Ravens get revenge on T-Wolves in foul-filled affair

Top performers

Tyson Hinz (Carleton): 18 Pts, 8 Reb, 5 Ast

Ben Johnson (Lakehead): 11 Pts, 2 3-pointers

OTTAWA,ON–The last time the Carleton men’s basketball team played Lakehead University, they were handed their first loss of the 2009-2010 regular season. 

The Ravens made sure history did not repeat itself Nov. 27, handling the Thunderwolves 75-49 in a physical, tightly-called game that ended with a whopping 46 fouls.

“They’re tough, they’re aggressive,” said second-year forward Tyson Hinz, who ended the game with a team-high 18 points. “We just [have] to play tough, play like men, don’t play scared. It’s the first time in my Carleton career beating this team since we only get one shot at them each year, so it feels good.”

The Ravens showed no signs of fatigue a night after defeating the McMaster Marauders 84-70, starting the game off quickly by getting Hinz and forward Aaron Chapman involved in the post, while the Lakehead guards showed off their athleticism and quickness in penetrating to the basket and passing the ball off inside.  On defence, Lakehead set the tone for what would be an extremely physical match, pressuring the ball full-court and playing aggressively against rookie guard Phil Scrubb, who gave up four turnovers and shot poorly from the field for the game.  Despite being frustrated on the offensive end however, the Ravens’ leading scorer for the season still ended his birthday night with an efficient 15 points thanks to eight trips to the foul line.

After shooting well in the first quarter, the Thunderwolves were held scoreless until the 4:59 mark of the second quarter by a tough Carleton defence.

“Defensively, we had a plan for their individuals… and we stayed tough mentally in terms of sticking to our plan of what we wanted to do,” said head coach Dave Smart. “They’re a very good basketball team, they’re physical…against a team like that you’ve got to be aggressive and I thought we were aggressive.”

Fourth-year guard Willy Manigat led the charge on the offensive end, scoring 13 points, including three three-pointers.  The Ravens ended the first half up 35-21.

The Thunderwolves came out in the third quarter with increased intensity, with third-year guard Ben Johnson providing some much-needed scoring off the bench for a Lakehead offence that had gone ice-cold.  While they maintained their trademark aggressiveness on defence, the Thunderwolves ended the night shooting 28.8 per cent for the game and an ugly 51.9 per cent from the foul line.  Meanwhile, the Ravens found another gear offensively, pouring in three-pointer after three-pointer and ending the game with three players in double digits.

“Lakehead’s the same team as last year but with a bigger reload,” said fourth-year guard Cole Hobin, who led the Carleton defence with two blocks and two steals. “They’ve got the same tenacity, they never really back down… they went for the whole game, just a 110 per cent so it’s always fun to play teams like that.”

The Ravens end off 2010 as the only undefeated team remaining in Ontario University Athletics, and will look to maintain that record at home against the Ryerson Rams when regular season play resumes on Jan. 8.