| (1) | Ryerson | 109 | ||||||
| (8) | U.B.C. | 101 | Ryerson | 87 | ||||
| (4) | Calgary | 72 | Calgary | 98 | Calgary | 79 | ||
| (5) | McGill | 69 | ||||||
| —–CARLETON | ||||||||
| (2) | Carleton | 91 | ||||||
| (7) | Thompson Rivers | 75 | Carleton | 76 | Carleton | 101 | ||
| (3) | Ottawa | 83 | Dalhousie | 66 | ||||
| (6) | Dalhousie | 88 |
SEEDING
1. Ryerson Rams (OUA champions: 17-2 regular season / 3-0 playoffs, 24-3 v CIS)
2. Carleton Ravens (OUA finalists: 16-3 regular season / 2-1 playoffs, 22-4 v CIS)
3. Ottawa Gee-Gees (OUA bronze medalists, wildcard: 17-2 regular season / 2-1 playoffs, 29-5 v CIS)
4. Calgary Dinos (CWUAA champions: 17-3 regular season / 4-0 playoffs, 28-6 v CIS)
5. McGill Redmen (RSEQ champions: 12-4 regular season / 2-0 playoffs, 22-5 v CIS)
6. Dalhousie Tigers (AUS champions: 13-7 regular season / 2-0 playoffs, 19-8 v CIS)
7. Thompson Rivers Wolfpack (CWUAA finalists: 16-4 regular season / 4-1 playoffs, 18-5 v CIS)
8. U.B.C. Thunderbirds (CWUAA bronze medalists, host: 16-4 regular season / 3-1 playoffs, 22-6 v CIS)
In the quarterfinals, held at Vancouver’s Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, the top-seeded Ryerson Rams outlasted the 8th-seeded University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 109-101 in overtime. U.B.C. guard and German import Phil Jalapoor drained a trio from beyond the arc as the Thunderbirds took a 27-18 lead after one quarter. The T’Birds stretched their lead to 15 before Adika Peter-McNeilly caught fire midway through the second quarter, hitting two treys and three free throws, as Ryerson rallied with a 20-5 run to knot the score at 40. U.B.C. rallied to a 47-43 lead at the half and then Jordan Jensen-Whyte delivered a slam to cap a 9-0 Birds run. On the back of a 15-point third quarter from Wagner, the ‘Birds opened up a 76-62 with just 49 ticks left in the frame. But Ryerson reeled off a 6-0 run of their own to end the third, including another trey from Peter-McNally. The Rams continued to close on the ‘Birds in the final frame, and finally squared it up 90-90, the final push coming on a three-point dagger from Mukama with just 29 seconds remaining. Ryerson took command in overtime. A steal-turned-dunk from third-year guard and player of the game Jean-Victor Mukama on the heels of a Roshane Roberts three gave the Rams a seven-point lead in the final frame, and they never looked back. “I think what really happened is that the depth was the difference,” UBC coach Kevin Hanson told CIS. “I think they’ve got 10 or 11 guys who are solid, and a bunch of those guys, I think, are NCAA D-1 caliber guys, and I think are guys got a little bit tired. I thought we played, I thought it was the best game of the year for us.” Jensen-Whyte said “the key thing was just to make sure that we left it all out on the floor and worked as hard as we could. I think we did that, and they played a good game. It’s too bad we fell a little short.” Rams coach Patrick Tatham said “the guys are completely tenacious and resilient. They held their composure – at the very last second JV, MVP of the game, gets a three by chance, and we just pull it out, really.” Adika Peter-McNeilly told Postmedia “it was crazy. We just found a way to do. I don’t know how we did it. We took each possession one at a time, took some crucial shots, made some crucial defensive plays.” Hanson said “I think our guys got a little bit tired. For us I believe it was the best game of the year for us. It was an epic-style game, a terrific game for fans. You’re not going to win many national championships giving up 109 points.” Adika Peter-McNeilly paced the Rams with 25 on 6-17 from the floor, 4-11 from the arc, 9-11 from the line, 9 boards, 3 assists and 4 steals. Ammanuel Diressa added 19 on 7-15 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 3 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Jean-Victor Mukama added 19 on 8-15 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 7 boards and 3 assists. Kadeem Green added 16 on 8-10 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 5 boards and 3 steals. Roshane Roberts notched 13 on 3-8 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 2 boards. Juwon Grannum scored 7 on 3-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. Aaron Best added 5 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 5 boards. Filip Vujadinovic added 3 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 2 boards. Adam Voll added 2 on 1-1 from the floor and 2 boards. The Rams hit 38-77 (.494) from the floor, 12-35 (.343) from the arc and 21-27 (.778) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 13 steals, 5 blocks, 16 turnovers and 16 fouls. Jordan Jensen-Whyte paced the Thunderbirds with 25 on 8-18 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 8-9 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. David Wagner added 22 on 9-13 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 4-6 from the line and 4 boards. Philip Jalapoor added 17 on 7-14 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 5 boards, 7 assists and 2 steals. Conor Morgan notched 13 on 5-9 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 5 boards. Will Ondrik scored 10 on 5-8 from the floor, 3 boards and 4 assists. Taylor Browne notched 5 on 2-3 from the floor and 1-2 from the arc. Dominic Gilbert scored 5 on 2-2 from the floor and 1-1 from the arc. A.J. Holloway added 2 on 1-6 from the floor, 4 boards, 4 assists and 4 steals. Luka Zaharijevic added 2, while Patrick Simon was scoreless and nabbed 2 boards. The Thunderbirds hit 40-76 (.526) from the floor, 8-15 (.533) from the arc and 13-17 (.765) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 6 steals, 18 turnovers and 23 fouls. The Thunderbirds (coach Kevin Hanson; assistant Spencer McKay; assistant Vern Knopp; assistant Dahman Boudraa; assistant Pasha Bains; trainer Kevin Wilson; trainer John Tan; manager Charles Dai) also included Elijah Campbell-Axson and Roger Milne.
The 2nd-seeded Carleton Ravens dusted the 7th-seeded Thompson Rivers Wolfpack 91-75. Ravens coach Rob Smart Jr. was delighted to receive a double-double from forward Ryan Ejim. “I thought he had a good game in terms of seeing the ball clearly and just being the first guy to move to it. Him and (WolfPack forward Gerard) Gore had a pretty good battle – they’re well-matched in there, and I think he was having fun playing today. Any time he sees the ball clearly, he’s such a good athlete and he’s got good hands, he’s going to cause teams problems.” Both teams came out shooting the ball extremely well – Thompson Rivers had the favourites on their heels early, building a five-point lead after Luke Morris swished a three-pointer to make it 17-12. The Ravens responded with an 18-6 run bridging the first and second quarters, draining four triples in that stretch, to go up 32-23, including a 29-23 lead after one quarter. The Wolfpack responded with a 6-0 run, all the points courtesy Gore, to draw within 38-33 at halftime. They knotted the score at 50 mid-way through the third quarter on a layup by Morris. But Connor Wood drained treys on back-to-back possessions to get the Ravens offence back on track, and in the dying seconds of the third quarter, Marcus Anderson stole the ball and finished a breakaway layup to give Carleton a 65-60 lead. Gavin Resch’s three-pointer early in the fourth capped a 9-0 run and pushed the lead double digits, and Carleton cruised from there, as Ejim and Tajinder Lall picked up the slack from an off-night by point guard Kaza Kajami-Keane. “Those guys, they work their butt off when nobody sees it,” Smart told CIS. “That’s kind of what our culture is supposed to be about, and it’s nice to see that it is. The big thing for me, especially T.J. (Lall), was how solid he looked defensively. It’s one thing to feel it a little bit on offence – anyone coming out of high school as a good player is going to be able to do that. But to be that solid defensively was absolutely important.” Wolfpack coach Scott Clark noted that the Ravens’ effort on the boards wore his team down. “They’re relentless in their pursuit of the basketball. They’re the standard-bearer of how hard you have to rebound. You can talk about it all you want, but I think you need to experience that, and that’s our first experience with that. Full credit to them – they played extremely hard. We watched tape, and Ejim’s a guy that’s always around the basket and always around the basketball. We lost him a couple times, and he made some shots. But most of his shots were second opportunities, where we just weren’t tough enough to deal with him on the glass. There’s a reason they’re the No. 2 seed, and that’s probably one of them.” Ejim said that “Kaza got me going with some easy buckets today. I knew once I got a few scores and some rebounds early on, I was able to get into the rhythm of running up and down the floor. … I got some advice from the Scrubb brothers (Phil and Tommy) and they told me to just enjoy the moment and enjoy Nationals. There can be a lot of stress, but at the end of the day, we have to enjoy playing the game that we love (basketball).” Smart said that “Kaza was doing a good job of getting the ball into the paint, and when he does that, Ryan’s quickness and athleticism really helps. When we get the ball into the paint, Ryan is going to look good. … They have one of the most talented guys in the country in (Josh) Wolfram and they are well coached. They were going to have a solid game plan. They could beat anyone here on any given day.” Ejim was chosen player of the game. Ryan Ejim paced the Ravens with 26 on 11-14 from the floor, 4-6 from the line and 14 boards. Connor Wood added 18 on 6-16 from the floor, 5-13 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 7 boards. Guillaume Payen-Boucard notched 15 on 7-15 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 13 boards, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Tajinder Lall added 15 on 6-8 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 2 assists. Gavin Resch scored 6 on 2-10 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc and 5 assists. Marcus Anderson notched 6 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 steals. Kaza Kajami-Keane added 4 on 1-15 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards and 9 assists. Mitchell Wood added 1 on 0-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Cameron Smythe and Mitchell Jackson were scoreless. Smythe nabbed 4 boards. The Ravens hit 35-87 (.402) from the floor, 11-36 (.306) from the arc and 10-15 from the line, while garnering 54 boards, including 22 on the offensive glass, 23 assists, 9 steals, 2 blocks, 12 turnovers and 16 fouls. Gerard Gore paced the Wolfpack with 22 on 9-12 from the floor, 4-7 from the line and 4 boards. Josh Wolfram added 17 on 7-14 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 3-5 from the line, 4 boards, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Volodymyr Iegorov added 14 on 6-15 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-3 from the line, 10 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Albert (Mauricio) Medrano added 8 on 3-5 from the floor and 2-4 from the arc. Reese Pribilsky added 5 on 2-12 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 9 boards and 7 assists. Luke Morris notched 5 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 6 boards and 2 assists. Jeff Tubbs added 4 on 2-3 from the floor, 3 boards and 2 assists, while Evan Cave, Mike Roualt, Kyler Eckess and Evan Helgason were scoreless. The Wolfpack hit 31-66 (.470) from the floor, 5-17 (.294) from the arc and 8-15 (.533) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 5 steals, 2 blocks, 16 turnovers and 17 fouls. The Wolfpack (coach Scott Clark; assistant Kevin Pribilsky; assistant Paul Patterson; assistant Tallon Milne; assistant Ted Murray) also included Justin Mason and Perry Terrell.
The 4th-seeded Calgary Dinos edged the 5th-seeded McGill Redmen 72-69 after erasing a three-point deficit in the final minute of play. McGill’s Dele Ogundokun drained a trey to give the Redmen a 69-66 lead with 57.9 seconds to play but Calgary shooting guard Thomas Cooper, the Canada West scoring champ and MVP, fed David Kapinga for a layup to cut the deficit to 69-68 with 46 seconds left. On the next Redmen possession, Tychon Carter-Newman was called for traveling, and the Dinos’ Jhony Verrone drew a foul at the other end and went 2-2 from the free throw line to give his team a 70-69 lead with 26.4 seconds remaining. Cooper came up with a huge steal with 9.8 seconds left and hit two subsequent free throws to make it 72-69, and Dinos forward Mitch Ligertwood blocked a potential game-tying shot from beyond the arc by Jenning Leung to seal the victory. “It’s a big win for these guys,” Calgary coach Dan Vanhooren told CIS. “We’re going to have most of them back next year, too, so the experience to advance in this tournament is a really big thing for our program.” McGill led 19-15 at the end of the first quarter, but Cooper heated up midway through the second. The fourth-year guard from Chattanooga, Tenn. scored on three straight possessions – a pair of three-pointers followed by a tough leaner in traffic – to spark a 15-6 run, and the Dinos led 36-27 with just under four minutes left in the half. The Redmen, though, ended the frame on a 9-2 run, highlighted by five points from Ogundokun, and cut the deficit to 40-38 at the break. The third quarter was a back-and-forth affair featuring four lead changes, and the fourth quarter was more of the same, with the lead changing hands six times. But it was the Dinos who were the more composed team in the dying seconds. Vanhooren lauded the clutch play of guards Cooper and Kapinga. “Thomas has been big for us at the end of games since the beginning of the year. We look to him to lead us in those situations, and so does the rest of the team, and he’s done it again. … David Kapinga’s defensive capabilities shined. He has three or four steals down the stretch that really turned the tide of the game and caused McGill some problems when they were looking to enter it into the post.” Redmen coach David DeAveiro said “I thought we defended and played extremely hard. As well as they (the Dinos) played, I’m disappointed with those two stats (turnovers and rebounds), we put them in a position to win. It’s a disappointing loss. We came here to win a title this year. We didn’t come here to play for fifth or sixth, we came here to win. And to not execute down the stretch is extremely frustrating. As good as Calgary is, we can’t help Calgary win games. And I thought tonight, we helped Calgary win this game.” Vanhooren told Postmedia that “you stand there as a coach (and) hope really isn’t a strategy but really you have nothing left. You are hoping your kids are going to make a play. I have to give it to Thomas for getting a piece of that.” Thomas Cooper paced the Dinos with 21 on 6-17 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 7-10 from the line, 9 boards and 2 assists. Jhony Verrone added 12 on 3-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 5-6 from the line. David Kapinga scored 11 on 4-8 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 4 boards, 2 assists and 4 steals. Josh Owen-Thomas notched 9 on 3-7 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Jasdeep Gill added 7 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Lars Schlueter added 4 on 2-6 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 5 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Matt Letkeman scored 4 on 2-3 from the floor and 5 boards. Mitch Ligertwood added 4 on 1-2 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards, while Torrez McKoy, Dallas Karch and Matt Ellis were scoreless. Karch nabbed 2 boards. The Dinos hit 23-54 (.426) from the floor, 5-16 (.313) from the arc and 21-26 (.808) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 11 steals, 2 blocks, 17 turnovers and 15 fouls. Dele Ogundokun paced the Redmen with 19 on 8-14 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 5 boards and 4 assists. Jenning Leung added 15 on 5-16 from the floor, 5-10 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 3 boards, 5 assists and 5 steals. Tychon Carter-Newman added 9 on 3-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 3-4 from the line. Michael Peterkin added 9 on 4-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards. Vincent Dufort notched 8 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-3 from the line, 6 boards and 3 assists. Noah Daoust added 5 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 2 assists. Francois Bourque scored 4 on 2-4 from the floor, 5 boards and 3 assists, while Jawara Pedican and Avery Cadogan were scoreless. The Redmen hit 27-60 (.450) from the floor, 10-26 (.385) from the arc and 5-11 (.455) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 7 steals, 1 block, 19 turnovers and 20 fouls. The Redmen (coach David DeAveiro, assistant John Dangelas, assistant Madhav Trivedi, assistant Kyle Desmarais, assistant Juan Mendez, director operations Rouel Hidalgo, analytics Nic Beliveau, therapist Rola Abouassaly) also included Isaiah Cummins, Daniel Pieper, Andrew Peterson, Abdul-Azzi Atta, Sebastian Beckett, Michael Richard, Parker Joyce, Berk Genel and Leon Van den Berghe.
In the last quarterfinal, the 6th-seeded Dalhousie Tigers stunned the 3rd-seeded uOttawa Gee-Gees 87-83. The Tigers led 29-25 after one quarter. The Gee-Gees led 52-50 at the half and 70-62 after three quarters. Dalhousie’s surge started late in the third quarter. Trailing 70-60 after Caleb Agada’s layup with half a minute remaining, Ritchie Kanza Mata made a pair of free throws to make it 70-62. Kanza Mata then opened the fourth with a layup, which was followed by a bucket from Cedric Sanogo. Then Kashrell Lawrence converted three buckets in a row, along with a free throw to put the Tigers ahead 73-70. Kanza Mata notched 10 in the final period, including two circus buckets, which he got to fall on successive possessions after driving the hoop hard in the face of tough defence from Brandon Robinson. Kanza Mata then drew a foul on Agada using the same move to the right, hitting both free throws to put the Tigers in front for good, 85-81. Brody Maracle had led Ottawa to a double-digit lead. Jarred Reid had converted a three-point shot early in the second quarter to give the Tigers their largest lead of the game, 32-25, but the Gee-Gees battled to go ahead 39-37 on Agada’s basket and foul shot. Consecutive three-point baskets by Matt Plunkett and Vikas Gill increased the gap to 52-45. But Dalhousie posted five straight points to go into the mid-game break down just 52-50. “We shot the lights out in the first half and I think that gave us a little bit of a false sense of success despite the fact that our defence was not great. The defence continued to struggle, especially on containment,” Gee-Gees coach James Derouin told CIS. “Their pressure defence gave us all kinds of fits. We knew that was coming. We prepared for it, we worked for it. But credit to them, especially Ritchie. He put his shoulder down and jumped into the defence. As aggressive as they played defensively, we shot ten free throws. That’s a sign to me that we weren’t low and we weren’t trying to counter their aggression with aggression. We didn’t handle it like the veteran group that we have and like we should have.” Mike L’Africain told Postmedia that “we didn’t get stops. Oh, man.” Derouin said “it was a credit to how well they (Dalhousie) defended,” explained Gees-Gees coach James Derouin. “We didn’t handle it like the veteran team we have. We didn’t handle it like we should have. Mike (L’Africain) had 16 points and seven assists. He didn’t shoot a great percentage (six of 17, and three of 10 beyond the arc). And there’s no question that they bothered him. If anything, I thought our other guards put too much pressure on him. Any star player thinks to himself, ‘I’m going to try and do it by myself.’ I thought we lost our trust in each other.” Kanza Mata said “I don’t think we surprised them. Last year, we lost a tough one by one point (to Victoria). So, the story is out about us. We’re a tough, defensive team. That’s our bread and butter. I hope Ottawa wasn’t looking ahead. You have to play the games one at a time.” Ritchie Kanza Mata paced the Tigers with 24 on 8-12 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 7-8 from the line, 3 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Kashrell Lawrence added 14 on 6-12 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 6 boards and 4 steals. Jarred Reid notched 13 on 5-8 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Sven Stammberger added 9 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 assists. William Yengue added 9 on 4-9 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 5 boards. Jordan Aquino-Serjue added 8 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards. Cedric Sanogo added 5 on 1-4 from the floor, 3-6 from the line, 3 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Matt McVeigh notched 5 on 2-4 from the floor and 1-3 from the arc, while Alex Petronis, Adam Karmali and Kevin Duong were scoreless. The Tigers hit 33-66 from the floor, 5-12 (.417) from the arc and 16-24 (.667) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 14 steals, 1 block, 15 turnovers and 19 fouls. Matt Plunkett paced the Gee-Gees with 17 on 6-11 from the floor, 5-10 from the arc and 3 boards. Mike L’Africain added 16 on 6-17 from the floor, 3-10 from the arc, 1-4 from the line, 3 boards, 7 assists and 2 steals. Caleb Agada added 14 on 6-9 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 7 boards, 7 assists and 2 steals. Brody Maracle added 14 on 7-9 from the floor and 5 boards. Vikas Gill scored 9 on 3-9 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 1-3 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Brandon Robinson added 7 on 3-5 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 5 boards. Nathan McCarthy scored 3 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-1 from the line and 3 boards. Mehdi Tihani added 3 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 2 boards and 2 steals, while Calvin Epistola and Mackenzie Morrison were scoreless. The Gee-Gees hit 33-67 (.493) from the floor, 12-35 (.343) from the arc and 5-10 from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 21 assists, 9 steals, 2 blocks, 24 turnovers and 20 fouls. The Gee-Gees (coach James Derouin; assistant Justin Serresse; assistant Clarence Porter; assistant Kris Dale; strength & conditioning David Labentowicz; student therapist Claudia Nafaa; student therapist Lily Tran; SID Jen Elliott) also included Andrew DeGroo, Malick Turenne, Noel Jones, Zachary Traer, Ethan Degazio, Tanner Stuedle and Sean Stewart.
In the semis, the 4th-seeded Calgary Dinos dumped the top-seeded Ryerson Rams 98-87. Calgary built a 27-13 lead after one quarter as Thomas Cooper kept draining jumpers, while the Rams struggled to find their range. Rams coach Patrick Tatham later told CIS the early deficit was insurmountable. “I don’t think the guys have anything to be disappointed about, to be honest with you. Yes, it was a close game, and yes, we played from behind, we played in a hole, but we had spurts where we were really good, and we had spurts where weren’t as good on defense.” The Rams clawed to within six in the second quarter on a 10-0 run led by Ammanuel Diressa. But the Dinos got a buzzer-beating trey from Jhonny Verrone as they took a 47-38 lead into the lockers. The Dinos kept draining treys, including one by Cooper and three by Jasdeep Gill, including a pair back-to-back late in the third quarter, after which they led 71-61, while the Rams sought to establish themselves in the paint. The fourth quarter was a track meet in which the Dinos matched the Rams bucket for bucket. “I think you have to credit [Ryerson],” said Dinos coach Dan Vanhooren. “Athletically, they’re a pretty tough matchup. And we know that we’re pretty fortunate that we had some guys knocking down some shots to make that difference.” Jasdeep Gill was chosen player of the game for the Dinos, while Ammanuel Diressa earned the laurels for the Rams. Tatham said “the hole that we’re playing in…Windsor, Carleton, UBC and now Calgary, there’s only so much you can do before the magic runs out, and it ran out tonight, that’s for sure.” Jasdeep Gill noted that “I knew when I got them I had to put them up, and they just started falling. The groove just started and my teammates were cheering me on, we were amped up, and we just kept rolling.” Tatham said David Kapinga “made championship plays, he beat us off the bounce, something we haven’t seen all year, so it was like Ryerson vs. Ryerson if you will … It was a good matchup for our guys, it just played out to an unfortunate result.” Thomas Cooper said “for me personally, I just wanted to come out and get a good start, which I did. I feel like it just helped me and my team to get more energy as well, and we kept the foot on the gas pedal.” Vanhooren anticipated a tough battle against Carleton in the final. “We’re going to have to defend even better. They continue to work, they are an incredible program, and they are well-coached – Rob [Smart] is doing a good job with those kids this year. I’ll take some time tonight and over the night to make sure that we’re studying them well.” Thomas Cooper paced the Dinos with 30 on 10-24 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 7-11 from the line, 11 boards and 2 steals. David Kapinga added 26 on 8-13 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 8-14 from the line, 6 boards, 6 assists and 2 steals. Jasdeep Gill added 23 on 9-13 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 4 boards. Jhonny Verrone added 5 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 2 boards. Josh Owen-Thomas notched 4 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 6 boards. Lars Schlueter added 3 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 3 boards. Mitch Ligertwood scored 3 on 0-1 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 4 boards. Matt Letkeman added 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 3 boards. Torrez McKoy scored 1 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 3 boards, while Dallas Karch was scoreless. The Dinos hit 33-68 (.485) from the floor, 12-25 (.480) from the arc and 20-32 (.625) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 8 steals, 2 blocks, 16 turnovers and 27 fouls. Adika Peter-McNeilly led the Rams with 22 on 6-17 from the floor, 1-10 from the arc, 9-9 from the line, 8 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Ammanuel Diressa added 20 on 5-14 from the floor, 3-10 from the arc, 7-7 from the line and 2 assists. Aaron Best notched 16 on 5-12 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 5-7 from the line and 7 boards. Kadeem Green scored 15 on 6-11 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 3-6 from the line, 10 boards and 3 blocks. Juwon Grannum added 5 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 5 boards. Jean-Victor Mukama added 4 on 1-7 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 7 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Filip Vujadinovic added 3 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 4 boards and 2 blocks. Roshane Roberts notched 2 on 1-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 3 boards and 2 assists. The Rams hit 27-77 (.351) from the floor, 6-29 (.154) from the arc and 27-32 (.844) from the line, while garnering 45 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 9 steals, 7 blocks, 15 turnovers and 23 fouls.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Carleton Ravens clipped the 6th-seeded Dalhousie Tigers 76-66. The Ravens led 14-8 after one quarter and 24-23 at the half in a tight, defensive affair. But their offence got on track in the second half as they built a 54-46 lead after three quarters. Ravens coach Rob Smart Jr. told CIS that “we talked about it (before the game), but you just can’t believe that a national semifinal’s going to be that score at halftime, that ugly. But we knew this was what it was going to be, so we’re going to have to dig in and get a comfort level. I think we did a good job of just continuing to keep at it, keep coming. Eventually, we got some opportunities to get out and go.” The Ravens scored the first six points of the game, and their defence was dialed in from the opening tip – they forced the Tigers into four missed shots and four turnovers before Jordan Aquino-Serjue’s acrobatic layup, plus the foul, got Dalhousie on the board almost four minutes in. Things opened up in the third quarter – the two teams both put up as least as many points in the frame as they did in the entire first half. The Ravens put together a 7-0 run midway through the quarter, capped by a steal and breakaway layup by point guard Kaza Kajami-Keane, to get the lead back to double digits at 46-36. They cruised from there, leading by as many as 18. “We watched them last year at nationals,” Smart said of the Tigers. “They’re just a tough, hard-nosed team. They’re the way that we like to play – scrappy, and they fight for everything.” Tigers coach Rick Plato said “they give up nothing easy – that’s why they’re the top defensive team in the country. They make you earn everything. I think our rebounding was good, and we forced more turnovers and we shot 80 per cent from the foul line. Usually those kinds of statistics, they’ll bear out. But we just couldn’t put the ball in today, and that’s because of Carleton. All the credit goes to Carleton for playing a great game.” Connor Wood was chosen player of the game for the Ravens, while Kashrell Lawrence earned the laurels for the Tigers. Guillaume Payen-Boucard said “we got away from our fundamentals, and we certainly lost our focus in the first half. We had to be more energized and talk more on defence and in transition to get our rhythm back. … (As for the final), either team we play tomorrow will be tough. We just need to stick to our game plan; we can’t have those lapses like we did today.” “Every time somebody talks about how good Tom and Phil (Scrubb) were, it motivates some of our other guys,” Smart told Postmedia. “When somebody like Connor Wood struggles, the Scrubbs will be messaging him from overseas. We really try to foster a culture of healthy competitiveness. It’s OK to want to fight. It’s OK to want to battle every game. It’s OK to want to prove yourself. It doesn’t mean you’re some kind of ego-maniac. For two hours, you just compete. They all find their own way to motivate themselves.” Wood said “I feel like everyone on our team feels they’re underestimated. The Scrubbs were a huge presence. When they left, everyone wants to step up and prove themselves. We want to prove we can be just as good a team without them.” Payen-Boucard noted “this year, it’s pretty easy to have a chip (on his shoulder). Everybody counted us out for many reasons. Dave Smart is not coaching this year. The Scrubbs aren’t here. Victor Raso (now an assistant coach) is gone as well. It’s a big challenge. But I feel we’re up to it.” Plato noted “Carleton has a championship tradition. I don’t know if they’d beat the Bill Walton/Lew Alcindor teams of UCLA. But when you talk about dynasties in Canadian sports, you had Ken Shields’ Victoria teams (seven-time champions from 1980-86) and Dave Smart’s Carleton teams (11-time champions). They have the championship aura. That’s something I’ve really been trying to instill in my guys. They’re learning. Now, they see how close they could have been.” Ryan Ejim paced the Ravens with 20 on 9-15 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 5 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Connor Wood added 18 on 5-12 from the floor, 4-9 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Guillaume Payen-Boucard added 13 on 6-11 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 7 boards and 6 assists. Mitchell Wood notched 10 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 7 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Gavin Resch added 9 on 2-6 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 3 boards and 3 assists. Kaza Kajami-Keane added 6 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 6 boards, while Tajinder Lall, Mitch Jackson, Cameron Smythe, Stanley Mayambo and Marcus Anderson were scoreless. Lall and Smythe each nabbed 2 boards. The Ravens hit 28-61 (.459) from the floor, 7-23 (.304) from the arc and 13-16 (.813) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 23 assists, 8 steals, 7 blocks, 21 turnovers and 21 fouls. Kashrell Lawrence paced the Tigers with 18 on 6-11 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 5-7 from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals. Jordan Aquino-Serjue added 16 on 6-16 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. Ritchie Kanza Mata added 10 on 4-12 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 7 boards, 6 assists and 2 steals. Sven Stammberger notched 10 on 4-10 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc and 2 boards. Cedric Sanogo scored 6 on 0-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 6-6 from the line and 3 boards. William Yengue added 4 on 2-5 from the floor and 2 boards. Sascha Kappos scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 3 boards, while Alex Petronis, Jarred Reid and Matt McVeigh were scoreless. Reid dished 2 assists. The Tigers hit 23-65 (.354) from the floor, 4-14 (.286) from the arc and 16-20 (.800) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 8 steals, 2 blocks, 19 turnovers and 18 fouls.
In the bronze medal match, the top-seeded Ryerson Rams dispatched the 6th-seeded Dalhousie Tigers 85-78. The Rams escaped a furious fourth-quarter comeback from the Tigers, as four late free throws, a pair each from guards Filip Vujadinovic and Juwon Grannum, iced the win. “It’s great, great experience for us,” Ryerson coach Patrick Tatham told CIS. “I think any team that’s going to get gold is going to come short a little bit, but I think it’s all improvement in the end. Great steps for the last two years, and I think next year will be just as good.” Dalhousie coach Rick Plato said “for us, anyway, we had the opportunity to play the top three teams in the country – they were one, two, and three. We played ’em all tough, I think it’s great for us moving forward, I think we’ve shown well. We improved this year, and we will be back next year.” The Rams started slowly but ripped off a 9-0 run on drives by Aaron Best and Jean-Victor Mukama to lead 20-11 after one quarter. They extended the lead to 37-24 at the half as Adika Peter-McNeilly and Best kept the offence humming. After a quick 5-0 Dalhousie run to open the second half, the Rams returned to dictating the pace of play, and the Tigers had no answer. An 8-2 Ryerson run, kicked off with another Mukama triple, restored the Rams’ double-digit advantage and they led 63-49 after three quarters. Three minutes into the fourth, Dalhousie started to narrow the gap. Jordan Aquino-Serjue started the run with triple, followed by a pair of Kashrell Lawrence free throws. Lawrence added a spinning hook shot in the post, but again Ryerson came down the floor and answered with a bucket by Adam Voll. Five consecutive points from Ritchie Kanza Mata helped the Tigers pull within five with just over three minutes remaining in the contest, and by the time only 40 seconds remained, Dalhousie was within three, down 81-78 after a Jarred Reid trey, setting the stage for the late free throws from Vujadinovic and Grannum. Tatham was elated that seniors Best, Kadeem Green and Andy Agyepong could go out with a win. “That’s more than most seniors can really say. It was a great career for them.” Tatham added that Mukama, Vujadinovic and Voll got major minutes because as fourth-year players, “this game was really for them to figure it out, because next year everything is gonna be on them as fourth year guys so I’m glad they responded and answered the challenge, it was great to see. … (Voll has been) fighting some sort of pneumonia, so I was there smiling on the inside, because we’ve been waiting and thinking on Adam for so long, when is he gonna blossom, when is he gonna flourish, and today was that day I suppose. We hope it carries over to next year. It’s a long summer but today was great for him.” The interim, first-year coach added that “I feel like I’m five years ahead of my time man. … It’s been great. I enjoy every minute of coaching and I’m a student of the game just like the guys are students of the game and I just continue to learn. Hopefully if the future is bright I’ll take over my own program next year and if not, then I can’t wait to be an assistant for Roy (Rana) again next year.” Aaron Best was chosen player of the game for the Rams, while Jordan Aquino-Serjue earned the laurels for the Tigers. Jean-Victor Mukama paced the Rams with 15 on 3-6 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 7-10 from the line, 6 boards, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Aaron Best added 14 on 5-9 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 3-5 from the line, 6 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Adika Peter-McNeilly added 13 on 5-10 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 8 boards and 3 assists. Filip Vujadinovic added 12 on 4-8 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 6 boards. Adam Voll notched 9 on 3-7 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 8 boards and 3 blocks. Juwon Grannum added 7 on 1-3 from the floor, 5-6 from the line and 6 boards. Roshane Roberts added 7 on 3-3 from the floor and 1-1 from the arc. Derrick Allahyarian added 6 on 2-6 from the floor and 2-5 from the arc. Andy Agyepong added 2 on 1-3 from the floor and 2 assists. The Rams hit 27-55 (.491) from the floor, 8-20 (.400) from the arc and 23-32 (.719) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 7 steals, 5 blocks, 19 turnovers and 21 fouls. Kashrell Lawrence paced the Tigers with 19 on 5-15 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 8-8 from the line, 8 boards and 2 steals. Sven Stammberger added 13 on 4-12 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 7 boards. Jordan Aquino-Serjue added 13 on 5-11 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-3 from the line 2, boards and 6 assists. Ritchie Kanza Mata added 11 on 4-13 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 6 boards and 3 assists. Jarred Reid added 11 on 4-12 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc and 4 boards. William Yengue added 10 on 4-10 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Kevin Duong added 1, while Sascha Kappos, Alex Petronis, Adam Karmali, Sean Dodds and Matt McVeigh were scoreless. Kappos nabbed 3 boards and Petronis 2. The Tigers hit 26-80 (.325) from the floor, 8-28 (.286) from the arc and 18-20 (.900) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 21 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 4 steals, 12 turnovers and 25 fouls. The Tigers (coach Rick Plato, assistant Anton Berry, assistant Chad Wadden, strength & conditioning Kris Andrews, manager Andrea Plato, trainer Samantha Horner, student manager Emily Newton) also included Ross Crichton, Cedric Sanogo and Michael Fraser.
In the final, the 2nd-seeded Carleton Ravens stomped the 4th-seeded Calgary Dinos 101-79 to capture their sixth consecutive CIS crown and 12th in 14 years. The Ravens notched 16 treys on the night, including 6 by Gavin Resch. Ravens coach Rob Smart Jr. said that the synergy, not only between players, but between them and the staff, was a key ingredient in the latest addition to the Carleton dynasty. “It’s just a lot of fun. People called it a rebuilding year, and we kind of figured out halfway that our identity was a little different, and we were going to have to do it by committee. I think everybody chipped in. I don’t know – we said it from the start – players were a good fit for our coaches. Neither of us really knew what we were doing, and we kind of stayed with it.” Calgary coach Dan Vanhooren said “I’m disappointed, but I’ve got to give credit to Carleton. They shot the ball well, and I don’t think we provided a lot of resistance at times in transition. It’s a good learning lesson for our kids – the game was going up and down, and I think that’s a style that we’ve played all year, so the tempo was reasonable. We just honestly couldn’t keep them in front of us, and they hit a lot of three-balls.” The Ravens defence shut down Dino gunner Thomas Cooper, while they hit six treys in the first quarter, including two apiece by Resch and Tajinder Lall, while building a 26-11 lead. It was more of the same as Carleton extended its lead to 48-32 at the half. A 7-0 Carleton run, featuring a Kajami-Keane triple from nearly 30 feet, gave the Ravens a 20-point lead midway through the third quarter. Calgary continued to press in the later stages of the third frame, outscoring the Ravens 8-4 in the last 1:14 of the third, while Dino guard Torrez McKoy launched a trey at the buzzer from midcourt to close the gap to 71-56. The Ravens pulled away for good in the final frame, going back to their three-and-D strategy. Wood knocked down a trio from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter, while Resch added two more to his total. ”All year, we’ve just tried to take the slow process – learn and get better,” said Smart. “It took a lot to realize what we were, and once we did, they did an unbelievable job of buying in.” Connor Wood was chosen player of the game for the Ravens, while Thomas Cooper earned the laurels for the Dinos. “I think everyone had some doubt entering this season, but we persevered,” Smart told GoRavens. “Gavin (Resch) and Guillaume (Payen Boucard) always saw themselves as champions; their attitude and desire really took over in the last few months of the season and I am happy that they are going out as winners. … It was a totally different group than any of our past championship teams. Our assistant coaches did an amazing job working with the players and helping them find ways to contribute – it wouldn’t have been possible without them.” Resch said “this one is very sweet. We’ve had some bumps and bruises along the way, and it certainly hasn’t been smooth sailing the whole way. It’s surreal. It doesn’t feel like it’s over, it doesn’t feel like I’m done with my career. I am just excited to be here with this group of guys right now.” Connor Wood said “I just got the good looks and I tried to knock them down. It definitely feels good to win the honour.” Smart told Postmedia that “part way through the season, we realized that (offence by committee) was really going to be a big part of our identity. And so, we had to really commit to it. Everyone did an unbelievable job of buying in. We have no idea game in and game out who is going to score 15 or 20, and that makes us hard to play against if everyone is ready to contribute.” Thomas Cooper said “I don’t know what the stats were. Oh, my God. Sixteen threes. No one did that to us all year. Six-time champs. They just proved why.” Vanhooren said “and some of those (threes) were right at the end of the shot clock when we did all the right things. That can be disappointing. We made our runs at them. We got within 13. But then they’d just hit another three.” Wood said “most games, some guys are hot and some guys are cold. But today it was everybody.” Smart said “it was great to see Gavin and Connor really get us going. Kaza was really creating for them and Guillaume did a great job wearing (Cooper) down. (Calgary) is a great team and we had to be firing on all cylinders to beat them.” Connor Wood paced the Ravens with 22 on 8-21 from the floor, 5-12 from the arc, 1-3 from the line, 4 boards and 4 assists. Gavin Resch added 18 on 6-13 from the floor, 6-12 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Kaza Kajami-Keane added 15 on 5-13 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 4-5 from the line, 2 boards, 10 assists and 3 steals. Ryan Ejim added 12 on 6-7 from the floor, 6 boards and 4 blocks. Guillaume Payen-Boucard added 12 on 6-14 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 10 boards, 4 assists and 2 blocks. Cameron Smythe added 8 on 3-6 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc and 5 boards. Mitchell Wood added 8 on 4-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the line and 7 boards. Tajinder Lall added 6 on 2-2 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 steals, while Mitch Jackson, Stanley Mayambo and Marcus Anderson were scoreless. Anderson nabbed 7 boards. The Ravens hit 40-81 (.494) from the floor, 16-36 (.444) from the arc and 5-10 from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 22 assists, 10 steals, 6 blocks, 14 turnovers and 20 fouls. Thomas Cooper paced the Dinos with 25 on 8-18 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 7-10 from the line, 7 boards and 4 assists. David Kapinga added 15 on 5-10 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 5-5 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Lars Schlueter added 9 on 2-9 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 9 boards and 3 steals. Josh Owen-Thomas added 6 on 2-9 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards. Torrez McKoy added 6 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 3-4 from the line. Jhonny Verrone added 5 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 2 assists. Matt Letkeman added 4 on 2-5 from the floor and 3 boards. Dallas Karch added 4 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 3 boards. Jasdeep Gill added 3 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 3 boards and 2 assists. Mitch Ligertwood added 2, while Connor Foreman was scoreless. The Dinos hit 26-66 (.394) from the floor, 7-28 (.250) from the arc and 20-25 (.800) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 5 steals, 16 turnovers and 17 fouls.
The all-tournament team featured MVP Connor Wood (Carleton); Ryan Ejim (Carleton); Guillaume Payen-Boucard (Carleton); Thomas Cooper (Calgary); and Adika Peter-McNeilly (Ryerson).
The bronze medalist Ryerson Rams: Andy Agyepong; Ammanuel Diressa; J.P. Kambola; Roshane Roberts; Jean-Victor Mukama; Adam Voll; Filip Vujadinovic; Theodrose Demeke; Aaron Best; Jupvir Atwal; Tevaun Kokko; Adika Peter-McNeilly; Juwon Grannum; Derrick Allhyarian; Kadeem Green; interim coach Patrick Tatham; assistant Sheldon Cassimy; assistant Dipesh Mistry; administrative assistant Mikaela Berza; video coordinator Nooh Abdi; manager Jon Gerow; student therapist Darren Noriel
The silver medalist Calgary Dinos: David Kapinga; Thomas Cooper; Torrez McKoy; Corey Hauck; Jasdeep Gill; Dallas Karch; Luke Praught; Johnny Verrone; Josh Owen-Thomas; Lars Schlueter; Matt Letkeman; Mitch Ligertwood; Matthew Ellis; Connor Foreman; Jordan Handel; Sunny Johal; Emmett Cook; coach Dan Vanhooren; assistant Sean Foote; assistant Blaine Miciak; assistant Andy Vorhies; operations manager Dean McCord; strength & conditioning Rich Hesketh
The gold medalist Carleton Ravens: Gavin Resch; Sheldon McIntosh; Connor Wood; Tajinder Lall; Jake Newman; Mitchell Jackson; Cameron Smythe; Mitchell Wood; Stanley Mayambo; Guillaume Payen-Boucard; Marcus Anderson; Kaza Kajami-Keane; Anthony Pate; Ryan Ejim; Yasiin Joseph; William Kohler; Glenn Thelemaque; interim coach Rob Smart Jr.; assistant Dean Petridis; assistant Aaron Blakely; assistant Kevin Churchill; assistant Aaron Chapman; assistant Victor Raso; assistant Richard Anderson; assistant Greg McManus; therapist Bruce Marshall; athletic director Jen Brenning