Carleton hammers Calgary to win 14th national men's basketball title since 2003 - Mar 11, 2019
The Carleton Ravens are back on their familiar perch as Canadian university men's basketball champions, after blowing out the previously undefeated Calgary Dinos 83-49 in Sunday's national final. The Ravens were propelled to their 14th title since 2003 through superior shooting and rebounding and a relentless defence that stifled the Canada West champs who were going for their second consecutive W.P. McGee Trophy. Carleton, which has now won eight of the last nine titles, was paced by fourth year guard Yasiin Joseph (185-G)'s 20 point performance. Guard Munis Tutu (183-PG-96, college: Loyola Mary) chipped in 18 points while player of the game Eddie Ekiyor (206-F-97) scored 12 points and hauled in 15 rebounds. "It feels great," said Ekiyor. "We've been through so many ups and downs as a team and it feels good to finally get this." The six-foot-nine centre from Ottawa was a constant presence throughout the tournament, using his long wingspan to clear the glass on the defensive and offensive ends of the court. He also hit several key buckets over Carleton's three game run. Ekiyor said the key to Sunday's final was the Ravens's quick start and ability to limited the few runs managed by the Dinos. "We wanted to defend and do everything we could and be as tough and fight as much as we could," he said. "As a team, we really defended." He said Carleton's overall depth was also an advantage. "Even the guys who are redshirting, I think they could start on other teams across the country so I think our depth really causes problems for teams. Teams can't go 40 minutes with us." The Ravens had a 40 per cent field-goal percentage while knocking down 10 of 30 three point attempts. Calgary was held to just 25 per cent shooting from the field. Fifth-year point guard Mambi Diawara (193-G-94, college: Lamar St.CC) was top scorer for the Dinos with 13 points. The Ravens raced off to a 9-0 lead and never looked back in the much anticipated matchup of the tournament's top two seeds. They managed to hold the Dinos without a field goal for the first eight minutes of the game. Two three-pointers in 40 seconds ended the drought for Calgary, which managed to close within seven points by the end of a quarter that saw Carleton with a 20-13 lead. But that was as close as the Dinos would get as Carleton stretched its lead in the second quarter behind the hot shooting of Tutu, who lead all scorers with 16 points in the first half. The Ravens held the Dinos to just 10 points and headed to the dressing room with a 44-23 lead. The second half proved no different as the Ravens poured in another 39 points. As Tutu continued to ramp up his own defensive game his hot hand cooled and Joseph picked up the pace scoring 12 of his 20 points. "Munis brought so much energy on defence and offence, he rubbed off on me," said Joseph. Carleton went 22-1 on the season and reached the final in Halifax by squeezing past host Dalhousie Tigers 76-65 in the semi and drubbing No. 8 Alberta 100-60 in the quarter-final. The only loss suffered by coach Dave Smart 's team came at home in late January when the Ravens dropped a 78-74 decision to Ryerson. Smart said his program's run of success is something he and his players feed off. "I was in my hotel room watching the final last year," he said. "I know what it's like not to be here. It wasn't fun and this is a lot more fun for me." Smart said it was his team's tight game with Dalhousie in the semifinal that set the stage for the championship game. "In a weird way it made our entire team feel we were the underdog tonight. I think they played like the underdog tonight in terms of just playing with the fire and attack mode that an underdog has to play at to win." The Dinos were attempting to cap off a season that saw them go 26-0 during the regular season and playoffs. Ryerson defeated Dalhousie 84-66 earlier Sunday to capture the tournament's bronze medal. Courtesy of: cbc.ca
U Sports All-Canadian Awards 2019 - Mar 12, 2019
U Sports All-Canadian 1st Team 2019
Gray
Diawara
Ekiyor
Alleyne
Clarke
All-Tournament MVP: Eddie Ekiyor (6'9''-F-97) of Carleton Player of the Year: Kadre Gray (6'1''-G) of Laurentian Rookie of the Year: Alix Lochard of UQAM Defensive Player of the Year: Marcus Anderson (6'3''-G) of Carleton Student-Athlete of the Year: Tanner Graham (6'7''-F) of Queen's Coach of the Year: Dan Vanhooren of Calgary
Stingers take RSEQ title with win 73-69 over UQAM - Mar 6, 2019
The Concordia Stingers men's basketball team defeated the UQAM Citadins 73-69 before a capacity crowd at Concordia Gym to earn the RSEQ championship and advance to the U SPORTS Men's Basketball Final 8 Tournament in Halifax March 8-10.
The Stingers led the game right from the start and never lost the lead.
'I'm really proud of our guys,' said head coach Rastko Popovic . 'I thought we executed our game plan well at both ends of the court. We defended well, we rebounded the ball very well and our top players stepped up when it was time to make big plays."
League MVP and Concordia captain Ricardo Monge (183-PG) led the Stingers with 19 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Olivier Simon (201-F) was a big presence with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Sami Ghandour (198-F-98) was right behind them with 17 points and nine rebounds.
The Stingers led 27-21 at halftime and were up 48-43 after three quarters.
The last time the Stingers laid claim to the RSEQ title was in 2012. That year Concordia dominated UQAM in the final, winning 77-47.
This is the 21st conference title for the Stingers since Concordia University was formed 45 years ago. It is the first for Popovic who took over as head coach of the program in 2015.
Player of the Year: Ricardo Monge (6'0''-PG) of Concordia Defensive Player of the Year: Levi Londole (6'7''-F) of McGill Rookie of the Year: Alix Lochard of UQAM Coach of the Year: Rastko Popovic of Concordia
Tigers top Huskies to capture fourth AUS men's basketball title in five years - Mar 6, 2019
(HALIFAX, N.S.) The Dalhousie Tigers are the 2019 AUS men's basketball champions after defeating the Saint Mary's Huskies 65-55 in Sunday's championship game at Scotiabank Centre. This is the Tigers fourth AUS title in five years. Sascha Kappos (208-F) led the Tigers with a team-high 20 points, adding six rebounds to earn Subway Player of the Game honours. Dalhousie, who finished third in the conference, defeated the Memorial Sea-Hawks on Friday evening and the UNB Reds on Saturday on their way to Sunday's final. The Huskies took off to an early lead, keeping the Tigers scoreless through the first five minutes of play as they held a 7-0 edge. Keevan Veinot (193-G) (Port Williams, N.S.) put the Tigers on the board at the five-minute mark of the opening frame to cut Saint Mary's lead to five. The Tigers began to catch the Huskies, as a three-pointer from AUS second team all-star Sascha Kappos (Miami, Florida) cut into Saint Mary's lead, 10-9. With just four seconds remaining in the frame, a jump shot from Dalhousie's Jordan Brathwaite (190-G) (Milton, Ont.) allowed the Tigers to take an 11-10 edge after the first 10 minutes of play. The Tigers came out hot in the second, scoring eight unanswered points to hold a 19-10 lead with just under two minutes into the quarter. The Huskies made a push late in the frame, with a layup from Nikita Kasongo (193-G) (Chateauguay, Que.) putting Saint Mary's within two as the Tigers held a 21-19 lead at halftime. The Tigers were able to hold onto their edge throughout the third, as Kappos posted 10 points in the quarter to lead 43-36 with just 10 minutes to play. The Huskies looked for the comeback throughout the fourth, as a dunk from Kasongo put them within two as the Tigers held a 52-50 edge with just 3:24 left in regulation. With the clock ticking, Alex Carson (196-G) (Lower Sackville, N.S.) drained three huge three-pointers, sealing the victory for the Tigers as they held on for the 65-55 victory. Tournament all-stars for the weekend are Dalhousie's Kappos and Veinot, Saint Mary's Brauner and Kasongo, and Cape Breton's Osman Omar (190-G). Veinot was named the Subway AUS Championship MVP. Both the Tigers and the Huskies will represent the AUS at next weekend's U SPORTS Final 8 Men's Basketball Championship which is being hosted by Dalhousie at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, N.S.
Courtesy of AUS
AUS Tournament Final: Dalhousie - Saint Mary's 65-66 AUS Tournament Semifinals: Dalhousie - UNB 81-57 Saint Mary's - Cape Breton 73-60
All-AUS Awards 2019 - Mar 6, 2019
All-AUS 1st Team 2019
Alleyne
Doumbouya
Omar
Barker
Brauner
All-Tournament MVP: Keevan Veinot (6'4''-G) of Dalhousie Player of the Year: Kemar Alleyne (6'2''-G) of St.Mary's Defensive Player of the Year: Paul Watson (6'7''-G) of Cape Breton Rookie of the Year: Emmanuel Ring (6'6''-F) of Memorial Coach of the Year: Jonah Taussig of St.Mary's
Dinos outrun T-Birds to repeat as CW champs - Mar 3, 2019
The University of Calgary Dinos continued their dream season Saturday afternoon, winning their third Canada West men's basketball championship in four years with a 90-75 win over the UBC Thunderbirds. In front of a packed, electric Jack Simpson Gymnasium, the Dinos ramped up their defensive pressure and jumped out to a 12-point lead after 10 minutes and fended off several Thunderbird comeback efforts to win the seventh Canada West and eighth conference title overall in school history. Calgary (25-0) and UBC (21-7) will both head east to Halifax for next week's U SPORTS Final 8 championship, with the Dinos looking to defend their national title. The Dinos jumped out to a quick 12-6 lead early in the first quarter and didn't hold back heading into the second quarter with a 23-11 lead thanks in large part to a 7-for-7 start by big man Brett Layton (203-F). The Thunderbirds pushed back in the second quarter getting within 11 points but the Dinos were too much for the Thunderbirds to go into halftime with a 48 -34 lead. Calgary increased their lead in the third quarter with an explosive offensive performance including a big Lucas Mannes (188-G-94) three. The Dinos went into the final frame with a 73-55 lead. In the fourth quarter, the Dinos continued their scoring ways. Mambi Diawara (193-G-94, college: Lamar St.CC) made a big play late in the fourth with a big dunk and a charge on the defensive end. Head coach Dan Vanhooren couldn't be more proud of his team. "They're a great bunch and they definitely deserve what they've achieved," said Vanhooren, the 2019 Canada West coach of the year. "They've worked so hard. They're easy to coach now before I had a lot more coaching to do and right now I just enjoying watching them play." Layton led the team with 20 points and five rebounds, despite running into early foul trouple and playing just 12 minutes. Diawara, named this week the Canada West player of the year in 2019, had a quiet night offensively but still managed an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double, adding four assists and four steals to his stat line. Mason Foreman had a big night off the bench scoring 12 points and nine rebounds. David Kapinga (180-PG-95, college: Union, KY) scored 19 points and five rebounds on 7-of-17 shooting. He also came back soon after going down with an injury in the fourth quarter. "David is David, he is going to come out and give you everything," said Vanhooren. "He always plays hard, he's our leader, and hopefully he'll be able to do that going forward." Manroop Clair had a great outing for UBC, shooting 7-of-14 from beyond the arc to finish with a team-high 25 points. Jadon Cohee was right behind him with 21 points of his own. Grant Shepard nearly finished with a double-double scoring nine points and 11 rebounds.
Courtesy of: canadawest.org
Canada West Tournament Final: Calgary - UBC 90-75
Canada West Tournament Semifinals:
Calgary - Saskatchewan 2:0
UBC - Alberta 2:1
All-Canada West Awards 2019 - Mar 6, 2019
All-Canada West 1st Team 2019
Clarke
Cohee
Diawara
Kapinga
Overwater
Player of the Year: Mambi Diawara (6'4''-G-94) of Calgary Defensive Player of the Year: Dwan Williams (6'2''-G) of Alberta Rookie of the Year: Adam Paige (6'6''-G) of Alberta Coach of the Year: Dan Vanhooren of Calgary
Ravens down Rams for second straight year to claim back-to-back Wilson Cup titles - Mar 3, 2019
The Carleton Ravens are back to back OUA champions after a thorough 81-61 win over the Ryerson Rams. Munis Tutu (183-PG-96, college: Loyola Mary) struck first for the Ravens with an early three, but was quickly answered by Rams guard Myles Charvis (183-PG-94). The teams traded baskets until a Marcus Anderson (190-G) layup sparked a scorching 12-0 run for Carleton over a four-minute stretch to open up a 20-9 lead. After Ryerson found their footing and worked the game back within six points, Yasiin Joseph (185-G) delivered a timely three in the final minute to ensure Carleton a 25-18 edge after one. The Ravens proceeded to start the second frame with back to back threes from Anderson and Tutu, before Eddie Ekiyor brought the Ravens Nest crowd to their feet with a massive two-handed dunk. Another Tutu deep ball soon after continued to widen the gap, as Carleton headed into the break holding a 44-27 lead. The Ravens maintained their edge in the second half thanks to a strong defensive effort collectively. Joseph stayed hot from the floor, putting some nice touch on a floating shot off the backboard and in for two of his game high 20 points. The following possession saw Mitch Jackson (203-F) block an attempted shot by JV Jean-Victor Mukama (203-G) into the stands to the delight of the capacity crowd. Joseph converted an and one soon after as Carleton took a 62-43 advantage into the final 10 minutes. A quick run by the Rams to start the quarter brought them within 12, but Joseph responded by again coming through with the hoop and the harm to bump the lead back up to 17. It was the start of a personal 7-0 run by the Ottawa native to help seal the game away for Carleton and lock up their 11th Wilson Cup since 2003. The last meeting between the two sides had featured a Ryerson win on the Ravens home court. Munis Tutu said this had caused plenty of extra motivation heading into the final. 'This is a game that we wanted since the last time that we played them,' Tutu said after the game. 'We focused on them this whole week. We came out today and did a great job on defense. It was a team effort and I'm glad we came out with the win.' Rams guard Myles Charvis went for 23 and 21 points in the two team's previous matchups this season, but tonight was held to 10 on just 3 of 10 shooting. Tutu, who had 16 points, said it was a personal goal of his to outduel his opposing guard this time around. 'I took that personal from my last two matches. He outplayed me, but today I came in with a better focus than I did in the last two games,' explained Tutu. Tutu knows though that despite the OUA title, their work this season is far from over. 'We talked about it in the locker room. We come out with a win tonight, and we know we might play them again at nationals,' said Tutu. 'So we know we're not done yet. We're not satisfied until we get a national championship.' Eddie Ekiyor commented that the sting of last year's semifinal exit to Ryerson still weighs on him and the team. 'That taste is still in our mouths, that loss was bitter,' Ekiyor said. 'We have to keep coming and not get complacent. Keep coming on defense, keep coming and get better every day.' Carleton's national title quest will begin on Thursday, March 7 from the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax.
Courtesy of: oua.ca
OUA Tournament Final: Carleton - Ryerson 81-61
OUA Tournament Semifinals:
Carleton - Brock 86-44
Ryerson - Laurier 99-84
All-OUA Awards 2019 - Mar 6, 2019
All-OUA 1st Team 2019
Gray
Ekiyor
Mukama
Simpson
Sow
Player of the Year: Kadre Gray (6'1''-G) of Laurentian Defensive Player of the Year: Marcus Anderson (6'3''-G) of Carleton Rookie of the Year: Guillaume Pepin (6'6''-F) of Ottawa Coach of the Year: Dave Smart of Carleton
Smart
