(1) Carleton 100            
(8) Alberta  60 Carleton 76        
(4) U.B.C.  65 Dalhousie 65 Carleton 83    
(5) Dalhousie  74            
              —–CARLETON  
(2) Calgary  94            
(7) St. Mary’s  78 Calgary 67 Calgary 49    
(3) Ryerson  87 Ryerson 65        
(6) Concordia  47            

SEEDING

1. Carleton Ravens (OUA champions: 22-1 regular season / 3-0 playoffs / 31-1 v CIS)

2. Calgary Dinos (Canada West champs: 20-0 regular season / 5-0 playoffs / 27-1 v CIS)

3. Ryerson Rams (OUA runner-up: 21-2 regular season / 2-1 playoffs / 29-4 v CIS)

4. U.B.C. Thunderbirds (Canada West runner-up: 17-3 regular season / 4-3 playoffs / 27-7 v CIS)

5. Dalhousie Tigers (AUS champs and hosts: 14-6 regular season / 3-0 playoffs / 26-8 v CIS)

6. Concordia Stingers (RSEQ champs: 11-5 regular season / 2-0 playoffs / 17-9 v CIS)

7. Saint Mary’s Huskies (AUS runner-up / 19-1 regular season / 1-1 playoffs / 29-4 v CIS)

8. Alberta Golden Bears (Canada West bronze – wild card) 15-5 regular season / 3-3 playoffs / 23-8 v CIS)

        In the quarterfinals, held in Halifax, the 2nd-seeded Calgary Dinos thrashed the 7th-seeded Saint Mary’s Huskies 94-78. “I am pleased with how we responded in the second half,” said Dinos coach Dan Vanhooren. “I told our players to be themselves – we were playing too safely. We gave Saint Mary’s too much in the paint and their shooting percentage was too high (in the first half).” The Huskies led 10-8 early on 5 points by Nico Brauner. Mambi Diawara countered with a pair of buckets to give Calgary a 14-10 lead and then Lars Schlueter drilled a trey at the buzzer to give Calgary a 21-19 lead after one quarter. Kemar Alleyne and Nikita Kasongo hit buckets to give Saint Mary’s a 34-30 lead and then Johneil Johnson notched a putback to give Saint Mary’s a six-point lead. Andrew Milner answered with a trey but Alleyne drilled a turnaround jumper that gave the Huskies a 44-39 lead at the half. The Dinos opened the second half with a 12-3 run and a trio of layups from Brett Layton, along with a trey and a post-up by Lars Schlueter. A trey by Lucas Mannes gave Calgary a 59-49 lead and they extended the margin to 67-54 after three quarters. “They picked up their intensity on the defensive end in the second half,” said Huskies coach Jonah Taussig. “I don’t think they necessarily did anything differently, but what they wanted to do, they did a little bit better.” The Dinos coasted to the win. Diawara was chosen player of the game for the Huskies, while Alleyne earned the laurels for the Huskies. Vanhooren said of Diawara’s triple-double that it was a “big statement. All the way through, Mambi held us in it. He’s a tremendous offensive scorer, but you saw what he can do from a passing perspective today and the rebounding he has done all year.” Diawara said “we knew SMU was a great team, and we were excited to play them. We have a good group of guys and we’ve been here before – we weren’t playing our best basketball but we just stuck together and the second half went our way.” Brett Layton paced the Dinos with 23 on 10-16 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 3 boards and 2 blocks. Mambi Diawara added 17 on 4-8 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 9-10 from the line, 11 boards, 10 assists and 4 steals. Lars Schlueter notched 16 on 5-10 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 10 boards. Lucas Mannes scored 14 on 6-10 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 steals. David Kapinga added 10 on 5-15 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 3 boards and 6 assists. Mason Foreman notched 9 on 4-4 from the floor, 1-1 form the arc and 2 boards. Andrew Milner scored 5 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 2 boards, while Maximilian Eisele was scoreless, nabbed 2 boards and dished 2 assists. The Dinos hit 36-68 (.529) from the floor, 6-19 (.316) from the arc and 16-18 (.889) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 19 assists, 7 turnovers, 4 blocks and 9 steals. Kemar Alleyne paced the Huskies with 20 on 7-13 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 6-8 from the line, 8 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Johneil Johnson added 18 on 6-14 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 4-6 form the line and 5 boards. Nikita Kasongo notched 16 on 7-17 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals. Will Fiander scored 9 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 6-6 from the line and 2 boards. Nico Brauner notched 6 on 2-11 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 3 boards and 5 assists. Brent Martindale scored 3 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 2 boards. Kordeiro James added 2 on 0-1 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Andre Ntivumbura scored 2 on 1-1 form the floor, 3 boards and 3 blocks. Will Spaulding added 2 on 1-3 from the floor and 0-2 from the arc, while Oyemah Gibson, Jelani Mofford and Nevell Provo were scoreless. The Huskies hit 26-68 (.382) from the floor, 6-28 (.214) from the arc and 20-25 (.800) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 9 assists, 8 turnovers, 3 blocks and 9 steals. The Huskies (coached by Jonah Taussig, assisted by Damon Cole and Jeff Paris) also included Tristan Hyde, Tristan Arthurs, Kevin Buakuma-Sayers and redshirts Lyon McLean, Trayvonne Clayton and Dawson Sutherland.

        The 3rd-seeded Ryerson Rams crushed the 6th-seeded Concordia Stingers 87-47, after leading 26-6, 41-21 and 63-33 at the quarters. The Rams took a quick 14-0 lead and then Keevon Small and Myles Charvis hit treys to put the game well out of Concordia’s reach. “It feels good – it is always a privilege to be here,” said Charvis, adding that “experience and depth” proved the difference. Rams coach Roy Rana said “we had the opportunity to play a lot of guys.” Stingers coach Rastko Popovic said “I think their length, on defence, bothered us, and we also missed a lot of open shots early on … nerves probably played a factor. It’s the first time in this tournament for most of our team so might have been a little more nervous at the start of the game.” Rana said his troops “really executed” their game plan to slow the Stingers from beyond the arc. “We knew they were good at that and we worked really hard – we were locked in, for the most part.” Popovic said his troops “got off to a rough start. You can’t fall behind a team like Ryerson – 10-0 – it wasn’t ideal. I think there was a lot of nervousness early and we couldn’t recover. They are such a great team and have been here so many times.” Rana said “I feel for them – I remember our first experience at nationals.” Charvis said “it starts with leadership. Just coming in now we have a very experienced group, you learn from all of your previous experiences and understand that nothing is given. You need to approach every game with the attitude that this could be your last and enjoy the moment.” Popovic said Ryerson’s height was an obstacle. “It just means that when you think it’s an open shot the contest is coming so much faster. And that can force you to rush your shot.” Rana said “I think the best thing about today is that we got to play a lot of guys, give them some experience and help them shake off some nerves when they get an opportunity to get back into the game tomorrow.” Charvis was chosen player of the game for the Rams, while Adrian Armstrong earned the laurels for the Stingers. Warsame Mohamed paced the Rams with 15 on 7-10 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 9 boards. Myles Charvis added 14 on 5-8 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Tanor Ngom notched 12 on 4-10 from the floor, 4-6 from the line and 6 boards. Jayden Frederick scored 11 on 3-8 from the floor, 2-4 from the floor, 3-5 from the line and 8 boards. Keevon Small notched 9 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 6 boards and 2 steals. Jean-Victor Mukama scored 8 on 3-9 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 6 boards and 3 assists. Filip Vujadinovic added 7 on 3-7 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. Nathan Culbreath scored 6 on 2-5 from the arc. Nikola Urosevic added 3 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 2 boards. Yusuf Ali scored 2 on 0-1 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards, while Theodrose Demeke, Jaren Jones and Stefan Kojovic were scoreless. The Rams hit 32-70 (.457) from the floor, 11-22 from the arc and 12-17 (.706) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 13 fouls, 17 assists, 12 turnovers, 2 blocks and 5 steals. Adrian Armstrong paced the Stingers with 19 on 8-21 from the floor, 2-12 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 2 boards. Ricardo Monge added 11 on 5-12 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 4 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals. Olivier Simon notched 6 on 2-7 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 6 boards and 2 assists. Michel Hakizimana scored 3 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 1-4 from the line. Sami Ghandour added 2 on 1-9 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc and 7 boards. Matthis Guerut scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 0-1 from the arc. Oge Nwoko added 2 on 1-3 from the floor and 0-1 from the arc. Aleks Simeunovic scored 2 on 1-11 from the floor, 0-7 from the arc and 2 boards, while Tariq Bakri-Hamad, Cedrick Bryan Coriolan, Garry Merisier and Anthony Sanogo were scoreless. Merisier nabbed 5 boards. The Stingers hit 20-73 (.274) from the floor, 3-36 (.083) from the arc and 4-8 from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 13 fouls, 10 assists, 11 turnovers and 5 steals. The Stingers (coach Rastko Popovic; assistant Damian Buckley; assistant Dwight Walton; assistant Jay Prosper; manager/analytics Tad Norkis-Kostka; video coordinator Chris Shee; therapist Sean Christensen; student therapist Zachary Sage; student therapist Shayne Vording) also included Akim Olak, Maxime Bellony, Samuel Lessard, Nathaniel Boisvert, Schneiders Suffrard, Mathieu Dufresne-Louis, redshirt Sam Ayomide Durowaiye-Herbert, redshirt Tristan Hutton and redshirt Leo Toussaint.

        The top-seeded Carleton Ravens clocked the 8th-seeded Alberta Golden Bears 100-60 after leading 18-15, 51-32 and 71-41 at the quarters. The Ravens blistered the nets from the perimeter and played their trademark bulldog defence in dominating the Golden Bears.  “We took what they were giving us,” said Ravens coach Dave Smart. “We had some great looks early but didn’t hit them – we weren’t set. Later, we started hitting some contested ones.” Smart added that the bench got the Ravens on track. “We made that first run with our bench, and then we were able to sustain it when our starters came back on the floor.” The Ravens took a 14-10 lead on a layup and a putback slam by Eddie Ekiyor. Isiah Osborne nailed a trey and Mitch Jackson drove for a layup as Carleton took a 27-17 lead early in the second quarter. Osborne and Yasiin Joseph each added a pair of treys as Carleton took total command and romped. Golden Bears coach Barnaby Craddock said “they are a significantly better team and they played a great game. It is a great accomplish for our team to make it here this season. We have nothing to hang our heads about.” Eddie Ekiyor was chosen player of the game for the Ravens, while Brody Clarke earned the laurels for the Golden Bears. Isaiah Osborne paced the Ravens with 20 on 7-12 from the floor, 4-8 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Eddie Ekiyor added 19 on 8-13 from the floor, 3-5 from the line and 10 boards. Yasiin Joseph notched 16 on 6-12 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc, 2 boards and 5 assists. Troy Reid-Knight scored 15 on 4-5 from the floor, 4-4 from the arc, 3-3 from the line and 2 boards. Munis Tutu notched 8 on 3-11 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 5 boards, 6 assists and 2 blocks. Tajinder Lall scored 6 on 1-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 3 boards and 3 assists. Stanley Mayambo added 5 on 2-3 from the floor and 1-2 from the arc. Mitchell Jackson scored 4 on 2-4 form the floor, 8 boards and 2 steals. Marcus Anderson added 3 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 4 assists. Biniam Ghebrekidan scored 2 on 1-1 form the floor. Mitch Wood added 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the line and 2 assists, while Aiden Warnholtz was scoreless. The Ravens hit 36-75 (.480) from the floor, 17-33 (.515) from the arc and 11-15 (.733) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 25 assists, 9 turnovers, 4 blocks and 9 steals. Brody Clarke paced the Golden Bears with 12 on 4-13 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 5 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Andre Kelly added 10 on 2-7 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 5-8 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. D’Wan Williams notched 10 on 4-9 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 3 boards. Tyus Jefferson scored 9 on 3-6 form the floor, 3-4 form the line and 2 steals. Cole Knudsen added 8 on 4-9 from the floor, 8 boards and 3 assists. Ivan Ikomey notched 6 on 2-7 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc and 3 boards. Lars Ishimwe added 3 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 assists. Adam Paige scored 2 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 4 boards and 3 blocks, while Shol Ayach and Brandon Meiklejohn were scoreless. Meiklejohn nabbed 2 boards. The Golden Bears hit 21-60 (.350) from the floor, 4-13 (.308) from the arc and 14-22 (.636) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 16 fouls, 10 assists, 19 turnovers, 5 blocks and 6 steals. The Golden Bears (coach Barnaby Craddock, assistant Kent Johnson, assistant Jordan Baker, assistant Slav Kornik, assistant Nick Maglisceau, manager Zale Smordin, therapist Mark Breitkrueutz, kinesiologist Joseph Lee, student therapist Shelby Shapka, student therapist Taya Wong) also included Geoffrey James, Hugo Cluysen and Avery Hutcheson.

        In the last quarterfinal, the 5th-seeded Dalhousie Tigers clipped the 4th-seeded University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 74-65 after leading 15-9, 33-18 and 48-38 at the quarters. “To say I was proud would be an understatement – this team works hard every day,” said Dalhousie coach Rick Plato. The Tigers broke to a 10-4 lead on an Alex Carson trey and a Sascha Kappos slam off a feed from Keevan Veinot. They extended the margin to 20-11 on another Carson trey and a Veinot layup. Grant Shephard countered with a pair of buckets in the blocks for U.B.C. but Veinot notched a trey and Mike Shoveller a layup restored a 12-point lead for the Tigers. Mason Bourcier countered with a trey for U.B.C. but Shoveller rebuilt Dalhousie’s lead to 33-18 at the half. U.B.C. opened the second half with a 5-0 run on a layup by Bourcier and a trey by Manroop Clair. The Thunderbirds drew within eight on a and-one from Grant Audu but Kappos notched a dunk and Xavier Ochu a runout layup as Dalhousie rebuilt its lead to 42-30. Kappos scored five unanswered as the Tigers took a 55-41 lead. Clair notched a trey and a driving layup to draw U.B.C. within 62-55 but Shoveller stops led to a runout and a foul shot from Ochu as Dalhousie rebuilt a double-digit lead with three minutes to place. Bourcier answered with a pair of layups for the Thunderbirds but Ochu countered with a baseline layup and Kappos as a slam as Dalhousie pulled out the win. “We were dialed in and we knew what we had to do,” said Tigers guard Cedric Sanogo. Thunderbirds coach Kevin Hanson said “they did a really good job stopping our runs … We knew that they were a great defensive team.” Shephard said the Tiger’s length and athleticism proved to great a challenge. “They took a lot of our good looks away.” Veinot was chosen player of the game for the Tigers, while Shephard earned the laurels for the Thunderbirds. Alex Carson paced the Tigers with 17 on 5-9 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 4 boards. Sascha Kappos added 15 on 7-13 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 9 boards, 2 blocks and 3 steals. Keevan Veinot notched 12 on 4-12 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 2-4 form the line, 7 boards, 9 assists and 3 steals. Xavier Ochu scored 8 on 3-10 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 5 boards and 3 steals. Mike Shoveller added 8 on 4-10 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 0-2 from the line and 4 boards. Jordan Braithwaite notched 6 on 3-9 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 5 boards and 4 assists. Cedric Sanogo scored 6 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 4-5 from the line and 4 boards. Marley Blommers added 2 on 1-1 from the floor, while Shamar Burrows, Kevin Duong and Jordan Wilson were scoreless. The Tigers hit 28-68 (.412) from the floor, 7-22 (.318) from the arc and 11-18 (.611) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 16 assists, 14 turnovers, 4 blocks and 12 steals. Grant Shephard paced the Thunderbirds with 24 on 11-18 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 12 boards and 2 steals. Mason Bourcier added 17 on 6-11 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 7 boards and 5 assists. Manroop Clair notched 11 on 4-19 from the floor, 2-14 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 5 boards. Jadon Cohee scored 8 on 3-15 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 1-3 from the line, 2 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Grant Audu added 3 on 1-4 form the floor and 1-3 from the line. Patrick Simon scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 8 boards, while Isaiah Familia and Jonah Morrison were scoreless. The Thunderbirds hit 26-70 (.371) from the floor, 5-24 (.208) from the arc and 8-15 (.533) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 13 fouls, 12 assists, 16 turnovers and 5 steals. The Thunderbirds (coach Kevin hanson, assistant Sean Shook, assistant Vern Knopp, assistant Dahman Boudraa, trainer Rachel Cherniwchan, trainer Andy Hung, trainer Jackson Liu, therapist Kevin Valcke, psychologist Derek Swain) also included Charles Dai, Jack Cruz-Dumont, Taylor Browne, Anthony McNish, Brian Wallack, Cameron Morris and Lincoln Rosebush.

        In the semis, the 2nd-seeded Calgary Dinos nipped the 3rd-seeded Ryerson Rams 67-65. “I think it was the most fun game we have played this year,” said Calgary forward Brett Layton. “it got stressful in the end.” Ram guard Myles Charvis opened the scoring with a jumper and driving layup but the Dinos countered with a David Kapinga layup and turnaround baseline jumper by Mambi Diawara. But a second foul forced Ram All-Canadian to the bench. A banked trey by Charvis gave Ryerson a 9-8 lead but Brett Layton answered with a pair of buckets and then Andrew Milner and Lars Schlueter hit treys to give Calgary an 18-14 lead after one quarter. Mambi Diawara opened the second frame with a trey and later hit a jumper to give Calgary a 27-14 lead. The Rams were held scoreless for five minutes before Filip Vujadinovic drove and banked in a shot. The Rams notched a late 8-2 run, featuring a trey by Keevon Small and an and-one by Tanor Ngom, to cut the lead to single digits. But Lars Schlueter drained a late trey to give Calgary a 36-24 lead at the half. “We were able to keep them out of the paint,” said Dinos coach Dan Vanhooren. “But we didn’t do as good a job in the second half.” Vujadinovic and Kapinga traded treys to open the second half before Calgary rebuilt its lead to 46-29 on a Schlueter trey and a Brett Layton bucket. The Rams countered with an 8-2 run featuring three free throws by Mukana and a Jayden Frederick trey to rally within 54-44. Brett Layton notched a putback to make it 56-44 for Calgary after three quarters. Layton, who nabbed 7 offensive boards, “saved us a lot today,” said Vanhooren. “That’s extra possessions that were key in what turned out to be a one-possession game.” Charvis drove for a layup early in the fourth quarter to trim the margin to 61-52. Lucas Mannes countered with 3 free throws for Calgary. Small hit a corner trey to cut Calgary’s lead to 64-57. A Vujadinovic trey and a driving layup from Charvis and a trey from Charvis reduced the margin to 66-65. With the Dinos up two, with less than 60 seconds remaining, they drove to the hoop to extend their edge, but Vujadinovic blocked a shot and the Rams headed off on the fast break. Charvis fed Vujadinovic and his trey rimmed out, but Ryerson kept possession. On the inbounds play, with less than four seconds remaining, Mukama was called for stepping out of bounds. Rams coach Roy Rana said “from our bench, we didn’t see him step out. I didn’t actually see it. … But everyone on our bench had the impression that he was in bounds.” Diawara missed his first free throw before purposely missing the second shot with only 0.9 seconds remaining. Off the miss, a Hail Mary from the Rams came up short. “We started to get in the paint more, in the fourth quarter, and our threes started to go down,” said Ryerson coach Roy Rana. Vanhooren said “Our offence was absolutely horrible in the fourth quarter, but I have to give it to Ryerson for their level of play. It felt like we were back in the game last year – they have some resiliency and some great athletes, and we made some great shots. We were fortunate to get out of that one.” Diawara was chosen player of the game for Calgary, while Charvis earned the laurels for Ryerson. Mambi Diawara paced the Dinosaurs with 17 on 3-17 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 9-12 from the line, 6 boards, 5 assists and 7 steals. Brett Layton added 17 on 8-13 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 12 boards. David Kapinga notched 10 on 4-16 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 1-2 form the line, 4 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Lars Schlueter scored 9 on 3-7 from the arc. Mason Foreman added 6 on 3-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 4 boards. Lucas Mannes notched 5 on 1-8 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 3-5 from the line, 7 boards and 2 assists. Andrew Milner scored 3 on 1-2 from the floor and 1-1 from the arc, while Maximilian Eisele was scoreless and dished 2 assists. The Dinos hit 23-68 (.338) from the floor, 7-19 (.368) from the arc and 14-21 from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 12 assists, 15 turnovers, 1 block and 13 steals. Myles Charvis paced the Rams with 18 on 6-13 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 10 boards and 4 assists. Filip Vujadinovic added 17 on 6-17 from the floor, 3-10 from the arc, 2-2 form the line and 6 boards. Jean-Victor Mukama notched 10 on 2-10 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc, 6-6 from the line and 4 boards. Keevon Small scored 8 on 3-7 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 3 boards, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Tanor Ngom added 7 on 2-7 from the floor, 3-3 from the line and 7 boards. Jayden Frederick scored 5 on 1-7 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 steals, while Yusuf Ali, Nathan Culbreath and Warsame Mohamed were scoreless. The Rams hit 20-64 (.312) from the floor, 8-32 (.250) from the arc and 17-17 from the line, while garnering 33 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 11 assists, 17 turnovers, 7 blocks and 6 steals.

        In the other semi, the top-seeded Carleton Ravens dispatched the 5th-seeded Dalhousie Tigers 76-65. “It was a great game and we expected that from Dalhousie,” said Ravens coach Dave Smart. “They gave us everything we could handle. They are so solid in what they want to do as a team.” The Ravens led 12-10 early on a pair of buckets by Eddie Ekiyor. They extended their margin to 20-13 before a late 4-0 run drew Dalhousie within 20-13 after one quarter. Carleton built its lead to 26-19 on a bucket by T.J. Lall but the Tigers answered with a 7-0 run as Sascha Kappos scored a trey and a slam dunk. A deep trey by Jordan Braithwaite gave Dalhousie a 33-32 lead before Lall nailed a trey at the buzzer to give Carleton a 35-33 lead heading into the lockers. The Ravens rebuilt their lead to six in the third quarter but Kappos capped off an old-fashioned three-point play to cut the advantage to 48-45. A block by Kappos, and treys by Braithwaite and Veinot, knotted the score at 51 and then Xavier Ochu notched an offensive putback to give Dalhousie a 56-53 lead after three quarters. A trey by Munis Tutu featured in a 7-0 Carleton run as the Ravens took a 60-58 lead early in the fourth quarter. After a huge block by Ekiyor on a base line drive from Veinot, the forward showed his soft touch on consecutive lay-ups to give the Ravens a 72-64 lead with two minutes to play. He made it a 75-65 lead after being fouled on a dunk. “I am really proud of our team – the boys played their butts off against a very, very, very good team,” said Tigers coach Rick Plato. “The difference in the game was offensive execution, especially in the fourth quarter.” Kappos said failure to execute against a team like Carleton was lethal. “You can’t do that against a team like Carleton.” Smart said “we were able to get a couple of good looks” down the stretch. Ekiyor was chosen player of the game for the Ravens, while Kappos earned the laurels for the Tigers. Eddie Ekiyor paced the Ravens with 21 on 10-14 from the floor, 1-1 from the line, 13 boards and 2 steals. Munis Tutu added 21 on 7-15 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 6 boards and 5 assists. Yasiin Joseph notched 14 on 6-9 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 3 assists. Tajinder Lall scored 12 on 5-9 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Isiah Osborne added 5 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 3 boards. Mitchell Jackson scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor, while Marcus Anderson, Troy Reid-Knight and Mitchell Wood were scoreless. Anderson nabbed 4 boards and Reid-Knight 2. The Ravens hit 31-60 (.517) from the floor, 5-17 (.294) from the arc and 9-11 (.818) from the line, while garnering 33 boards, including 5 on the offensive glass, 12 fouls, 15 turnovers, 1 block and 4 steals. Sascha Kappos paced the Tigers with 12 on 5-11 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 2 boards and 2 steals. Alex Carson added 11 on 4-14 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards. Cedric Sanogo notched 11 on 4-6 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 3 boards and 3 assists. Jordan Braithwaite scored 10 on 3-10 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. Keevan Veinot added 10 on 4-8 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 3 boards and 5 assists. Mike Shoveller notched 7 on 3-8 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Kevin Duong scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor and 0-1 from the line. Xaiver Ochu added 2 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 6 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals, while Marley Blommers, Shamar Burrows and Jordan Wilson were scoreless. Bloomers nabbed 3 boards and dished 2 assists. The Tigers hit 25-63 (.397) from the floor, 9-29 (.310) from the arc and 6-10 from the line, while garnering 26 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 15 assists, 8 turnovers, 3 blocks and 8 steals.

        In the bronze medal match, the 3rd-seeded Ryerson Rams pummeled the 5th-seeded Dalhousie Tigers 84-66. “I am incredibly appreciative of this group and the season that they have had. We played with a tremendous amount of pride and passion,” said Rams coach Roy Rana. “Winning a medal (at nationals) is always special. It may not be the colour that we wanted, but we will keep striving (for gold).” The score was knotted at 14 after one quarter. The Tigers took a 23-19 lead on a Keevan Veinot trey but a 13-4 Rams run gave Ryerson a 40-32 lead heading into the lockers. “We played together, with a tremendous amount of energy,” said Rana. The Rams built their lead to 45-34 on a layup by Keevon Small off a base line in-bounds play. Alex Carson answered with a trey for Dalhousie but Jayden Frederick countered with a trey for Ryerson. The Rams then closed out the quarter with a 12-4 run, including a buzzer-beating trey by Small, to take a 62-44 lead. Dalhousie never again threatened. “It is a surreal moment and so great to go out with a win,” said Filip Vujadinovic. Tigers coach Rick Plato said “it is tough – you only get so many opportunities (to win a medal). We played as hard as we could, but I think we ran out of gas, which is no excuse. We had a very successful year, and faced a lot of adversity, I am so proud of this team.” Rana said “it’s games like these where you find out how people react to adversity and respond to disappointment. … I thought this group was absolutely incredible today. They showed up and played Ryerson basketball. I thought they represented the university with tremendous pride and I’m really pleased to see this group of seniors go out with a win.” Vujadinovic, a fifth-year senior, said “there’s a lot of athletes that don’t get to experience the U SPORTS Final 8, and to be able to win five medals is something really special.” Rana said “the dream when I came here was to build a national power house. The medals that we’re winning, and the character young men that we’re pumping out, says a lot about the program.” Filip Vujadinovic was chosen player of the game for the Rams, while Sascha Kappos earned the laurels for the Tigers. Filip Vujadinovic paced the Rams with 17 on 5-11 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 6-8 from the line and 6 boards. Keevon Small added 16 on 6-10 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 4 boards and 4 assists. Myles Charvis notched 12 on 5-12 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Jean-Victor Mukama scored 9 on 3-8 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 6 boards and 2 assists. Tanor Ngom added 9 on 2-5 from the floor, 5-6 from the line and 3 boards. Jayden Frederick notched 7 on 3-9 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 2 boards. Nathan Culbreath scored 6 on 2-2 from the arc and 2 boards. Warsame Mohamed added 4 on 2-4 from the floor and 2 boards. Jaren Jones scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor. Nikola Urosevic added 2 on 2-2 from the line, while Yusuf Ali and Stefan Kojovic were scoreless. The Rams hit 29-64 (.453) from the floor, 7-22 (.318) from the arc and 19-23 (.826) from the line, while garnering 28 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 13 assists, 8 turnovers, 2 blocks and 7 steals. Sascha Kappos paced the Tigers with 15 on 6-12 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 4 boards and 3 blocks. Alex Carson added 13 on 4-18 from the floor, 3-13 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Keevan Veinot notched 11 on 3-8 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 10 boards and 5 assists. Jordan Braithwaite scored 8 on 2-9 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 3-3 from the line and 5 boards. Cedric Sanogo added 6 on 1-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 6 boards. Xavier Ochu scored 4 on 1-5 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 3 boards. Jordan Wilson added 3 on 1-1 from the floor and 1-1 from the line. Marley Blommers notched 2 on 0-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Shamar Burrows added 2 on 1-1 from the floor and 2 steals. Mike Shoveller scored 2 on 1-5 from the floor and 0-2 form the arc, while Kevin Duong was scoreless. The Tigers hit 20-67 (.299) from the floor, 10-38 (.263) from the arc and 16-18 (.889) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 23 fouls, 13 assists, 10 turnovers, 4 blocks and 5 steals. The Tigers (coach Rick Plato, assistant Anton Berry, assistant Michael Barrie, assistant Kevin Veinot, assistant Kevin Bezanson, strength & conditioning Michael Moody, strength & conditioning Kris Andrews, manager Andrea Plato) also included Samuel Wade, Adam Sellan, Minwoo Park and redshirt Dali Lombardi.

        In the final, the top-seeded Carleton Ravens clubbed the 2nd-seeded Calgary Dinos 83-49 to capture their 14th national title. “It feels great,” tournament MVP Eddie Ekiyor told Canadian Press. “We’ve been through so many ups and downs as a team and it feels good to finally get this. … We wanted to defend and do everything we could and be as tough and fight as much as we could. As a team, we really defended.” Ekiyor added that the Ravens also benefited from superior depth. Even the guys who are redshirting, I think they could start on other teams across the country. So I think our depth really causes problems for teams. Teams can’t go 40 minutes with us.” Carleton broke to a 9-0 lead before Calgary rallied to within 20-13 after one quarter on treys by Lucas Mannes and David Kapinga. But Isaiah Osborne drained a pair of treys to open the second quarter and Carleton stretched its lead to 44-23 at the half as Mitchell Wood notched a buzzer-beating layup off a feed from Ekiyor. The Ravens led by as many as 39, and held a 64-36 advantage after three quarters. Ravens guard Yasiin Joseph said Munis Tutu “brought so much energy on defence and offence, he rubbed off on me.” Ravens coach Dave Smart said “I was in my hotel room watching the final last year. I know what it’s like not to be here. It wasn’t fun and this is a lot more fun for me. … In a weird way it made our entire team feel we were the underdog tonight. I think they played like the underdog tonight in terms of just playing with the fire and attack mode that an underdog has to play at to win.” The Ravens boardwork and defence appeared to completely overwhelm Calgary. “We played well against a really good team. … I thought we defended incredibly well, and we fought hard the entire game,” Smart told uSports. Ekiyor said “everyone stepped up – it feels great to be back here. … We locked in defensively and we were focused.” Smart called Osborne “an unsung hero” because of the way he made the Ravens hard to defence. Smart also noted that “we need to spread it around. We don’t have one player who dominates.” Calgary coach Dan Vanhooren said “Carleton’s overall effort – we couldn’t match it today.” He added that the Dinosaurs were undone by “controllable” plays, such as turnovers and giving up offensive rebounds. “They did not let up and they are a wonderful club.” Vanhooren said “we didn’t come out and play like ourselves. We gave up a bunch of offensive rebounds early, turned the ball over … we have to play team basketball, and we got away from who we are and what we’re about. When you’re playing a very good basketball team, you’re going to get beat. … It’s a good lesson for some of the guys who are returning. They’ll remember that one for a while, and that will help our program move forward in understanding how we have to play basketball and what we have to do.” Smart told Carleton Online that Munis Tutu’s performance was the product of hard work all season. “Last year, he was challenged. He didn’t play well in the nationals semifinals. That was brought up a lot by me, by the coaching staff and by his teammates … When he wasn’t totally focused, that was brought up, and he was challenged by it every day all year, and I think it came to fruition here.” A tight semi was also beneficial, he added. “What I think it did is it allowed them to play like the underdog. Because in the end, it made them feel that way. Had we won by twenty, I don’t think they would have felt like the underdog. They came out fighting and shooting like they were the underdog.” Marcus Anderson said “it was a great tournament, lots of talent in the tournament. Last two games were hella tough. … Last year was definitely motivation. We kept that in the back of our mind all year. We didn’t want to have any regrets like we did last year. As long as we keep grinding, keep working, we can be in a position to this again next year.” Eddie Ekiyor was chosen player of the game for the Ravens, while Mambi Diawara earned the laurels for the Dinos. Yasiin Joseph paced the Ravens with 20 on 6-16 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 5-5 from the line, 3 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Munis Tutu added 18 on 8-18 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 6 boards, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 4 steals. Isiah Osborne notched 15 on 5-16 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 6 boards. Eddie Ekiyor scored 12 on 4-9 from the floor, 4-4 from the line, 15 boards and 3 assists. Tajinder ‘T.J.’ Lall added 7 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 5 boards. Mitchell Wood notched 5 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 6 boards and 4 assists. Stanley Mayambo added 3 on 1-1 from the arc. Troy Reid-Knight scored 3 on 1-1 from the arc, while Marcus Anderson, Biniam Ghebrekidan, Mitchell Jackson and Aiden Warnholtz were scoreless. The Ravens hit 30-75 (.400) from the floor, 10-30 (.333) from the arc and 13-15 (.867) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 16 assists, 4 turnovers, 3 blocks and 7 steals. Mambi Diawara paced the Dinos with 13 on 3-11 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 6-7 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Brett Layton added 11 on 5-13 from the floor, 1-4 from the line and 15 boards. Lars Schlueter notched 10 on 4-9 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 0-2 from the line and 7 boards. Lucas Mannes scored 8 on 2-8 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 3 boards. Andrew Milner added 4 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. David Kapinga scored 3 on 1-13 from the floor, 1-8 from the arc, 2 boards and 3 assists, while Tobi Adelodum, Maximilian Eisele, Mason Foreman and Carter Kuchinka were scoreless. Foreman nabbed 5 boards. The Dinos hit 16-64 (.250) from the floor, 6-24 from the arc and 11-18 (.611) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 14 fouls, 10 assists, 14 turnovers, 1 block and 1 steal.

The all-tournament team featured MVP Eddie Ekiyor (Carleton); Myles Charvis (Ryerson); Mambi Diawara (Calgary); Brett Layton (Calgary); and Munis Tutu (Carleton).

The bronze medalist medalist Ryerson Rams: Warsame Mohamed; Stefan Kojovic; Yusuf Ali; Nathan Culbreath; Myles Charvis; Jean-Victor Mukama; Nikola Urosevic; Filip Vujadinovic; Tanor Ngom; Theodrose Demeke; Keevon Small; Jaren Jones; Liam O’Leary-Orange; Jayden Frederick; Nick Hamilton; Chase Vassell; coach Roy Rana; associate Borko Popic; assistant Jermaine Holness; assistant Juwon Grannum; assistant Wayne Bridge; assistant Yoosrie Salhia

The silver medalist Calgary Dinos: David Kapinga; Mambi Diawara; Jackson Bayles; Andrew Milner; Jake Nielson; Max Eisele; Lars Schlueter; Lucas Mannes; Sasha Pojuzina; Tobi Adelodun; Brett Layton; Mason Foreman; Carter Kuchinka; coach Dan Vanhooren; assistant Dan Pearson; assistant Phil Barndt; scout Blaine Miciak; strength & conditioning Rich Hesketh

        The champion Carleton Ravens: Marcus Anderson; Isiah Osborne; Yasiin Joseph; Tajinder ‘T.J.’ Lall; Munis Tutu; Mitch Jackson; Biniam Ghebrekidan; Mitch Wood; Stanley Mayambo; Aiden Warnholtz; William Kohler; Troy Reid-Knight; Eddie Ekiyor; Alain Louis; Lloyd Pandi; Connor Vreeken; Elliot Bailey; Owen Boisvert; Simon Chamberlain; Emmanuel Owootoah; Tarig Eisa; coach Dave Smart; assistant Rob Smart Jr; assistant Dean Petridis; assistant Osvaldo Jeanty; assistant Willy Manigat; assistant Aaron Blakely; assistant Jean-Emmanuel Jean-Marie; assistant Richard Anderson; assistant Jafeth Maseruka