Ravens snap three-game losing streak with victory over Billikens
Photo by: Murray McComb
Story by: Marcus Guido
The Carleton University Ravens men’s basketball team ran away with the game Friday night and snapped a three-game losing streak, beating the Saint Louis University Billikens 80-56.
Despite giving up the game’s opening two points, the Ravens netted the next nine and never looked back, ending the first half with a one-sided 44-21 lead.
Their strong play forced Billikens coach Rick Majerus, who is a five-time Western Athletic Conference coach of the year, to call two timeouts in a three-minute span during the opening 20 minutes.
The Ravens dominated play from beyond-the-arc, draining 12 of 20 shots. Their aggressive play in the paint continued to create chances throughout the game.
Saint Louis tried to keep up with Carleton’s three-point possessions, but only managed to make a dismal 16.7 per cent of their shots from beyond-the-arc in the first half.
The Billikens improved their shooting in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to catch the Ravens, who held on for the convincing victory and dropped Saint Louis’ record to 3-1 on its Canadian tour.
The game ended on a scary note as action was stopped with 3:13 left to play when Billikens guard Kwamain Mitchell (Milwaukee, Wis.) fell awkwardly into the stands. The final whistle was blown as he was taken away on a stretcher.
Tyson Hinz (Ottawa), the 2011 CIS male athlete of the year, led the Ravens to victory, scoring a game-high 18 points and collecting four rebounds.
The Ravens are now 2-4 in the 2011 Cross-Border Battle and will look to string two wins together for the first time in exhibition action this season in a rematch against the Billikens tomorrow night. Game time is 7 p.m. at the Raven’s Nest.
Top Scorers
Ravens: Tyson Hinz – 18 points
Billikens: Mike McCall – 17 points
Rebounds
Ravens: 14+8=22
Billikens: 7+8=15
Score by Period
Ravens: 44+36=80
Billikens: 21+35=56
