By Gabriel Rodrigues
Laurentian’s men’s basketball team dropped both their games during the Voyageurs’ home opening weekend against Ottawa and Carleton.
On Friday, Nov. 14, Laurentian lost to last year’s OUA champion and CIS second ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees 95-65 at the Ben F. Avery Gymnasium.
In the first, Ottawa scored 25 points in the opening quarter while the Voyageurs managed only 13, as Laurentian turned over the ball seven times and missed a combined 10 shots within the opening frame.
The second provided much of the same with Ottawa controlling and making timely shots including a buzzer beating shot by Johnny Berhanemeskel to end the first half, giving the Gee-Gees a 50-29 lead.
In the third, Laurentian scored 25 points but Ottawa equaled the Voyageurs’ strong quarter and scored 27 to take a 77-54 lead going into the last frame.
In the last quarter, the game was out of Laurentian’s reach, as the Voyageurs managed only 11 points and lost by a 30 point spread, handing the Gee-Gees their third win of the OUA season.
Laurentian’s Tychon Carter-Newman scored 16 points, four assists and collected six rebounds to lead the Voyageurs.
David Aromolaran scored 15 points in Laurentian’s losing effort.
Ottawa’s Berhanemeskel led all scorers tallying 24 points, five assist and four rebounds.
Forward Caleb Agada scored 23 points, adding 15 rebounds and five assists to help in the Gee-Gees win.
Ottawa scored 19 points off Laurentian turnovers and had a combined 30 points from players coming off the bench, while the Voyageurs managed only 10 points off Gee-Gees’ turnovers and had 21 bench points.
Also, the Gee-Gees out-rebounded
On Saturday, Nov. 15, the Voyageurs lost to the number one CIS ranked Carleton Ravens 82-60, dropping Laurentian’s record to 1-2 on the OUA season.
In the first, the Ravens began the game on an 8-2 run, but the Voyageurs rallied back and eventually took a 17-14 lead going into the next quarter.
Despite Laurentian’s three point lead, the Ravens came out strong in the second, as Carleton scored 25 points within the quarter, taking a 39-31 lead going into halftime.
In the third, the Ravens scored 27 points while Laurentian struggled and managed to score only 12 points in the quarter.
Although the Voyageurs outscored the Ravens 17-16 in the last frame, it was little too late, as Carleton won the game by 22 points.
Laurentian’s Ryan Bennett led all scorers with 29 points, adding four assists in the Voyageurs’ loss.
Voyageurs’ Tychon Carter-Newman added some secondary scoring, as he tallied 12 points, five assists and collected eight rebounds.
Carleton’s Philip Scrubb scored 15 points, seven assists and two steals.
Thomas Scrubb collected seven rebounds and scored 13 points to help in the Ravens’ win.
Carleton’s team depth proved to be a major difference against the Voyageurs, scoring 26 bench points compared to Laurentian’s three.
Laurentian turned over the ball 18 times while Carleton managed only 13.
The Ravens height was also a factor, out-rebounding the Voyageurs 31-23.
Laurentian’s coach, Shawn Swords, said his team were taught valuable lessons in playing Carleton and Ottawa who currently sit one and two in CIS rankings.
“They are both so good in transition,” said Swords. “We said to the guys going in ‘you are going to get better whether you like it or not.’ We wanted the guys to go out there and work hard to push themselves to try and execute the game plan. We had some positives and negatives happen, but we can only move forward and focus on the next game.”
The Voyageurs’ next home games will be on Nov. 28 and 29 when they host the Guelph Gryphons and Lakehead Thunderwolves at the Ben F. Avery Gymnasium with both game beginning at 8:00 p.m.
