U SPORTS Men’s Basketball Final 8 roundup: Carleton/McGill

On Saturday in the U SPORTS Men’s Basketball Final 8, the first semi-final saw the number two seed Carleton Ravens taking on the third-seeded McGill Redmen. The first quarter got off to a slow start, with McGill maintaining an early lead for the first four minutes. The Ravens were able to turn it around, coming out of the opening frame with a 18 – 13 lead thanks in large part to Connor Wood, the U SPORTS Player of the Year, and Kaza Kajami-Keane.

Carleton was taking advantage of McGill fouls, going nine for ten on free throws by the end of the first half. The Ravens also had the edge in three pointers, and Carleton’s Eddie Ekiyor played a strong second quarter, with the team leaving the first half with a 43 – 26 lead.

McGill came out in the third quarter firing on all cylinders, and scored 21 points in the frame. It was not enough to take the lead, as the Ravens capped off the third with a buzzer beater to go into the final quarter with a lead of 60 to 47.

The fourth quarter was a tight one, with Carleton scoring 14 points to McGill’s 11, and the Ravens took the match by a final score of 74 – 58. For the second time in a row, it was no surprise that Wood was Carleton’s player of the game, having scored a team-leading 20 points in the matchup with the Redmen.

Carleton will go on to play the winner of the Dalhousie/Ryerson game on Sunday in the finals at 2 p.m., while McGill heads to the bronze medal game Sunday at 11:30a.m. and will face the loser of the Dalhousie/Ryerson tilt.