QUARTER-FINAL #4 CIS championship: Ravens survive scare, advance to 9th straight semifinal

Photo credit Nick Pearce

HALIFAX (CIS) – The second-seeded Carleton University Ravens got all they could handle from the No. 7 Concordia Stingers in the last quarter-final matchup of the CIS men’s basketball championship but still managed to advance to a ninth straight national semifinal thanks to a 73-66 win, Friday night, at the Halifax Metro Centre.
 
Championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/mbkb
 
Saturday at 8 p.m. AST, the OUA finalists will face the reigning CIS champion Saskatchewan Huskies, the team that upset the Ravens 86-82 in the semifinal round a year ago when the tournament was played in front of their home fans in Ottawa. Carleton has won six of the last eight W.P. McGee Trophies, including the last five contested in Halifax from 2003 to 2007. 
 
The Stingers, who operating a stunning turnaround this year in Quebec going from last to first place en route to the RSEQ title, move to the consolation side of the draw and will take on Dalhousie at 2:15 p.m.
 
Carleton led 19-15 after the opening quarter, 34-33 at the half and 54-52 after 30 minutes.
 
Concordia was down by only one point on three occasions in the last four minutes of play, including 67-66 with 1:39 remaining in the contest when Stingers forward Evens Laroche of Montreal had a chance to tie the affair, but missed his first of two free throws.
 
“The kids played hard. On both sides. We didn’t shoot well but we worked hard. It was just one of those scrappy games,” said Carleton’s Dave Smart, who was named CIS coach of the year for a record-tying fourth time on Thursday.
 
“We have some concerns to address in a very short time before we face Saskatchewan. They’re a great team. And we’ll have to find a way to slow down (Canada West MVP) Jamelle Barrett.”
 
Carleton finished with a slight edge in field goal percentage (41.8 to 39.0) and free throw shooting (68.8 to 68.2), while Concordia shot 25.0 per cent from three-point range compared to 21.4 for the winners. The Ravens out-rebounded their opponents 49-39.
 
“I think we did everything we could do to win,” said Concordia head coach John Dore. “We had a chance to win down the stretch against a very good team. I couldn’t ask our guys for a better effort.”
 
Tyson Hinz, a sophomore forward from Ottawa who was named the CIS player of the year earlier this week, earned game MVP honours after he paced Carleton with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor and 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.
 
Elliot Thompson of Fredericton, with 15 points, and Willy Manigat of Montreal, with 14, also reached double figure in scoring in the victory.
 
Decee Krah, a fourth-year guard from Hamilton, led the Stingers with 21 points including 15 on 5-for-12 shooting from beyond the arc.
 
Second-team all-Canadian Kyle Desmarais of Montreal added 17 points in the losing cause, while Laroche had a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double.
 
Moments after CIS rookie of the year Philip Scrubb of Richmond, B.C., put the Ravens up by six, at 58-52, three minutes into the final quarter, Krah made it a one-point affair (60-59) with a three-pointer with four minutes remaining.
 
Every time it seemed the Ravens would pull away, Concordia came right back, first with a Desmarais layup that made it 67-65 with two minutes on the clock, and then with Laroche’s free throw, which again cut Carleton’s lead to a single point (67-66).
 
It was a close as the Stingers would get however. Hinz took a great feed from Thompson to restore a three-point advantage and, after a Concordia turnover, the Stingers were forced to foul the rest of the way, and Carleton made four of six free throws down the stretch. 
 
STAT LEADERS
 
Carleton
Points: Tyson Hinz (19), Elliot Thompson (15), Willy Manigat (14)
Rebounds: Willy Manigat (6), 5 players with 5
Assists: Philip Scrubb (5)
 
Player of the game: Tyson Hinz
 
Concordia
Points: Decee Krah (21), Kyle Desmarais (17), Evens Laroche (10)
Rebounds: Evens Laroche (10), Decee Krah (7)
Assists: Kyle Desmarais (7), Decee Krah (4)
 
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS (All times ATLANTIC TIME)
 
Friday, March 11
 
Quarter-final #1: UBC 96, Acadia 77
Quarter-final #2: Trinity Western 82, Lakehead 74
Quarter-final #3: Saskatchewan 91, Dalhousie 79
Quarter-final #4: Carleton 73, Concordia 66
 
Saturday, March 12
 
12:00 Consolation #1: Acadia vs.Lakehead
14:15 Consolation #2: Dalhousie vs. Concordia
17:00 Semifinal #1: UBC vs. Trinity Western (TSN2 – tape delayed to 20:00 AST)
20:00 Semifinal #2: Saskatchewan vs. Carleton (TSN2 – tape delayed to 22:00 AST)
 
Sunday, March 13
 
10:30 Consolation final (5th place)
13:15 Bronze medal game (SSN Canada webcast)
17:00 Championship final (TSN2 – tape delayed to 19:00 AST)
 
 
-CIS-