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OTTAWA, Ontario – It’s a season sweep of the Gee-Gees for the Carleton Ravens, as they grabbed their third Capital Hoops Classic in a row versus rival Ottawa by a score of 82-64.
GAME FLOW
The Ravens were off to the races early in this one, starting with a Munis Tutu three just seconds in and building to a 7-0 lead before Ottawa got on the board. The Gee-Gees brought things within three off a Brandon Robinson deep shot, but it was the closest Ottawa would ever get as Carleton proceeded to take over the rest of the quarter. Another three from Tutu was followed by an and one conversion from forward Eddie Ekiyor to send the Ravens on a 15-3 run to close out the quarter with a 25-7 lead. Guard Marcus Anderson added two deep balls of his own, and the Ravens defense completely shut down the Ottawa offense by not allowing a point in the final six and a half minutes.
Ottawa showed more on the offensive end of the court in the 2nd quarter, but again were unable to stop the combination of deadly three point shooting and the power of Ekiyor down low. Ekiyor had seven points in the frame, capped off by a hoop and the harm in the final minute to the delight of the many Ravens fans in attendance. Tutu and Anderson each added their 3rd three pointers of the half as Carleton took a 44-26 lead into the break.
The Gee-Gees appeared to find some sort of spark in the locker room, as they came out with a pair of threes in the opening minute of the 3rd quarter to announce that they were not done just yet. Again there was no answer for Ekiyor however, as the Ottawa native rattled off six points of his own to start the quarter. A TJ Lall layup boosted the Ravens lead to 54-34, but a 10-4 run capped by an Olivier Cadieux three managed to keep things interesting. Cadieux hit a nice layup late in the frame, but once again Ekiyor answered with a last minute layup of his own to keep Carleton up 62-49 heading to the final 10 minutes.
Ottawa worked things within 12 early on in the 4th, but Marcus Anderson’s 4th connection from deep three minutes into the quarter took the air out of the Gee-Gees sails. Ekiyor went back to work in the paint, while Tutu’s 4th three of the game ran the score to 75-56. The final buzzer saw Carleton earn the right to hoist the Capital Hoops trophy for the 11th time overall.
Tutu finished with 14 points off his hot shooting from three point land. He spoke after the game about what was helping him hit the mark. “I just want to come in the game and be confident,” said Tutu. “That’s what I did in the first quarter and the second quarter.”
Tutu did emphasize that the team still has some defensive questions he’d like to address in the final four games of the season. “We kind of let up defensively in the second half. We started off the game strong, so that’s something we have to work on every day: being consistent and emphasizing our defense,” said Tutu. Going into next week we’re going to focus our whole week on our defense, and making sure situations like this don’t happen again.”
Ekiyor was the driving force on the evening, scoring a commanding 25 points and adding in 12 rebounds for a double double. Carleton relied heavily on their starting five in securing the victory, with all five players on the court for at least 30 minutes of action.
Ravens Player of the Game: Eddie Ekiyor – Forward – 3rd Year
Up next:
Carleton vs York
Friday, February 8 – 8pm
Tait Mackenzie Centre – Toronto, ON