For Roy Rana's Ryerson Rams, there's 'sadness, but immense pride' after CIS Final 8 heartbreak

Roy Rana did his best to see another Gee-Gees gutting through the lens of the Ryerson Rams' bad old days.

Once again, Ottawa found a way during winning time while the Rams found mostly iron, quieting Ryerson chants of "this is our house!" by pulling away in the final three minutes for an 84-75 win in the CIS Final 8 semifinal in front of a standing-room-only crowd of 4,056 at Mattamy Athletic Centre. The win dashed the Rams' dream, and there might be some long nights ahead for the three-headed monster backcourt: Ottawa wings Caleb Agada and Mehdi Tihani held fifth-year guard Jahmal Jones to two points on 1-of-7 shooting, while Aaron Best was 3-of-13. The Rams' hottest shooter, Adika Peter-McNeilly, fouled out on a questionable call with 3:42 left just after hitting a tying three-ball.

"There is sadness, but immense pride for our kids," said Rana, whose Rams have also been beaten by Ottawa in the OUA playoffs for three consecutive seasons. "They're young men, some are still kids. It's an emotional time for them. You wish it could have been a different result but that is sports — sometimes there is great glory and sometimes there is great heartbreak. 

"I take it personally that this event was a special win for Toronto," added Rana, in his sixth year as Ryerson's skipper. "Tonight was a special night. I don't know if we've had a CIS basketball game like this in Toronto for a long time. Maybe back before my time when Waterloo and York and those programs were very,very strong. To see this type of support, to see this type of energy for Ryerson... when I got here we'd have 150 people at the game and have to beg them to come. To see this type of support from our students and our community is pretty special.

"I just wish we could have won and kept it going."

Two plays went a long way toward swinging the day to the Gee-Gees, who will meet Carleton at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday in the third championship-game rematch in tournament history. In the third quarter, the Ryerson student section rose as one in anticipation of Best throwing down a breakaway dunk for a nine-point lead, but the fourth-year guard brought the ball down on the front rim. Seconds later, the Gee-Gees' Vikas Gill (18 points in as many minutes, on 5-of-7 from three-point land) swished a triple to complete a five-point swing. By quarter's end, the Gee-Gees were ahead.

Then Peter-McNeilly, who had a team-high 17, fouled out after the Rams had made a push to tie. Moments later, after Ottawa's savvy fifth-year co-captain Gabriel Gonthier-Dubue got his team a fresh shot clock by throwing the ball off of a Ram and out of bounds, CIS player of the year Johnny Berhanemeskel (20 points) hit his only triple of the evening. Gonthier-Dubue (seven points, seven rebounds, five assists) also got a big tip-in in the second-last minute.

"The missed dunk was big, the fifth foul on Adika was big because he had made a shot and was the one guy who was getting loose and scoring," Rana said. "Those two plays were really turning points. We scrambled back after the dunk miss to tie it, but Adika fouled out."

Best has one more season of eligibility and Peter-McNeilly, a third-year, is hitting his stride. The night also offered a portent of the Rams' bright future as 6-foot-8 second-year guard Jean-Victor Mukama was a huge factor, hooping 12 points while harrying Berhanemeskel with his length.

Still, it's tough for a team to overcome having its first two options on offence, Best and Jones, being shut down. 

"They had a tough night," Rana said. "Without them, we're not here to begin with. It's something that I think will build resilience in them as young men. Jahmal will play professionally. Aaron has another year. I look at it as part of their growth."

Ryerson, which will face Victoria for the bronze medal at 11:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, is also parting with fifth-years Jordon Gauthier and Bjorn Michalsen. They were also big cogs in 2012 when the Rams won their way to the Final 8 for the first time under Rana.

"I don't see this is a one-off," Rana said. "We're going to be competitive here for a long time."

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.