OTTAWA - A 22-13 third quarter was the difference as the Carleton Ravens beat the uOttawa Gee-Gees 77-60 on Wednesday night.
After a slow first half saw both teams missing opportunities to really make an impact, Carleton exploded in the third scoring 22 points, including going four-for-five from beyond the arc to beat their crosstown rivals.
Carleton's hot shooting was the difference throughout the night as the Ravens managed a remarkable 50% shooting on their home court. For his efforts on Seniors Night, Aiden Warnholtz was magical. The Kanata guard played over 38 minutes establishing a rhythm for the Ravens while punching in 26 points including 11 from the free throw line. What's more, Warnholtz was an equal opportunity distributor picking up 8 assists including a nifty one-handed pass behind a Gee-Gees defender late in the third as the Ravens were pulling away.
For the second straight night, Marjok Okado scored in double-digits putting up 10 points including a massive put-back slam dunk off a rare Ravens miss.
All around, it was an impressive performance for all four seniors honoured. Joining Warnholtz in the pregame ceremony were Connor Vreeken, Elliott Bailey and Grant Shephard. For their efforts, they too lit up the scoresheet Vreeken with 13 points including 3-5 from downtown, Bailey had 15 rebounds and Shephard had 11 points and 9 rebounds.
"We just wanted to not play on Wednesday," explained coach Taffe Charles looking ahead to the playoffs. "A couple weeks ago it wasn't looking good, we were in a bad spot but we've done a lot and things have gone our way in terms of people losing games."
"It's nice to be able to secure a first-round bye and hopefully secure some home games for the rest of the playoffs," he added.
"I feel like every game is an important game," said Aiden Warnholtz downplaying the importance of the victory. "Obviously we knew that we needed to win this game to put ourselves in the position to control our fate, so it felt good to have a say in where we finished."
With the win, the Ravens now head North to face a strong Lakehead team with all eyes on building good habits for the playoffs ahead. With a bye secured, the Ravens now eye a playoff matchup at home next Saturday as the next time they'll play in the Ravens' Nest.
