj Sidhu, Dharmjit Dhillon, Cameron O’Hara, Osahon Eghosa, Joel Adu Quaye, Zach Giesbrecht and David Mugugu.
In the semis, the top-seeded Ryerson Rams nipped the 5th-seeded Dalhousie Tigers 59-58. “It was a special win, I don’t think it’s really all soaked in for us because we’re already moving on for tomorrow. We’ll savour it for a little bit in the locker room and then get on the bus and try to get better,” Rams coach Roy Rana told Canadian Press. Rana added that reserved forward Filip Vujadinovic was proved the difference. “I said in the locker-room, right now that the game ball goes to him. I think right from the tip in the first half, his energy ignited us and he made some big plays in the fourth quarter.” Vujadinovic said “I was just trying to be physical, that was my game plan coming in. I knew they were strong, I saw them against Alberta and I knew that it was going to be a tough game, a physical game. I ended up getting some open shots, some open layups, and I just made the most of my opportunity.” Trailing by one with 11 seconds to play, the Tigers missed an opportunity to win it when a Kashrell Lawrence trey went astray. “We had a play called that we were going to do if we were down three, and with the noise, they couldn’t hear that we changed it,” Tigers coach Rick Plato said. “It would’ve been a difference if (guard) Jordan (Aquino-Serjue) would’ve just taken the ball to the basket and at least try to draw the foul, because we were only down by one — we didn’t need a three. You could find one point or two points in a hundred spots in that game, I just feel so bad for our guys, it’s tough.” The Tigers led 16-9 after one quarter as the Rams repeatedly turned over the ball. But Adika Peter-McNeilly elevated his game on both ends of the floor in the second quarter. With 3:30 to play, he raced to block a dunk attempt from Dalhousie’s Sven Stammberger and then the Rams took their first lead. But Jarred Reid notched a trey to give the Tigers a 29-27 lead at the break. Ryerson opened the second half with a 7-2 run. Dalhousie responded with a 7-2 run. But the Rams offence went sour and they trailed 42-40 after three quarters. The Rams opened the final frame with a personal 6-0 run by Ammanuel Diressa and led by 5 with 5 minutes to play after Vujadinovic scored 8 straight. Kashrell Lawrence rallied the Tigers with 56-54 with two minutes on the clock and then Stammberger hit a pair from the line to draw Dal within 59-58. Peter-McNeilly stepped on the sideline after being double-teamed in the corner on the ensuing inbounds play, setting the stage for Lawrence’s final shot. Rana said “from day one we’ve been talking about the mental side and what it takes to win big games. We’ve had some heartbreakers in the last three or four seasons and it’s special to see this group be able to figure out (a) way.” Adika Peter-McNeilly was chosen player of the game for the Rams, while Kashrell Lawrence earned the laurels for the Tigers. Filip Vujadinovic paced the Rams with 16 on 7-12 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals. Ammanuel Diressa added 15 on 5-14 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. Adika Peter-McNeilly added 13 on 4-10 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 7 boards and 3 steals. Juwon Grannum added 9 on 3-8 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 4 boards. Myles Charvis added 3 on 1-7 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 1-3 from the line, 6 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Keevon Small added 3 on 1-5 from the arc and 7 boards, while Adam Voll, Roshane Roberts and Chase Vassell were scoreless. The Rams hit 21-59 (.356) from the floor, 5-27 (.185) from the arc and 12-14 (.857) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 7 assists, 10 steals, 2 blocks, 21 turnovers and 19 fouls. Kashrell Lawrence paced the Tigers with 16 on 6-16 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 4-5 from the line, 8 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Sven Stammberger added 14 on 4-10 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 4 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Jarred Reid added 13 on 5-10 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 8 boards and 3 steals. Ritchie Kanza Mata added 9 on 4-9 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 2 boards and 6 assists. Matt McVeigh scored 3 on 1-3 from the arc. Jordan Aquino-Serjue added 2 on 1-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Ryall Stroud added 1 on 0-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals, while Warren Liang, Quinn Brown and Sascha Kappos were scoreless. The Tigers hit 21-57 (.368) from the floor, 6-18 (.333) from the arc and 10-15 from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 12 steals, 20 turnovers and 17 fouls.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Carleton Ravens crushed the 3rd-seeded McGill Redmen 74-58. Ravens coach Dave Smart said his troops boardwork proved the difference. “[McGill] is probably the best rebounding team in the country if we’re not. If you can frustrate someone at what they do better than anyone else, then it tends to frustrate them in other facets too. I thought we did a great job attacking the boards and putting them on their heels.” McGill opened with a trey by Jenning Leung but Marcus Anderson and Emmanuel Owootoah each countered with treys as Carleton moved ahead 12-10. Cam Smythe hit a 9-foot jumper and Connor Wood a bucket on a take to the rim as the Ravens moved ahead 18-13 after one quarter. Leung again opened a frame with a trey but the Ravens responded with a 6-0 run and then another drive and finish from Owootoah and an Eddie Ekiyor runout gave Carleton a 32-23 lead. The Ravens closed out the half with a 7-0 run featuring a Wood trey to take a 43-26 lead into the lockers. The combined 17-3 run all but put the game on ice for the Ravens. Carleton’s Eddie Ekiyor opened the second half with a two-hand jam, but Redmen Dele Ogundokun and Sebastian Beckett responded promptly with treys to cut the Ravens margin to 8. A Kaza Kajami-Keane finger roll and an Eddie Ekiyor putback in traffic at the buzzer gave Carleton a 60-47 lead after three quarters. The Redmen cancelled out Connor Wood’s early three with a 7-2 run to make it a nine-point game, but a missed defensive assignment left Wood open at the top of the arc where he nailed his fourth triple of the contest to make it 68-54, putting the outcome out of McGill’s reach. McGill coach David DeAveiro said “we’re disappointed in the loss, but when you’re building a program, you’re building small steps. It was important for us to go out in the second half and compete and try and make it a game and I thought we did that. We had it down to 10 or maybe eight at one point, but you can’t make mistakes – you give a couple offensive boards, then they throw it out and make open threes. Those kill your momentum.” Smart said “we for whatever reason, upped the intensity defensively. Sometimes it helps when they’re a little bit into their bench and you up the intensity defensively and all of a sudden, we get some stops, we got a couple turnovers and then we get out in transition.” Connor Wood was chosen player of the game for the Ravens, while Dele Ogundokun earned the laurels for the Redmen. Connor Wood paced the Ravens with 20 on 7-14 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 5 boards. Kaza Kajami-Keane added 16 on 6-17 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 4-5 from the line, 5 boards, 7 assists and 3 steals. Eddie Ekiyor added 10 on 3-8 from the floor, 4-4 from the line, 6 boards and 2 steals. Emmanuel Owootoah added 10 on 4-9 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 3 boards. Cam Smythe scored 6 on 3-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 4 boards. Marcus Anderson added 5 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 2 boards. Ryan Ejim scored 3 on 1-1 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 2 boards. Mitch Wood added 2 on 1-3 from the floor and 5 boards. Joe Rocca scored 2 on 0-1 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 2 boards, while T.J. Lall, Mitch Jackson and Stanley Mayambo were scoreless. The Ravens hit 26-65 (.400) from the floor, 7-19 (.368) from the arc and 15-19 (.789) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 6 steals, 9 turnovers and 16 fouls. Jenning Leung paced the Redmen with 13 on 4-10 from the floor, 4-9 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Michael Peterkin added 11 on 4-8 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 3 boards. Dele Ogundokun scored 10 on 4-12 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 7 boards and 5 assists. Sebastian Beckett added 8 on 2-4 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 4 boards. Francois Bourque scored 7 on 2-3 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 6 boards. Isaiah Cummins added 4 on 1-1 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 2 assists. Avery Cadogan scored 3 on 1-5 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 1-3 from the line. Noah Daoust added 2 on 0-5 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. The Redmen hit 18-48 (.375) from the floor, 8-26 (.308) from the arc and 14-23 (.609) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks, 11 turnovers and 15 fouls.
In the bronze medal match, the 5th-seeded Dalhousie Tigers defeated the 3rd-seeded McGill Redmen 69-63 to earn their first CIS medal in history. Trailing 50-42 after three quarters, the Tigers shifted to a full-court press, forced 7 McGill turnovers and ripped off a 17-8 run, taking the lead with less than three minutes to play and pulling away down the stretch. “I’ve told them all along that we might not have the best accumulation of basketball players, but we’ve got the best team in my mind,” Tigers coach Rick Plato said. “They care for one another and I just wanted it for them. … These guys are going away in their last university game as winners and they’re going to remember it for the rest of their life.” The Redmen led 17-13 after one quarter as their pressure defence hounded Dalhousie into miscues. They opened the second quarter with a 13-2 run and dominated the boards before Sven Stammberger notched a personal 6-0 run to draw the Tigers within 32-25 at the half. Dalhousie opened the second half with a 14-6 run, featuring a Stammberger trey, to take their first lead but Jenning Leung notched 5 as the Redmen fought back to take their 8-point lead after three quarters. Redmen coach David DeAveiro said “yeah, I’m disappointed with today’s outcome, but Dalhousie was a very good opponent today, they did a lot of things we couldn’t handle today. Their press changed the whole style of the game and we didn’t have an answer for it. It felt like they had seven guys on the court at times.” Sven Stammberger was chosen player of the game for the Tigers, while Jenning Leung earned the laurels for the Redmen. Sven Stammberger paced the Tigers with 20 on 7-15 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 5-7 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Jordan Aquino-Serjue added 10 on 4-10 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 2 boards. Ritchie Kanza Mata added 9 on 0-4 from the floor, 9-11 from the line, 3 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Kashrell Lawrence scored 9 on 4-12 from the floor, 1-4 from the line, 4 boards and 3 steals. Jarred Reid added 8 on 0-5 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 8-9 from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals. Sascha Kappos scored 8 on 3-5 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Warren Liang added 3 on 1-1 from the arc. Ryall Stroud scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 3 boards, while Matt McVeigh and Kevin Duong were scoreless. The Tigers hit 20-54 (.370) from the floor, 2-8 (.222) from the arc and 27-37 (.730) from the line, while garnering 28 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 11 steals, 9 turnovers and 20 fouls. Jenning Leung paced the Redmen with 17 on 5-7 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 2 steals. Francois Bourque scored 14 on 6-9 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 9 boards and 3 assists. Dele Ogundokun added 13 on 5-13 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Michael Peterkin scored 9 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 10 boards and 2 assists. Noah Daoust added 5 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 6 boards and 2 assists. Sebastian Beckett scored 5 on 2-4 from the floor and 1-2 from the line, while Isaiah Cummins, Daniel Pieper, Avery Cadogan and Gregoire Trahan were scoreless. Cummins nabbed 2 boards, while Pieper dished 2 assists. The Redmen hit 23-46 from the floor, 8-18 (.444) from the arc and 9-13 (.692) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 21 turnovers and 30 fouls.
In the final, the 2nd-seeded Carleton Ravens smacked the top-seeded Ryerson Rams 78-69 to capture 7th consecutive W.P. McGee Trophy and 13th in 15 years. Ravens coach Dave Smart told Canadian Press that the team’s post play was the difference. “We got what we wanted down low, and then we got a couple open threes when they started digging. The fact that we had never really gone through the post all year, I don’t think (Ryerson) really had a plan once we started scoring down there.” Rams coach Roy Rana said ““I just don’t think we were as good offensively as we were last week (in the OUA final). We made a run in the fourth to make it a game, and we just didn’t execute when we had our opportunities and they came back and made some big plays and that was the difference in the game.” The Ravens led 19-13 after one quarter, quickly extended their lead to double-digits and took a 39-28 lead into the lockers. The Ravens opened the third with a 15-5 run to stretch their advantage to as many as 24 before Ryerson rallied with a 15-0 run. But Ryan Ejim nailed a trey to give Carleton a 63-51 lead after three quarters. The Rams kept the pressure on in the fourth and buckled down on the defensive end, and a tip-in from Voll made it a six-point game with 4:20 to play. Another put-back by Voll with 1:22 to play drew the Rams within 6. But Carleton pounced on a couple of key Ryerson turnovers down the stretch, and Connor Wood, the U Sports player of the year, converted a three-point play with 19 seconds left to clinch the victory. Kaza Kajami-Keane said Ryan Ejim was enormous. “Ryan had the biggest game, he helped us out so much and I’m so proud of him. People have been doubting him … but the game we need him the most, he steps up and does what we need.” Smart told PostMedia that “really what we try to do is just defend and when we defend, good things happen. Their guys are pretty good. We hadn’t really gone through our posts this year and we made the decision that we were going to spend the first five minutes going through the posts and see how they responded. We got what we wanted down low. … There’s a lot of ups and downs in a season. Even when we were winning we had some struggles and we’ve gone through a lot. Individually, guys go through a lot. The loss last week to Ryerson was kind of a wake-up call that we had sort of gone down a bad path. We only had four days to respond and I thought we did a pretty good job. We never really got comfortable offensively, but I thought we got back to what our identity was in the past, which is really hard to play against and really tough.” Rana said “we struggled to score for stretches, we made a run in the fourth to make it a game, but just didn’t execute when we had our opportunities. They came back and made some big plays and that was the difference. It’s just how we game plan and how we play D. (Ammaneul Diressa)’s been great and able to do a good job on him (Connor Wood). We contained him but other guys stepped up for them.” Connor Wood said of earning his fifth national title, joining former Ravens Osvaldo Jeanty, Gavin Resch, Guillaume Boucard and Thomas and Phillip Scrubb, plus two Victoria players, Eli Pasquale and David Sheehan, that “it’s amazing, it’s really special. I was talking to Oz before and he was like ‘You got to get five, got to get five,’ so it feels pretty good to get that. When I got here, I knew it was a good program but I didn’t think we’d win every single year, I assumed at some point we’d lose.” Ryan Ejim paced the Ravens with 19 on 7-12 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 9 boards and 2 assists. Kaza Kajami-Keane added 15 on 6-12 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 11 boards and 4 assists. Emmanuel Owootoah added 12 on 4-7 from the arc, 6 boards and 3 assists. Joe Rocca scored 8 on 2-4 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Connor Wood added 6 on 1-8 from the floor, 0-7 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Eddie Ekiyor notched 6 on 2-6 from the floor, 2-5 from the line, 4 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Cam Smythe added 5 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. Mitch Wood scored 4 on 2-5 from the floor and 2 boards. Stanley Mayambo added 3 on 1-1 from the arc, while Mitch Jackson and Marcus Anderson were scoreless. The Ravens hit 27-62 (.435) from the floor, 8-28 (.286) from the arc and 16-21 (.762) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 5 steals, 1 block, 14 turnovers and 18 fouls. Adika Peter-McNeilly paced the Rams with 23 on 8-19 from the floor, 3-11 from the arc, 4-8 from the line, 4 boards and 2 steals. Adam Voll added 12 on 5-10 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 9 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Ammanuel Diressa scored 11 on 4-14 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 7 boards. Myles Charvis scored 9 on 2-6 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 2 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Roshane Roberts added 5 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 2 boards. Juwon Grannum added 3 on 1-7 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc and 3 boards. Filip Vujadinovic scored 3 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 4 boards. Keevon Small added 3 on 1-3 from the arc and 2 assists. The Rams hit 24-68 (.353) from the floor, 10-38 (.263) from the arc and 11-17 (.647) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 7 steals, 2 blocks, 14 turnovers and 15 fouls.
The all-tournament team featured: MVP David Kapinga (Calgary); Eddie Ekiyor (Carleton); Alex Paquin (McGill); Manny Diressa (Ryerson); and Mambi Diawara (Calgary).
The bronze medalist Dalhousie Tigers: Warren Liang; Jarred Reid; Adam Karmali; Sven Stammberger; Alex Carson; Ross Crichton; Cedric Sanogo; Ritchie Kanza Mata; Jordan Aquino-Serjue; Matt McVeigh; Ryall Stroud; Sascha Kappos; Kevin Duong; Kashrell Lawrence; Ryan Harnett; Quinn Brown; Spencer Cottrelle; coach Rick Plato; assistant Anton Berry; assistant Chad Wadden; strength & conditioning Kris Andrews; manager Andrea Plato; athletic director Tim Maloney
The silver medalist Ryerson Rams: Ammanuel Diressa; Jamal Jabril; Roshane Roberts; Chase Vassell; Adam Voll; Filip Vujadinovic; Theodrose Demeke; Brandon Bilbija; Keevon Small; Myles Charvis; Adika Peter-McNeilly; Juwon Grannum; Jovan Leamy; Shiv Padam; coach Roy Rana; assistant Borko Popic; assistant Wayne Bridge; assistant Adeel Sahibzada; video coordinator Nooh Abdi; manager Jon Gerow; statistician Mohammed Haroon; student therapist Victor Lanzillotta
The champion Carleton Ravens: Connor Wood; Kaza Kajami-Keane; Eddie Ekiyor; Ryan Ejim; Emmanual Owootoah; Tajinder Lall; Mitchell Jackson; Cameron Smythe; Mitchell Wood; Stanley Mayambo; Joe Rocca; Marcus Anderson; Yasiin Joseph; William Kohler; Dontae Mitchell; Glenn Thelemaque; coach Dave Smart; assistant Rob Smart Jr.; assistant Dean Petridis; assistant Osvaldo Jeanty; assistant Greg McManus; assistant Aaron Blakely; assistant Richard Anderson; assistant Jafeth Maseruka; assistant Willy Manigat; therapist Bruce Marshall; athletic director Jen Brenning