OTTAWA – A rematch of the 2019 national final went to the defending champs Friday as the Carleton Ravens built up a second-quarter lead en route to an 82-66 win over the University of Calgary Dinos at TD Place Arena.
On the strength of outstanding outside shooting – the Ravens went 10-for-20 from three-point land – Carleton advances to play Western in the national semifinal Saturday night. The Dinos, meanwhile, move to the consolation side where they will face a familiar foe in the Alberta Golden Bears Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. local / 11 a.m. MT.
"In truth, we would have to play almost perfect basketball to beat that team, and we knew that coming in," said Dinos head coach Dan Vanhooren. "I'm proud of our guys for our energy level and how hard we played, and that they battled as hard as they did. For us to win the second half was good.
"The second quarter hurt us, we gave up too much offensive glass and on the O-glass they get their kickout threes, and they took advantage of it. It's a good experience for our guys – we don't graduate anybody, so for us to bring this experience back and be able to build on it for the next 50 weeks is going to make a big impact for us."
U SPORTS player of the year Brett Layton had another outstanding outing for the Dinos, leading all players with 23 points while adding 16 rebounds and four blocks.
"Players of the year tend to feel that pressure when all eyes are on them when they get into their first game at this tournament," said Vanhooren. "Every time that I've been here, most of the time the player of the year doesn't perform at the level they can. I was really pleased with Brett and how hard he battled and what he did out there, and he showed what he's capable of."
Isiah Osborne scored 20 points and added six rebounds to lead the way for Carleton, while Biniam Grebrekidan added 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Carleton shot 43.9 per cent from the field and 50 per cent from three, compared to Calgary's 37.5 per cent shooting and 21.1 percent from beyond the arc.
Nike Top Performers
Carleton: Isiah Osborne
Calgary: Brett Layton
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