Men's Final: Carleton defeats Dalhousie for 15th national title in 18 seasons - Mar 9, 2020
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Munis Tutu (183-PG-96, college: Loyola Mary)'s three-pointer with 97 seconds remaining proved to be the difference as the Carleton Ravens defeated the Dalhousie Tigers 74-65 in the men's gold medal game at the 2020 U SPORTS Final 8 Basketball Championships on Sunday at The Arena at TD Place. Tutu had 14 points and three rebounds, while Biniam Ghebrekidan (206-F) added 19 points and 11 boards for Carleton, who won their 15th national title in 18 seasons. Alex Carson (196-G-98) had 20 points in a losing cause for Dalhousie. Carleton shot 45.9 per cent from the field and 21.1 per cent from three, compared to the Tigers' 38.1 per cent shooting and 25 percent from beyond the arc. With the win, first-year bench boss Taffe Charles became the first U SPORTS basketball head coach to win a national men's and women's title, after capturing the Bronze Baby with the Ravens women in 2018. Carleton ends their season with an overall record of 27-1 in regular season, conference playoff and U SPORTS Championship action, while Dalhousie compiled a mark of 23-2.
Courtesy of: usports.ca
Tags : MUNIS TUTU, CARLETON UNIVERSITY, CANADIAN BASKETBALL
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Tigers top X-Men for fifth AUS conference title in six years - Mar 2, 2020
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The Dalhousie Tigers won their second consecutive AUS championship banner with a 76-64 victory over the StFX X-Men in the championship game Sunday afternoon at Scotiabank Centre. Lead by fourth year guard Alex Carson (196-G-98) (Lower Sackville, NS) who scored 22 points and AUS most valuable player Kevan Veinot (Port Williams, NS) with 18, the Tigers played a consistent game to punch their ticket to next weekend's U SPORTS national championship in Ottawa. The Tigers got out to a 7-0 start in the opening three minutes until Avan Nava (188-G) (Mississauga, ON) finally got the X-Men on the board with a three-pointer. Dalhousie went up 14-3 midway through the quarter. StFX had a few costly turnovers which the Tigers capitalized on as they held a 24-16 advantage after the first quarter of play. Veinot scored eight points for DAL. The three-ball kept the X-Men in the game as they were 4-for-9 from beyond the arc in the opening quarter including two from Thomas Legallais (185-G) (Cornwall, ON) who lead the X-Men with six points. The Tigers held onto their eight-point lead for the opening three minutes of the second quarter. The X-Men closed the gap to 28-24 midway through the frame. It was then the Tigers turn to run into turnover trouble. The X-Men took their first lead of the game at 32-31 with just under a minute to play in the second quarter off a pair of Azaro Roker (198-F) (Nassau, Bahamas) free throws. A Veinot jumper gave the Tigers a slight 33-32 edge at halftime. He scored 10 points in the first half while Sascha Kappos (Miami, FL) had 12. AUS rookie of the year Nava netted 11 opening half points for the X-Men. The third quarter featured end-to-end action as both team exchanged baskets and kept the game close throughout the opening five minutes. The Tigers were up by five points, 44-39, four minutes in. The game remained close throughout the quarter though Dalhousie had a surge in the final minute of play. Carson drained a three with 30 seconds left to give his squad a 58-50 lead. The quarter closed out 58-52 in favour of the Tigers. Carson drained another long ball in the opening minute of the fourth quarter as the Tigers went up by nine points, 61-52. As both sides struggled to score, the Tigers hung onto a 63-56 lead midway through the quarter as the X-Men battled to get back in the game, powered by their big-man Roker who was a force on both sides of the ball. With three minutes to go the Tigers took a 70-59 lead as Veinot and Carson were strong for Dalhousie down the stretch. Time ran out on the X-Men as Dalhousie held on for the 76-64 victory. Veinot earned Subway player of the game honours as he had nine rebounds, eight assists and three assists to go along with his 18 points. Nava finished with 18 points for the X-Men, while Justin Andrew (183-PG) (Hamilton, ON) netted 16, and Roker had a double-double game with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Both Roker and Nava were named to the tournament all-star team, along with Carson and Veinot of the Tigers and UNB Reds guard Marcus Masters (178-PG). Carson took home tournament most valuable player honours. The title marked the eighth one in team history for Dalhousie as they now advance to represent the AUS conference at the U SPORTS championship March 12-15 in Ottawa.
Courtesy of: goxgo.prestosports.com
AUS Tournament Final: Dalhousie - StFX 76-64 AUS Tournament Semifinals: Dalhousie - Saint Mary's 84-64 StFX - UNB 84-77
Tags : ALEX CARSON, DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY, CANADIAN BASKETBALL
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Road warrior Thunderbirds claim Canada West title - Mar 2, 2020
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So much for homecourt advantage.
For the third time in as many Canada West playoff games this season, the UBC Thunderbirds went into hostile territory and emerged with a victory.
And this time they left with a trophy in hand, claiming their 10th CW men's basketball championship thanks to a 72-70 win over the No. 1 seed Alberta Golden Bears in front of 1,780 rowdy fans at the Saville Community Sports Centre in Edmonton on Saturday.
UBC's road to the championship wasn't easy, with the West Coast power earning a quarter-final neutral site win over the Saskatchewan Huskies in Calgary last week, before downing the host Dinos the following night in the conference semis.
The 2020 CW playoffs proved to be memorable for the road warrior T-Birds, who went through the conference's top two seeds en route to their first conference title since 2013.
"It's the old cliche - we're really just focussed on ourselves, and I think we really are. We're peaking at the right time and the guys are enjoying what they're doing," said UBC head coach Kevin Hanson of his team's wins over No. 1 Alberta and No. 2 Calgary.
The T-Birds controlled the first quarter, subduing the near-capacity crowd with a 24-10 lead after the opening 10 minutes, thanks in large part to Manroop Clair (188-G-94, college: Seattle)'s trio of three-pointers.
"They were all over us out of the gate. I thought we had a bit of nerves and not our best performance of the season," said Alberta head coach Barnaby Craddock . "At the end of the day, they had some guys step up and deserved to win. They definitively played better than us on the evening, so the right team won today."
The second quarter saw the Bears work their way back into the game, as the regular season champs outscored UBC 23-15. Guard Tyus Jefferson (180-PG, college: Treasure Valley CC) scored six of his team-high 24 points in the frame for Alberta, who headed into the break down 39-33.
That six-point UBC cushion held through the third quarter, with the score 59-53 entering the final 10 minutes.
After playing from behind all night, Alberta's first lead of the game set the scene for an epic finish. A steal-and-score from Jefferson with 3:17 left in the fourth quarter handed the Bears a 67-66 lead.
But it was the Thunderbirds who managed to find an edge in the final three-plus minutes, closing out the memorable win with some clutch threes and timely defence.
"You have to weather the storm and we weathered some of their storms, and one of them was big," said Hanson of Jefferson's key play. "They got up the big point, we came down and hit a three - that happened a couple of times."
"It was an emotional win for us. I thought our fifth-year guys Manroop Clair and Jadon Cohee (193-G-96) hit some big, big shots for us down the stretch," Hanson said of his veterans, who combined for 43 points. "Luckily we were able to hang on in the end there."
Up next for both teams is a trip to the U SPORTS Final 8, as UBC and Alberta head to Ottawa March 6-8. UBC enters the tournament looking for their first national title since 1972, while Alberta last won in 2002.
Courtesy of canadawest.org
Canada West Tournament Final: Alberta - British Columbia 70-72
Canada West Tournament Semifinals:
Alberta - Manitoba 91-85, OT
British Columbia - Calgary 81-72
Tags : JAMES BANKS, ALM EVREUX BASKET, CANADIAN BASKETBALL
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OUA: Ravens roll in second half to pull away from Mustangs and secure third straight Wilson Cup - Mar 2, 2020
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The Carleton University Ravens took down the Western University Mustangs in front of a sold out crowd at Carleton's Ravens' Nest to capture the school's 12th Wilson Cup title, all of which were won in the last 18 years. Carleton withstood a strong test from a Mustangs team coming off a victory in one of the best games in OUA history, and came away with the 90-68 victory.
The game was much closer than the final score would suggest, as the two teams battled back and forth all night, with the Mustangs trimming the Carleton lead to as little as four points with just eight minutes to go in the game. However, the Ravens responded with a run of their own, stretching their lead from four points to 16 in less than five minutes. 'I think we wore down a little bit', said Western head coach Bradley Campbell after the game. 'Our execution kind of got away from us. I think our guys just kind of got mentally worn out a little bit, and it showed in some of the execution'.
The game saw several standout individual performances, with first-year Ravens guard Lloyd Pandi (193-G) leading the way for the home side. Pandi finished the game with 18 points and 10 rebounds, including six offensive rebounds, on his way to Player of the Game honours. On the Western side fifth-year guard Eriq Jenkins (183-PG, college: LeMoyne) scored 27 points on the night, including five made three-pointers, while fourth-year guard Omar Shiddo (185-G) added 17 points. It wasn't enough to overcome a deep Carleton team, however, as the Ravens got 39 points from their reserves, compared to just two for Western. The chief contributors off of the bench were a pair of guards for Carleton, as fourth-year Isiah Osborne (196-G-96, college: UTEP) tallied 16 points, to go along with third-year Alain Louis (185-G) who contributed 13 points and 4 assists.
Both teams will now turn their eyes to next weekend's U SPORTS Final 8 National Championship, which will take place in Ottawa.
'It's just going to be exciting' said Campbell, while pointing out that none of the players on the roster had even won an OUA playoff game before, let alone earned a trip to nationals. 'It's exciting to be in the tournament. We haven't been in 11 years [] and we're really looking forward to it'.
On the other hand, OUA Coach of the Year Taffe Charles and his Carleton Ravens are setting their own expectations high ahead of their bid to defend their national championship. Charles made that clear after the game, saying that 'It's been a great year so far, but at Carleton it's not a great year until we win'.
Courtesy of oua.ca
OUA Tournament Final: Carleton - Western 90-68
OUA Tournament Semifinals:
Carleton - Ottawa 96-61
Western - Laurier 104-103, OT
Tags : DAVID KOCMAN, TJ BK ZDAR NAD SAZAVOU, CANADIAN BASKETBALL
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Castor-Thadal's Clutch Three Propels Gaiters to RSEQ Championship and U SPORTS Final-8 Berth - Mar 2, 2020
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Joany Castor Thadal (185-G) (Montreal, Que./Champlain Collge St-Lambert) knocked down the biggest three-pointer of his life on Saturday night.
The shot propelled the Gaiters to a 73-72 win over the UQAM Citandins and the 2020 RSEQ Championship.
It was pandemonium in Lennoxville as the 931 faithful who packed Mitchell Gym were treated to a game for the ages.
Trailing by two with 15.5 seconds remaining, the Gaiters called time out. They got ball into Jordan Thornhill (198-F) (Montreal, Que./John Abbott College) who swung it to Ibrahim Ngom (190-G) (Montreal, Que./Vanier College) then to Nervens Demosthene (188-G) (Terrebonne, Que./Cegep de Montmorency). Eventually it ended in Castor Thadal's hands who made no mistake from the corner in front of the Gaiters' bench.
The win means Bishop's will be the RSEQ representative at the 2020 U SPORTS Final-8 in Ottawa on starting on Friday. Seeding will be announced on Sunday.
Fifth-year veteran Abdul Kamane (193-F) (Montreal, Que./Vanier College) led the way for Bishop's 15 points. Ngom had 13, Demosthene 11 and Thornhill 10 to go along with nine rebounds including four at the offensive end.
For UQAM Alix Lochard scored 20 points, Hugo Adin (G) had 14 and Franston Demosthene 10 in the loss, their second in as many years in the title game.
Neither team led by more than seven points and the lead changed six times. Bishop's had 21 second-chance points to nine by the Citadins.
It's Bishop's first championship since 2015 and fifth in the RSEQ/QSSF era (1996-99 & 2015).
Courtesy of rseq.ca
RSEQ Tournament Final: UQAM - Bishop's 72-73
RSEQ Tournament Semifinals:
UQAM - McGill 61-70
Bishop's - Concordia 78-71
Tags : JOANY CASTOR THADAL, BISHOP'S UNIVERSITY, CANADIAN BASKETBALL
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