Correction: This article originally stated that the Ravens last missed the Wilson Cup in 2002, it was actually 2006. The Article has been updated.

Ottawa, ON – For the first time since 2006, the Carleton Ravens will not play for the Wilson Cup following an 86-80 loss to the Queen’s Gaels at the Raven’s Nest on Wednesday night.

It was another packed house at the Raven’s Nest following Carleton’s 87-68 victory over the Ryerson Rams on Saturday night in the OUA East Semifinal. With a pair of wins over Queen’s on the season already, most of the Carleton faithful very likely had their eyes set on this coming Saturday and the opportunity to host a fourth consecutive Wilson Cup.

The basketball gods seemingly decided on this night though that the magic of Carleton basketball that had carried them through 18 consecutive Wilson Cup appearances, 12 Wilson Cup wins and 15 of the last 18 National titles was not to be found.

In the first half, seemingly the only jersey on the Ravens that could get the ball to go through the basket belonged to #43. Lloyd Pandi, after a near triple-double performance on Saturday carried the Ravens through one of the most sluggish starts they had seen. By halftime with Queen’s leading 38-35 it was Pandi with 19 points on 9/11 shooting and the entire rest of the Ravens roster with 16 points on 5/20 shooting.

A lot of Queen’s strong performance on the night was thanks to the work of the guard Cole Syllas. The third year Kingston, Ontario native picked apart the Raven defence for the Gaels with 39 points, including six three-pointers along with ten rebounds. For the Ravens, a two-person performance of 25 points each from Alain Louis and Lloyd Pandi led the way for them.

Ultimately the Ravens trailed through most of the night before a quick 10-0 run at the start of the fourth quarter pushed the Carleton lead to 70-62 with seven minutes to play. The Gaels outscored the Ravens 24-10 the rest of the way, though, and when the buzzer sounded, Carleton’s 14 season streak of playing for the OUA title was over.

The Gaels move on to the Wilson Cup on Saturday, where they will host the Brock Badgers, who took down the McMaster Marauders 88-75 in the OUA West Division Final.