TORONTO- Kevin Churchill recorded a game-high 14 points and added eight rebounds, and the No. 1 Carleton Ravens humbled Ryerson on its home court Friday evening, riding an explosive second quarter to a 87-56 victory to remain perfect so far in the regular season.
BOXSCORE
Tyson Hinz added 13 points and six rebounds, while Elliot Thompson and Thomas Scrubb each added 12 in the victory for the Ravens (11-0) who sit well in front of their East division counterparts in first place.
Ryerson (5-6) dips under .500 but still sits tied for third in the division with Toronto (5-6), who also were defeated by the Ottawa Gee-Gees on Friday.
"For three quarters I thought we were pretty competitive on the glass," said Head Coach Roy Rana. "(Carleton) is a machine right now. We've got to physically get stronger. When (Carleton) shoots the ball this well, they are hard to beat. If we can say we competed with the top team in the country for three quarters, it's a positive."
The Rams took an early lead, but Hinz answered with five consecutive points to quickly turn the tide in the opening minutes. The teams were separated by a single point midway through the quarter, but two early fouls by Bjorn Michaelsen (Otterburn Park, Que.) forced Rana to make an early substitution.
A three-pointer by Philip Scrubb put the Ravens ahead, but Aaron Best (Scarborough, Ont.) responded by dancing past two defenders and dropping a couple. Two free throws by Nem Stankovic (Mississauga) gave Ryerson a 13-10 advantage.
However, Carleton went on a 7-2 run to end the opening quarter, and would take a 17-15 lead into the second.
"I thought we came out and defensively we didn't give them anything easy," said Rana. "In the second quarter they started to run on us in transition, and we didn't get a chance to stop them early enough."
Scrubb dropped four points in the first minute, and Hinz added a lay-up as the defending national champions jumped on a slow start by Ryerson, quickly spreading the lead to eight. After a three by Elliot Thompson and a Rams turnover, Rana called a timeout to rally the men.
However, the Ravens would continue to find their stride in the quarter, and 10 straight points that included two buckets from beyond the arc gave them a 17-point lead with three minutes left in the half.
Hinz would add another lay-up and finish the first two quarters with a first-half high 11 points and five rebounds while the Rams could muster just nine points in the second period, and the Ravens took a 43-24 lead into the locker rooms.
Ola Adegboruwa (Toronto) brought some energy back to Kerr Hall with a three-point play on a lay-up and a converted foul shot, but Carleton quickly scored five-straight soon after in response to stymie any thought of an early half rally by the home team.
Scrubb nailed a three just before the 6-minute mark to increase the advantage to 25, and the game took a chippy turn in the latter part of the stanza, as both teams found themselves in the penalty. The squads had tallied 32 fouls between them by the end of the third quarter.
Carleton took a formidable 66-42 lead into the fourth, and would cruise through the final period to remain the only undefeated team in the OUA.
Jordon Gauthier (Windsor, Ont.) had a team-high 12 points, while Jahmal Jones (Mississauga) chipped in 10 points and three rebounds. Luke Staniscia (Pefferlaw, Ont.) also had seven rebounds for Ryerson.
