Carleton Ravens expose Ottawa Gee-Gees, who get sense of gap between No. 1 and No. 2 in CIS hoops

The Ottawa Gee-Gees' loss in last March's national semifinal that threw them off a collision course with the mighty Carleton Ravens built an illusion.

The Ravens of coach Dave Smart beat their familiar foil three times by a combined eight points last season on the way to cutting down the championship nets once again. Since a negative cannot be proven, there is no definitive way to no way to know how Round 4 would have turned out if coach James Derouin's Gee-Gees had survived that CIS Final 8 semi against Lakehead. There was a sneaking suspicion, among those who have seen the movie before, that it would not have close. Call it a hunch derived from seeing Carleton win a record nine titles in 11 seasons.

That element of what if, along with the cross-town rivals each having an unblemished record against Canadian competition, ratcheted the hype for Friday's No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup at a raucous Ravens' Nest. The result was pro forma — it always seems to be with Carleton — as the Ravens controlled the last 30 minutes and romped 94-73 with fifth-year forward Tyson Hinz going off for a game-high 32 points and nine rebounds. Lead guard Phil Scrubb, who played with Canada's men's national team in the summer, had a 2-for-11 shooting night. Yet the Ravens still nearly hit a hundred, much to the joy of the "sloppy seconds!"-chanting Carleton student section.

The upshot for Ottawa is a change to the traditional Ontario University Athletics schedule meant the rivals were playing before the December exam break, instead of meeting for the first time at the Capital Hoops Classic in January. So there is that.

"It gives us something going forward over Christmas," said Derouin, whose team led only once all night, shortly before a hand-in-his-face Hinz triple sparked the Ravens to a 15-0 run and eventual 17-point halftime margin. "If it this is the third or fourth week of January, maybe it would be tool late to fix whatever it is I need to fix. This gives us a long, long time to do that.

"Too many open shots, too many offensive rebounds," added Derouin, whose Gee-Gees had given up 85 more points on three previouus instances during their 16-0 start vs. CIS foes. "They got 18 offensive rebounds. It's the No. 1 team in the country. We have to figure out what we're going to do there.

"We need games like this to prepare us [for the playoffs in March]," Derouin added. "We haven't played anyone close to this physical until now. We have to see how we respond ... the guys are crushed obviously. Now we have something to take back to them. I was worried about this, and 18 offensive boards later, it turned out I was correct."

Thomas Scrubb, Phil's elder brother, added 18 points and seven rebounds for Carleton, which will host the Final 8 again in March at the Canadian Tire Centre. Fourth-year guard Clinton Springer-Williams added 16 and grabbed eight off the glass, where the Ravens had a 45-34 overall edge without anyone getting in double figures. Ottawa shooting guard Johnny Berhanemeskel finished with 17 points and eight rebounds.

'Great for the fans'

Post-game, it was tough not to come away thinking Carleton would have been nonplussed by a loss. It's not even December yet.

"At this point for Ottawa U's program and for our program, we're just trying to win games," said Smart, whose team has lost only twice to CIS teams during its current three-year banner run. "Having the top two teams in the country play is great for the fans, but they're playing who they hope is the second-best team in the country and we're playing who we hope is the second-best team in the country. This has been the case for most of the time I've been there. They've been a Top 5 team."

It last 1-vs.-2 Carleton-Ottawa matchup occurred in January 2009. The Ravens won 87-74. They won the national title two months later, although they needed a buzzer shot to get by Western in the semifinal.

Smart is well aware there are plenty more challengers spread out across the country, although the OUA East is considered the deepest division in CIS.

"Ryerson, Alberta, [No. 3-ranked] Victoria, are all strong," Smart said. "I haven't seen much of [No. 7-ranked] Saskatchewan, but I've heard they're very strong. Both of the top teams in the [OUA] West, McMaster and Windsor, haven't played their best, but they're good teams."

Thomas debuts

One beacon for Ottawa is was its 18-7 run in the first quarter after the first apperarance of Terry Thomas, the former all-Canadian who transferred from St. Francis Xavier in the summer. Thomas has nursed a hamstring ailment and a high-ankle sprain this fall while awaiting the end of the CIS-mandated 365-day transfer period. (which, starting next year, will only apply to athletes who move within the country, not to anyone coming in from the NCAA). The 6-foot-4 swingman whom Ottawa expects to replace former star Warren Ward, had 11 points in 26 minutes in a sixth-man role. Defensively, Thomas altered a couple of the 6-7 Hinz's inside drives.

"I thought Terry, for it being his debut, had an excellent game tonight," Derouin said. "His athleticism stood out. His energy was good ... I thought he looked a little bit shaky in transition, which is normally his strength. But that's a thing where the more reps he gets, the more comfortable he'll look. In games like that, where you need that extra fire, that extra fight, he has it. I'm not sure all our guys have it, or had it tonight specifically. He stood out to me."

Thomas enjoyed his first taste of the cross-town matchup, despite the outcome. He did allude to his team's undoing early, when Phil Scrubb repeatedly reversed the ball to Hinz for open looks after Ottawa defenders overcommitted. Hinz's first three triples were all uncontested as he hit 6-of-9 from downtown.

"I love the atmosphere," said Thomas, who led St. FX to the national semifinal in 2012. "It's unfortunate that I'm injured right now, but I like the rivalry, I like getting thrown into it. We learned tonight about discipline. Carleton's a disciplined team. They pick your weakness out. They run plays over and over again until they get the weakness out. We need to be disciplined, defensive rotations and what-not."

Over and over again. That could describe what the Ravens have done to the CIS for more than a decade. There are still three months until Final 8 time, though.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet. Please address any questions, comments or concerns to btnblog@yahoo.ca.