VICTORIA – The team that finished atop the country last year proved they are still the team to beat after another fantastic Guy Vetrie Memorial Tournament.
The 14-time national champion Carleton University Ravens ran the table at the CARSA Performance Gym.
"This tournament helps us out big time. It's a different style of play out here – bigger and more physical. In the OUA, everybody knows each other so well, teams often play the same styles," said Ravens Head Coach Taffe Charles. "This weekend we went up against some new offences and new systems that allowed us to work on some things. Now, if we run into these schools again down the road, we will have a taste for what they do well."
They opened Friday night with a national championship rematch against the University of Calgary Dinos. The Ravens backed up their 35-point championship-winning performance by downing the Dinos 80-63.
Isiah Osborne led the charge for the Ravens with 15 points on seven shots. For the Dinos, Ezeoha Santiago logged 19 points, while Mason Foreman had a near double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds.
In their second game of the tournament, the Vikes were hanging with the national champs and were tied with the Ravens 36-36 at halftime.
Experience took over and the Ravens outscored the Vikes 22-10 in the third, pulling away for the 73-59 victory on Saturday night.
"That was a tough game with Victoria. They did an awesome job and found themselves early. They are a team that is still forming and so are we, but I liked how our guys continued to improve and get better each game," said Charles.
Lloyd Pandi registered 16 points and 10 rebounds in the win, while teammates Yasiin Joseph, Munis Tutu and Biniam Ghbrekidan all finished in double figures for scoring.
For the Vikes, new recruit
Diego Maffia led the way with 13 points.
Hayden Lejeune chipped in with 11 points, a tournament-high for the lone fifth year.
"This weekend served as a carrot in front of our guys. We went up against the Canada West champs and national champs, and if we had a couple stops here or a couple makes there, we are in both of those games," said Vikes Head Coach
Craig Beaucamp. "We don't want to be the bridesmaid – a close second place. We want to make the leap to the next level. Hopefully we can build off of what we did this weekend."
Maffia was strong in the Vikes opening game Friday night as well, recording 11 points. Despite his efforts combined with 10 points and 10 boards from
Dominick Oliveri and 13 points from fourth-year guard
Scott Kellum, the Vikes fell 82-75 to the University of Regina Cougars.
The Cougars third-year homegrown product Carter Millar had his first of three strong games, as he poured in 21 points on seven-for-15 shooting against the Vikes.
He backed that up with a tourney-high 25-point performance on Saturday night against the Calgary Dinos. Despite Millar going 7-for-9 from the land beyond, the Dinos held off the Cougars 89-84 in the tournament's closest game.
In the Cougars final game of the tourney on Sunday morning, they ran into the Ravens who were firing on all cylinders and lost 91-57.
Aiden Warnholtz scored a game-high 19 and was backed by 14 points from Alain Louis and T.J. Lall.
Wrapping up the tournament, the Dinos held off a strong second-half push from the Vikes and walked away with a 69-59 victory.
"There was general disappointment in not winning this weekend, but there was also some real determination that I saw in our guys afterwards. We have a special group and with the right focus, we can be quite good this year," said Beaucamp.
The Vikes resume preseason play on Saturday, Oct. 19, when they host the Seattl Mountaineers at the CARSA Performance Gym.
