OTTAWA - The Carleton Ravens will host the OUA East finals on Wednesday after an 87-68 win over the Rams.
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After giving up the opening bucket to Jaaden Lewis and the Rams, the Ravens found an early rhythm as Alain Louis (Montreal, Que.) and Aiden Warnholtz (Ottawa, Ont.) both hit early shots from beyond the arc. Connor Vreeken (Kingston, Ont.) would join the three-point party before the game was four minutes old as the Ravens went 5-for-8 from range to take a 25-13 lead after one.
The Rams would get hot to start the second quarter riding sharp shooting from Aaron Rhooms and Mouhamed Ndiaye as they erased the Ravens lead closing the gap to one with two minutes to play in the half. By the end of the half, Rhooms and Ndiaye would combine for 24 of the Rams' 32 points. A late three by Warnholtz and a jumper from Pandi would allow the Ravens to regain some late momentum extending the lead to 37-32 at the half.
Lloyd Pandi (Ottawa, Ont.) got the Ravens started in the second half, scoring a pair of buckets in the second minute to establish an 11-point lead before Ankit Choudhary and Cordell Veira would trade threes. Choudhary would find his rhythm for the Rams scoring 8 points to keep within reach as the Ravens maintained momentum leading after three 69-57.
The Rams wouldn’t back down in the fourth as Aaron Rhooms hit a pair of three-pointers and Jaaden Lewis made good on an old-fashion three-point play to cut within six. After the Rams cut within four, Pandi cleaned up a beautiful sequence by Louis for his eighth rebound of the night and as he hit 20-points of his team-high 24. After Pandi would generate a steal on the defensive end he would find Aiden Warnholtz in the corner for three where he’d put the Ravens ahead by 13 with his fourth three of the night.
The Ravens will now host the Queen's Gaels in the OUA East Finals on Wednesday night. Tipoff at the Ravens' Nest will be 8:00 p.m. with tickets on sale now.
