Ottawa, ON – The University of Ottawa Gee-Gees men’s basketball team won the Capital Hoops Classic for the first time in four years.
The 71-61 victory against the Carleton Ravens is just the fourth time Ottawa bettered their rivals in the 17 matchups at the annual game. For forward Brock Newton, the rare win meant a lot to him and the team.
“There’s a lot of Carleton on that trophy, but it felt nice to put Ottawa on it this year,” Newton said. “It’s a big confidence boost for us … it’s big for the locker room.”
It is the second time Ottawa has defeated Carleton this season — the first occasion was the Dec. 6, 2023 matchup when the Gee-Gees battled back from a 20-point deficit to defeat the Ravens 79-78.
It all speaks to the Gee-Gees’ current form. With a 17-1 record and ranked no.1 in the country, it’s one of their best seasons in program history — only in 2014-15 and 1973-74 have uOttawa had one loss in a regular season.
Albeit, Carleton is going through a rebuilding season — 14 players are in their first or second year of eligibility, and guard Wazir Latiff is the oldest returning Raven in his third season — and currently holds a 10-8 record, their worst in more than 20 years.
Still, it wasn’t straightforward for the Gee-Gees last night. The stat line of a lopsided 22-9 first quarter would disagree, but the Ravens produced a third-quarter performance that reflected a championship team of the past.
They outscored the Gee-Gees 22-12 and shot 52.7 per cent from the field to cut the game to three points. Ottawa was limited to three buckets, but the young team failed to capitalize on their hard work in the fourth quarter, and the Gee-Gees made up what they had lost.
Ottawa head coach James Derouin had a lot of praise for his opponents. He said describing Carleton as a “weak team” isn’t accurate.
“They’re still a very good basketball team, extremely well coached and disciplined,” Derouin said. “A lot of schools are sleeping on them, but I don’t think anyone wants to play that team in the playoffs … Nothing changes for me, Carleton is going to be tough no matter when you play them.”
But amidst a rebuilding season, rookie moments are bound to happen. Carleton experienced those moments last night.
In the fourth quarter, the Ravens shot a game-high of 62.5 per cent from the field, but only took eight shots. The Gee-Gees actually scored more shots than the Ravens took, executing nine of 19 attempts from the field.
The Ravens struggled to take care of the ball, committing 17 turnovers. They felt the consequences of their actions as the Gee-Gees scored 25 points from their mistakes.
It was a stark contrast to the Gee-Gees, who rarely lost possession on the night. With their five turnovers, the Ravens feebly scored two points.
Head Coach Taffe Charles credited his team for their 36 points in the paint, but said that his young team was just too inexperienced to win this game.
“We don’t have the expertise right now to adjust to changes,” Charles said about his team adjusting to Ottawa’s offence. “The reality is I didn’t feel like we had that game under control, even though it was close.”