CIS men's basketball tournament: Carleton, Ottawa to meet in final

For the second consecutive season the Ottawa Gee-Gees will battle four-time defending champion and crosstown rival Carleton Ravens, winners of 10 of the last 12 CIS titles. The top-ranked Ravens booked their spot in the final with an 83-74 win over the Victoria Vikes, while the No. 3-ranked Gee-Gees edged the seventh-seeded Ryerson Rams 84-75.

CIS MVP Johnny Berhanesmeskel scored 20 points to top Ottawa, while Vikas Gill added 18, drilling four three-pointers in a huge third quarter for the Gee-Gees.

Carleton, meanwhile, led by as many as 27 points en route to the victory that put them one win away from their fifth consecutive title. But still, they weren't satisfied.

Philip Scrubb poured in 29 points, doled out 13 assists and pulled down eight rebounds to lead the Ravens. And minutes after the final buzzer sounded on what was Scrubb's second-last game of his university career, the guard from Richmond, B.C., lamented the mistakes his team made.

"We didn't play well enough in the second half, and if we play like that (Sunday), we're likely going to lose," Scrubb said. "We've got a lot of things to work on, and each individual guy knows what they've got to do."

Scrubb's older brother Thomas, who will also graduate this season, grabbed 12 rebounds for Carleton.

Marcus Tibbs led Canada West champion Victoria with 27 points.

The Ravens roared out to a 27-15 lead after one quarter, and then took a 48-32 advantage into the dressing room at halftime in front of a sold-out crowd of 4,056 fans at Ryerson University's Mattamy Athletic Centre that included a small but noisy red-clad Carleton contingent. One fan held a sign: "You got Scrubbed."

Philip Scrubb, who had already collected 14 points plus 10 assists by halftime, then contributed eight points of Carleton's 10-2 run to open the third and the Ravens took a 67-50 advantage into the fourth.

The late game saw the Rams lead 45-38 at halftime in their first-ever CIS semifinal, in front of a crowd that included Toronto Raptors players James Johnson and Bruno Caboclo.

Adika Peter-McNeilly scored 17 to top the Rams, including a three with about 3:49 to play that tied the game at 67-67. But a basket and two free throws by Michael L'Africain capped an 8-0 Ottawa run that gave the visitors a 78-69 lead with 47 seconds to play.

"Sadness for our kids, but immense pride as well," said Ryerson coach Roy Rana. "You feel for them, they are young men, some of them are still kids. An emotional time for all of us, but you feel for them.

Ravens coach Dave Smart said it's fitting two Ontario teams will face off in the final — Carleton, Ottawa and Ryerson were ranked 1-2-3 virtually all season long.

"I don't think it's been a fluke that it's gone this way," Smart said. "The Ontario teams have been the best teams most of the year and I think it's holding true here."

Earlier Saturday, Dadrian Collins scored 29 points to lead the Saskatchewan Huskies to a 99-94 win over the Windsor Lancers and fifth place at the CIS men's basketball championship.

The medal games are set for Sunday at the Mattamy Athletic Centre, which is also the basketball venue for this summer's Pan American Games.