#CISFinal8: Carleton 76, Dalhousie 66 (FINAL) — Wood(s) wake up in 2nd half

VANCOUVER — The recap in real time (ish), as Dalhousie tries to put up the forcefield and Carleton goes for a 17th consecutive win at nationals.

It was level at 32-all, but Carleton came alive with nine points Connor Wood with a drive, wide-open wing three and two free throws. By quarter's end, it was 56-46, then Carleton got the first seven of the fourth, including a Mitchell Wood triple and sweet transition assist to Ryan Ejim, that floor-running four. At that point, it was 63-46 and officially over, but that really started about the time Carleton had a 16-4 run when the Woods had 13 points (nine from C10, four from M22).

Ryan  Ejim also had a dunk near the end.

Dalhousie dialed up the defense as per usual, and outscored the Ravens 13-3 across the last 6:50 of the half. It wasn't really a true run, since it took so long  Jarred Reid got a steal and layin just before the halftime horn.


Impact for/on the Ravens — Carleton has not got inside since early in the second quarter, with a Gavin Resch triple being their only scoring in the last five minutes.

Connor Wood started well with two first-quarter triples, but just missed a deep lock from the right pocket.

Carleton shot to become the second program to win six titles in a row, although let's not get ahead of ourselves. It is merely coincidence that first five-peat ended against another hard-edged defensive team from AUS in 2008 when Carleton was edged 82-80 by Acadia. Those Axemen had Leo Saintil and Achuil Lual, who were big bodies and used them wisely. Dal trends more toward scrappy.

Impact for/on the Tigers — How long can they maintain and keep it close? Keeping Carleton under 25 for 20 minutes is tremendous.

Dal's two best players, forward  Lawrence has two fouls, and Dal's aggressive point guard Ritchie Kanza Mata also just got his second.

And that happened ...

• There is a marching band!
• Overheard on The Mitch's concourse, from a UBC student: "It's empty! It's so empty!"
• Late in the third quarter, Cam Smythe is getting some run as a run protector, and Mitchell Wood has four points in the quarter. A Kaza Keane steal-and-score makes it a 10-point lead.
• The blocking foul with 2:10 left in Q3 on Cedric Sanogo that put Dal into the penalty? Should have been an offensive foul on Wood, all the way.