- Carleton Ravens — Beat Western (80-72 in a total hackfest) on Sunday. Cole Hobin and Elliot Thompson turned in big fourth quarters against a game Mustangs team; Willy Manigat (23 points, seven rebounds, four assists) and Kevin McCleery (21-7-3) were solid. It was an odd game where both point guards scored 20-plus, since Ryan Barbeau had 24 to keep Western in the hunt. Beat Windsor by 33 (95-62) on Friday with five players scoring in double digits.
- UBC Thunderbirds — Won two seven-point games over Saskatchewan (90-83) and Alberta (75-68). Nathan Yu (23 points in 24 minutes on 8-of-10) had the hot hand Saturday vs. Alberta, while the win over the Huskies reads like a great guard duel between Josh Whyte (24 points, six steals) and Showron Glover (34 points on 11-of-20).
- Calgary Dinos — Beat Fraser Valley (80-62 with Ross Bekkering putting in 25) and Thompson Rivers (95-68 with Robbie Sihota scoring 27).
- McMaster Marauders — Good bounce-back on Saturday night, beating Ryerson 72-60 on the strength of Keenan Jeppesen's effort (19 points, 10 rebounds and six assists) and special attention given to the Rams' Boris Bakovic, who ended up shooting 3-of-16 and scoring just 13 points, about half his average.
Friday, Mac contrived to lose by 10 to Toronto (77-67) due to poor shooting (effective 43%). Rookie Ryan Christie (three points in 27 minutes) - Dalhousie Tigers — Finishing a two-game series vs. Memorial; won 83-62 in the first game.
- Windsor Lancers — Nice statement game on the road, 80-77 in overtime over Ottawa Saturday. Isaac Kuon was big late and John Woldu sank the winning basket.
- Saskatchewan Huskies — Lost at UBC (90-83) and UVic (82-54). It's a tough trip and the Vikes are very good in their own gym.
- Toronto Varsity Blues — Lost 68-67 at Lakehead on Saturday night, but the win at Mac, when they weren't travel-weary, is pretty impressive. Patrick Sewell (21 points on 7-of-12, six rebounds, five steals) was paramount in the game. He had 20 points vs. Lakehead, too.
The Thunderwolves had a 2-0 home weekend; sophomore point guard Greg Carter had 17 points (7-of-10 shooting) and eight assists, which is a prototype game for him. - Cape Breton Capers — Idle this weekend.
- St. Francis Xavier X-Men — Idle this weekend.
Basketball: Men's Top 10 tracker; Carleton gets push; Toronto tames Mac
Toronto beating McMaster in Burridge Gym, Windsor's OT win at Ottawa, Saskatchewan's tough go on the West Coast stands as highlights:
About the Carleton-Western game...
ReplyDeleteIf Carleton shoots the ball well, they generally will win comfortably.
Sunday afternoon however, they shot it poorly, and were anything but comfortable as a result.
10/34 from 3 pt land and 18/28 from the FT line were Carleton's numbers.
By contrast, western made 7 3pters on just half the number of shots Carleton took.
Western actually whittled a 10 pt halftime deficit to two by the end of the third quarter, but the Ravens responded with 28 points in the final 10 minutes to
put it away.
Since Carleton played Sunday instead of Saturday night, I got a chance to Ottawa U play Windsor.
After watching it, two things were pretty self-evident.
One, the Lancers miss Greg Surmacz badly.
Two, the Gee-Gees miss Dax Desureault even more.
With no really viable options inside anymore, the pressure on Josh Gibson-bascombe to create is enormous.
Also, Ottawa U lacks depth, plain and simple.
Saturday's game went into OT and Gee-Gee starters Donnie Gibson played 38 minutes, Warren Ward 41 and Gibson-bascombe 43...needless to say, they were dead tired at the end.
The Gee-Gees are bound to lose several games this year because there is virtually nothing to relieve the pressure on these 3 starters.
There has been a lot published about Carleton's key losses from last season yet they keep on racking up the wins against CIS opposition. Is it an illusion? Is there just that much recruiting depth at Carleton? Is the CIS as a whole a little weaker than previous seasons?
ReplyDeleteI know the simple answer might be a little from all three columns but I'm curious which would be the most significant.
Word on the street is Ryan Christie is no longer on Mac's team as he was seen in the crowd in street cloths against Ryerson but left at the half. It will be interesting to see if he returns.
ReplyDeleteAfter losing three players with 15 cumulative years of experience, of course the Ravens are more vulnerable this year.
ReplyDeleteBut don't mistake vulnerability for weakness.
The Ravens still have Kevin McCleery, one of the best big man in the country and Mike Kenny who will run the Ravens pffence.
Tyson Hinz is the major recruit for Carleton and has played well in most games so far.
But the biggest pickup is former Gee Gee Willy Manigat, who gives the Ravens quickness and athleticismat the point position.
Returning vets Cole Hobin, Elliot Thompson and Kyle Smedziuk are now starters and for the most part have handled their new roles quite capably.
That's because Smart had these three start at various times last year.
Unlike many other coaches, Smart doesn't overplay his veteran starters to the detriment of younger players.
When Doornekamp, Turnbull and Saunders departed, their replacements were ready.
The key to the Ravens dynasty isn't anyone player but the man running the show.
As long as Dave Smart is the Ravens head coach, the team won't be falling off the top anytime soon.