Ottawa, ON – It took five tries and nearly ten years but the Carleton Ravens can finally say they have defeated the Cincinnati Bearcats and Head Coach Mick Cronin.
Paced by three third-year players including the lethal penetration of guard Munis Tutu (Windsor, Ont.) and the stellar inside play of 6’9″ forward Eddie Ekiyor (Ottawa, Ont.) the Ravens knocked-off the Bearcats 86-67 clinching their first win of the 2018-18 season and their first over Cincinnati since both teams started exchanging pleasantries back in 2008.
Taking the floor since earning a Bronze Medal at the 2018 U Sports Final 8 and snapping their seven-year strangle hold of the WP. McGee trophy, as Canada’s best university team, the Ravens looked sharp and active early on as they fought-off a rebounding onslaught in the first quarter (11-4) to break open a 20-20 first-quarter tie by limiting the visiting Bearcats to just nine second-quarter points.
Eddie Ekiyor a former four-star recruit with the Xavier Musketeers continued to dominate NCAA division I opposition posting 26 points, in 26 minutes including a near-perfect 13-of-15 stat-line from the floor. The 6’9″ Ekiyor dominated the much bigger Bearcats scoring 12 points in the fourth-quarter on his way to game-high honors.
“It’s our first game, we just wanted to come-out and play hard and do everything we can to get the season started the right way, and it went well. I think our guards did a lot to get in the paint and played really well, defensively we got to keep getting better.” discussed Ekiyor.
Carleton Ravens Guard (13) Munis Tutu at the foul-line vs. Cincinnati Bearcats – Photo Edilson J. Silva
Munis Tutu’s 21-point, 5 assist, 1 turnover effort on 7-of-13 shooting and 5-of-7 triples against an experienced trio of Bearcats guards (Cane Broome, Keith Williams, Trevon Scott) was an eye opener. Munis Tutu did a fantastic job handling the Bearcats pressure and continuously made Cincinnati pay inside and outside regardless of who they put on him. His monstrous mid-second quarter dunk attempt over several Bearcats defenders surprised everybody in attendance and energized his team, helping Carleton rip-off a 16-5 run and take a 41-29 half-time lead.
“We knew they were going to be switching a lot so we were either going to go high-low or 1-4 and if I got a big on me, I just had to penetrate, try to get dish-offs and make good plays and good shots and we did a good job executing, and it shows on the scoreboard.” kindly spoke Munis during post game.
As for his dunk attempt, and as if dealing with his speed wasn’t already enough, apparently opponents will also have to watch-out below or end-up on a poster – “We been working in the weight room and all of those leg workouts – it shows on that dunk attempt. I wish I could’ve got it, but we got that win, that’s all I’m happy about.” added Munis
Ravens 6’6″ forward T.J Lall (Cambridge, Ont.) looked active on both ends kicking off his junior campaign in fine fashion, notching a 16-point and game-high 11 rebound double-double.
Cincinnati Bearcats Jarron Cumberland Triple Threat versus Carleton Ravens – Photo Edilson J. Silva
Bearcats Jarron Cumberland (12 points, 3 steals) was largely held in check for most of the game as Carleton rotated multiple players against the Bearcats highly touted guard. Keith Williams added 10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and Cane Broome finished with 10 points.
The Bearcats are a year removed from a No. 2 seed at the 2018 March Madness tournament and now drop to 1-1 in their 2018 Canadian tour with one game remaining against the McGill Redmen in Montreal.
Like many previous American teams playing under FIBA rules (24-second shot clock and 10 minute quarters), rather than the traditional slower pace 35-second shot clock, the Bearcats had a difficult time handling the pace of the game and failed to show any consistency with their outside shooting, going only 3-for-10. Carleton connected on 10-of-21 from three-pointers led by Munis five and Lall’s additional 2-of-4 shooting.
Prior to tonight’s win, the Ravens had lost four times to the Cincinnati Bearcats with three of those losses coming on the road in Ohio.
Familiar foe #Cincinnati Bearcats (4-0 vs. #Carleton Ravens 64-54 W, 2008, 87-70 W, 2010, 89-57 W, 2010 & 77-63 W, 2013) make their first trip back to Nations Capital Since September 4 2010. #NCAA #USPORTS
— BasketballBuzz (@basketballbuzz) August 6, 2018
The Carleton Ravens are currently on seven-game winning streak over NCAA division one teams, their longest in the program’s history and have dropped only one game against NCAA teams in their last twelve outings – earnings big wins over Alabama, Vanderbilt, Providence, Cincinnati and more. The 19-point margin of victory ranks amongst the best against major DI teams. Carleton beat Wichita State by 25 points in 2016 and torched the Memphis Tigers by 32 back in 2014. Their largest beat-down was a 51-point drumming of Morgan State Bears and Arkansas Pine-Bluff catching a 43 points also coming in 2016.
Carleton Ravens Basketball Bench Versus Cincinnati Bearcats
The Ravens played without the services of Isiah Osborne, a late season impact recruit which comes back to Canada after a stint with the Utep Miners. Osborne a native of Windsor, Ontario played one season of USPORTS basketball before being snagged away the Miners in a controversial recruiting that saw the 6’5 guard sit out a year and average 9.4 points per game and 3.7 assists appearing in 29 of 31 games while earning 19 starts. Osborne should be available for the 2018 House Laughton tournament in October 2018.
Other noticeable absences included guard OUA conference first-team Guard Yasiin Joseph (14 PPG) who was seen on the bench wearing medical walking boot. Also absent was guard Emmanuel Owootoah who didn’t dress for game. Troy Reid Knight, yet another division one transfer didn’t dress as well.
With key additional pieces still missing and the mindset of “trusting their coach” and “coming out hungry every game” Carleton looks poised return to the top of the podium with a well balanced veteran roster that could very well once again run the table against both USA and Canadian teams.
