On January 20, the Varsity Blues men’s basketball team made history after they defeated the Carleton Ravens for the first time since 2002.
The Blues and the Ravens met at the Goldring Centre for High-Performance Sport on Friday night for the first time this season. Prior to this game, the Blues lost two back-to-back games against the Lakehead Thunderwolves and were hoping to make a huge comeback at their home court.
What happened
Their quick defensive recovery and tight coverage allowed the Blues to take an early lead in the first quarter; the Blues shut down the Ravens’ offense and took advantage of the Ravens’ counterattacks. By the end of the first, the Blues were up by 10 points with a score of 21–11.
Determined to decrease the Blues’ lead, the Ravens came into the second quarter hungry to keep possession and take more shots on net, which they succeeded in doing. With a close score of 32–28, the Ravens were only down by four points going into halftime.
Both the Blues and the Ravens felt the pressure coming into the second half, and it quickly became a back-and-forth match while both teams secured their shots. With just over three minutes left in the third, the Ravens secured a two-pointer at the foul line, tying up the score at 39–39.
Going into the fourth quarter with only a two-point lead, the Blues knew they needed to lock in on defense and complete each offensive opportunity they had. Although it was a close match, the Blues secured the win with a final score of 56–54.
Blues’ forward, Lennart Weber, led his team with a total of 15 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals; his teammate, Callum Baker, also had an outstanding performance with a total of 14 points, four assists, three steals, and one rebound.
In an interview with The Varsity, Baker said, “Carleton is a great program, a great team… and we knew it was going to be a dog fight.” He gave props to his teammates, the coaching, and their game plan, which they executed in order to get the win.
The Varsity Blues are now ranked first in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) central division with 11–5 overall and a 0.688 win percentage.
What’s next
On January 21, the Blues faced the Ottawa Gee-Gees at their home court for the first time this season. Before this match, the Gee-Gees were placed second in the east division of the OUA standings at 13–2, with a 0.867 win percentage.
Baker said in preparation for this match, the Blues needed to move past the win against the Ravens and lock in for their matchup against the Gee–Gees.
