OTTAWA (Nov. 30, 2024)—The Carleton Ravens men's basketball team lost their first game of the season on Saturday night, 76-67, to the Lakehead Thunderwovles.
The Ravens pulled ahead of the 10-1 Thunderwolves early taking a 21-14 lead in the first quarter. Carleton shot 47% from the field in the first while Lakehead sputtered from beyond the arc going 1-7. Carleton had jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead before Nathan Bilamu pushed Lakehead into a 9-7 lead. Xavier Spencer and Marjok Okado helped Carleton build their lead but turnovers continued to let the hosts hang in the game.
The Ravens' shooting cooled off in the second quarter matching the Thunderwolves' struggles. Nathan Bilamu was 0-3 missing two from deep. Al together Lakehead hit only 4-13 in the quarter. Carleton's struggles came mostly from deep where the Ravens were 1-11 with only Nelson Cilien hitting a triple in the period.
Fortunes changed in the third when the Thunderwolves rallied. Carsen Unrau heated up going 2-2 from the field and 4-4 from the charity stripe to lead a 26-13 quarter. The Ravens only found themselves in more trouble, making just 21.1% of their shots with Augustas Brazdeikis being the most successful Raven. Playing the entire quarter, Brazdeikis was the most consistent Carleton player scoring five points and bringing in two defensive rebounds as Carleton led by one after 30 minutes.
The two teams traded leads for the first six minutes of the final frame before Bilamu nailed a three with 4:11 on the clock to take a 64-61 lead. After Bilamu extended the lead at the free throw line a Carsen Unrau dunk was the exclamation mark on the Thunderwolves comeback. Bilamu's consistency at the line was too much down the stretch as Lakehead held on to hand the Ravens their first loss of the year.
Carleton returns to action on Wednesday night when they host the Ottawa Gee-Gees at the Nest. It's Red Night as Carleton fans are encouraged to pack the Nest red for this rivalry game.
Special limited edition red t-shirts will also be on sale at the game while supplies last.
