“YOU KIND OF DREAM ABOUT THOSE MOMENTS”
Sometimes, poetry is blunt, in your face, and simple, like Rupi Kaur’s Milk and Honey. Other times, it requires the writer to take a step back and wind narratives together slowly, like Gord Downie’s songwriting for The Tragically Hip. The latter kind is the category Gee-Gees point guard Ankit Choudhary unwittingly wrote on Wednesday night as he led the Gee-Gees over the Carleton Ravens.
In the Gee-Gees first game of the season against Windsor Lancers, the transfer set Montpetit Hall on fire as he drained a half-court buzzer-beater to end the first half. Flash forward half-a-season and a 10-minute drive down the Colonel By Driveway later, Choudhary would drain another three-point buzzer-beater to end the first half, giving the Gee-Gees a lead they would never relinquish.
After the win against the Lancers, Choudhary said the team’s ambitions were “championship or bust.” A month-and-a-half later, the point guard offered an update on that goal. “I feel like [this is] another chapter towards winning that championship,” he said after Wednesday’s game.
The diminutive point guard, who grew up in Toronto but played high-school basketball at Ottawa’s Canada Topflight Academy (CTA), enters the Christmas break leading the entire country in three-pointers made.
“He looked like [he was in] a really nice groove, almost from the opening tip,” Gee-Gees head coach James Derouin said of Choudhary postgame. “It’s difficult at times, because it does take us out of our offence, but at the same time you gotta let him cook a little bit at times.”
Derouin said Choudhary’s small stature on defence means the team has to scheme to keep him on the court, but he liked that part of his game tonight too. “If he competes on defence, we can leave him on the floor on offence and [tonight] is why we need him on the floor on offence.”
Choudhary’s scoring started near the end of the first, after Ravens point guard Aubrey Dorey-Havens stepped back on Gees forward Brock Newton and drained his second three of the game. Not to be outdone, just a minute later Choudhary would drain a step-back triple of his own to bring the Gees within three — though that gap slipped to six by the end of the first frame.
Ravens guard Domac Domac would make it three three-pointers made in a row for the Ravens as he continued their prowess from beyond the arc into the second quarter. Carleton would extend their first-half lead to as many as twelve.
A huge dunk from Gees forward Justin Ndjock-Tadjore would bring the Gees to within five with just over two minutes left in the half, and just a couple plays later Choudhary would drain another three to tie it.
“If he competes on defence, we can leave him on the floor on offence and [tonight] is why we need him on the floor on offence.”
It was after that when Choudhary would pull up from three with the seconds ticking down in the half and calmly drain his fourth triple of the game as the buzzer sounded; the Gee-Gees had battled back to enter the locker room up by three.
“We just fought back and defended and turned them over,” Derouin said about the first half comeback. “When we cranked up our defence, the game changed.” Gee-Gees guard Dragan Stajic was a big part of that effort, leading the game with five steals in his fifth game back from injury as he recorded a season-high 38 minutes.
Choudhary’s fifth and Stajic’s second three of the evening near the end of the third half would force Carleton into a timeout down 14 points, and though the Ravens would close the gap by the fourth quarter, the damage was done.
With three minutes to play in the final quarter, chants of ‘Let’s Go Gee-Gees’ reverberating throughout the Raven’s Nest, and the Gees trying to put a cap on the game up nine points, Newton found Choudhary from deep beyond the arc, who quickly drained his sixth three of the night on his 10th attempt.
Choudhary recalled his time at CTA as he reflected on how special that moment was for him. “Ottawa basketball is embedded in the way I play now,” the fourth-year said. “Being around Carleton basketball so much, coming here, getting this win, you kind of dream about those moments.”
The lead would prove too much for the Ravens to overcome, and the Gee-Gees would hand the Ravens their second loss of the season as they enter the Christmas break on a six-game win streak.
The Gees will welcome wing Khalifa Koulamallah, who has been held out all year to injury, back to the lineup after the break. Derouin pointed to the team’s zero bench points as he talked about what that will mean for the group.
“Obviously that’s a big boost for our bench and for our depth,” said Derouin, adding the break will be key to heal everybody’s bumps and bruises.
“Carleton and Ottawa put on the most miles in terms of travel,” the longtime bench boss added, noting that the team will stay home instead of participating in a holiday tournament this season. “I’m really glad we made that decision. At this point, we need the rest.”
As for Choudhary, he says the wins over the nationally ranked TMU Bold and Ravens heading into the break set them up well for the second half of the season. “We’re closing out this first semester with a lot of momentum, a lot of swagger, we just want to carry that forward moving into the next semester, and just play really good ball.”
