Rejected by the Ravens
photo by Alex Martin
Full-court stress: Gibson-Bascombe was unable to slay the Ravens in his last game at Carleton University.
Men’s basketball team faces must-win situation
ONCE AGAIN THE University of Ottawa men’s basketball team (18-4) went shot-for-shot against the nationally second-ranked Carleton Ravens (20-2)—but not for the entire game. The nationally fifth-ranked Gee-Gees outscored the Ravens in the first and fourth quarters of the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East final March 6 at the Ravens’ Nest, but Carleton’s domination of the middle frames allowed them to secure a 78-64 win in front of an electric crowd.
“I think we left a lot of points on the floor tonight,” said Gee-Gees head coach Dave DeAveiro, who was dejected after the loss. “We missed a lot of free throws that we don’t normally miss, and we missed layups that we don’t normally miss. That’s why [Carleton is] number two in the country—they punish you for your mistakes.”
Ottawa had all the momentum early in the first quarter as fifth-year guards Josh Gibson-Bascombe and Donnie Gibson knocked down a pair of treys to give the Gees an 8-2 lead. Carleton clawed their way back by drawing fouls and connecting from the charity stripe, while Ottawa committed turnovers on offence. The Gees emerged from the tightly contested, low-scoring frame with a 15-14 lead.
In the second quarter, defensive breakdowns from the Garnet and Grey allowed Ravens’ third-year guard Cole Hobin to drain a pair of shots from downtown. Trailing 24-17, Gees’ second-year guard Warren Ward nailed a huge trey, but Hobin—who had 16 points in the half—promptly responded in the key. Ottawa was limited to scoring free throws in the final minutes, as Carleton extended their lead to 32-23 at halftime.
After the game, DeAveiro was asked if he knew why his team typically struggles in second quarters against Carleton.
“If I had the answer to that, we would have won today,” he responded. “I don’t have an explanation.”
Instead, the coach pointed to the Ravens’ domination of the boards.
“We got out-rebounded 42-26 today. To me, that’s about effort and will, and we didn’t do that today.”
“They out-rebounded us, which is a big thing,” added Ward, who led the Gees with 20 points. “If you don’t come to play properly, this is what happens.”
In the third quarter, Carleton increased their lead to 15 points just two minutes in, as Ottawa missed shots and broke down defensively. With the Ravens dominating the paint and the Gees missing free throws (they shot 58 per cent on the night), the visiting team soon trailed 60-41 after three quarters.
“We have those breakdowns that they don’t have,” said Ward. “They score more as a result from our [turnovers].”
In the final frame, Gibson, Ward, and Gibson-Bascombe increased the excitement by leading the Gees on a comeback attempt. Twice in the quarter, Ottawa pulled to within eight points of Carleton (62-54 and 72-64), but each time, Hobin responded with daggers from downtown. The latter score—with two minutes left to go—was as close as the Gees would get.
“If you’re going to leave a guy open, it can’t be Cole Hobin,” said DeAveiro. “That’s the one guy we needed to guard and we didn’t guard him.
“I’m disappointed. We’re all disappointed, but I think we’ll be OK,” he added.
Ottawa will now host the Lakehead Thunderwolves (17-5) for the OUA bronze medal game and a coveted spot at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) national championships.
“It’s a do-or-die game,” said DeAveiro. “We beat Lakehead by 40 [this season] but that means absolutely nothing … They’ll be hungry after we embarrassed them at their place.”
Ottawa’s head coach further added that he would like the ravenous and vocal Gee-Gees fans who showed up to Carleton to attend the bronze medal game next week.
“I hope we have the same support we have next weekend that we had tonight,” he said. “The fans were unbelievable tonight—but it has to be more than just one game.”
Ottawa will host Lakehead for OUA bronze and a spot at the CIS nationals on March 13 at Montpetit Hall. Game time is 3 p.m.
