OTTAWA (CIS) – The second-seeded Carleton University Ravens will look for a record 10^th national title on Sunday following a 79-55 victory over the No. 3 University of Alberta Golden Bears in the first of semifinal at the ArcelorMittal Dofasco CIS men’s basketball championship Saturday evening at the Canadian Tire Centre.
 
CHAMPIONSHIP WEBSITE: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/mbkb/index
 
The Ravens’ win means they will have a chance at their fourth straight W. P. McGee Trophy title and their 10^th in 12 years.
 
The game opened with Alberta’s Joel Friesen and CIS player of the year Philip Scrubb trading three-pointers before the Golden Bears jumped out to a quick lead.
 
The lead was only momentary as the Ravens grabbed the lead off Connor Wood’s three-pointer. Carleton led 16-10 at the break.
 
The Ravens opened the second frame with nine straight points before the Golden Bears could even get on the board.
 
Once the Golden Bears got on the board they didn’t stop going on a 15-4 run to close out the frame and trim the Ravens’ lead, capped off with a long two-pointer from fifth-year forward Robert Dewar.
 
The Ravens took a 29-25 lead to halftime, even though they failed to score in the last four minutes of the half.
 
The third quarter was completely dominated by the defending champs.
 
It took almost four minutes before Clinton Springer-Williams was able to score the first field goal of the stanza, but once he did the Ravens offence exploded for an 18-1 run.
 
The Golden Bears finally scored their lone field goal of the frame eight and a half minutes into the quarter and were outscored 23-4.
 
“The third quarter was probably one of our best defensive quarters,” said Ravens forward Tyson Hinz, who picked up a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. “Defence wins championships. Our coaches always preach it.”
 
 
By the end of the fourth quarter, the Scrubb brothers, Thomas and Philip, had more points combined (34) than the entire Golden Bears team. Thomas, who earned game-MVP honours for the winners, finished with a match-high 22 points and Philip had 21.
 
“I think in the third quarter Phil played a lot more comfortably,” said Ravens head coach Dave Smart. “They’re good players and we got them in space and they made some good decisions.”
 
The fourth period was fast-paced and featured the highest score of the night, but the Golden Bears were unable to mount a comeback as Carleton outscored them 27-26 in the final frame.
 
Carleton will play in tomorrow’s gold medal game at 2 p.m. – live on Sportsnet - against the winner of tonight’s second semifinal between No. 4 Victoria and top-seeded Ottawa, which upset the Ravens 78-77 in last week’s OUA final.
 
“If we’re going to win tomorrow, it’s all going to become defense. We can’t rely on our offence, one thing we can control is our defence,” Hinz said. “It’s still one more game. It doesn’t mean anything if we lose it.”
 
Friesen led Alberta with 15 points and CIS first team all-Canadian forward Jordan Baker finished with six rebounds and nine points.
 
The Golden Bears will tip off against the loser of Victoria-Ottawa for CIS bronze at 10:30 a.m.
 

STAT LEADERS

 
Boxscore: STATS
 
ALB 10-15-4-26: 55
CAR 16-13-23-27: 79
 
Carleton
Points: Thomas Scrubb (22), Philip Scrubb (21), Tyson Hinz (13), Connor Wood (12)
Rebounds: Tyson Hinz (10), Kevin Churchill (8), Thomas Scrubb (7)
Assists: Tyson Hinz (6), Philip Scrubb (6)
 
Player of the game: Thomas Scrubb

Alberta
Points: Joel Friesen (15), Mamadou Gueye (12)
Rebounds: Sahr Saffa (6), Jordan Baker (6)
Assists: Czar Robotham (4)
 
Player of the game: Mamadou Gueye
 
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE (all times EASTERN TIME)
 

Friday, March 7

12:30 Quarter-final 1: Alberta 72, Saint Mary’s 62
14:30 Quarter-final 2: Carleton 82, McMaster 64
17:30 Quarter-final 3: Victoria 63, McGill 54
20:00 Quarter-final 4: Ottawa 94, Saskatchewan 73
 

Saturday, March 8

12:30 Consolation 1: McMaster 98, Saint Mary’s 71
14:30 Consolation 2: Saskatchewan 75, McGill 59
18:00 Semifinal 1: Carleton 79, Alberta 55
20:00 Semifinal 2: No. 4 Victoria vs. No. 1 Ottawa (Sportsnet 360 / www.CIS-SIC.tv *) 
 

Sunday, March 9

10:30 Bronze: No. 3 Alberta vs. TBD (www.CIS-SIC.tv) 
14:00 Final: No. 2 Carleton vs. TBD (Sportsnet / www.CIS-SIC.tv *) 
 
* The webcast of all 3 televised games (semifinals & final) will be on pay-per-view basis.