Men’s Basketball (11-7 OUA)

At Carleton (18-0 OUA) on Friday, February 3, 2012 at 8:00 p.m.

uOttawa – Mike L’Africain 17 points, 4 rebounds; Johnny Berhanemeskel 12 points, 7 rebounds

Carleton – Phillip Scrubb 30 points, 5 rebounds; Willy Manigat 18 points, 5 rebounds

Game Story:

The Gee-Gees showed resilience in tonight’s battle in the Raven’s nest; despite the score they pushed the Ravens until the dying seconds in their 86-57 loss to their cross-town rivals.

Carleton’s physical play continued to prominently feature at this second match-up, as was initially demonstrated at their 74-34 Capital Hoops win over the Gee-Gees. Carleton’s double team shifted smoothly on defense, stifling the Gee-Gees offence and making it near impossible for any garnet jersey to penetrate the basket. The Gee-Gees came up with no offensive rebounds in the half.

“The first half, I’m not sure we competed at the level I hoped for,” said head coach James Derouin, “Especially on the glass, we really got out-rebounded in the first half. We gave them so many second opportunities and they’re not going to miss a second one; you just can’t give that up.”

The second half did not open the way the Gee-Gees may have preferred as Carleton sank four early three-pointers to quickly extend their lead, also forcing multiple Gee-Gees turnovers on offence. But the Gee-Gees came out strongly in the fourth, sinking 11 points before the first four minutes had passed. The Gee-Gees held Carleton to their lowest scoring quarter in the fourth, with both teams adding 17 points.

Last year’s CIS rookie of the year, Phillip Scrubb, pummelled the Gee-Gees from the three-point line, nailing five treys and sinking 20 points in the first half alone. Scrubb finished with 30 points, leading in the Ravens’ win.

Rookie Mike L’Africain (Oakville, Ont.) led the Gee-Gees scoring with 17 points, creating solid scoring chances for himself and finishing with his usual finesse. Second-year guard Johnny Berhanemeskel (Ottawa, Ont.) put his heart and soul, and body, on the line tonight, adding 12 points to the Gee-Gees’ effort, and leading with seven rebounds.

“The second half, I thought the guys ignored the score and played hard,” said Derouin, “For this team, it’s not about tonight, it’s about getting better. I thought they competed, and Carleton had to play their guys right until the end. We stuck with [Carleton]; were aggressive. We didn’t back down, we didn’t give up. I’m proud of the guys for that.”

The Gee-Gees will hit the road next weekend to visit Queen’s and RMC in their final road trip of the season. Tip-off is 8:00 p.m. on Friday, February 10 at Queen’s and 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 11 at RMC.