Saskatchewan upsets Carleton to reach CIS final

The No. 5 Saskatchewan Huskies stunned the top-ranked Carleton Ravens 86-82 in semifinal action Saturday at the Canadian university men's basketball championship in Ottawa.

The Huskies built a 15-point lead but had to hang on against the Ravens, who have won six of the last seven national titles.

Michael Linklater led the way with 25 points for Saskatchewan, which will face the UBC Thunderbirds in Sunday's final. The Thunderbirds advanced with a 77-63 win over the Calgary Dinos.

"These were two very good teams, two heavyweights and we had the last punch in the last couple of minutes," Huskies head coach Greg Jockims said of the game against Carleton. "We scored a couple key hoops and made a couple key free throws and got some rebounds that we needed to."

Saskatchewan hit 12 three-pointers in the game — Linklater had six — but Ravens coach Dave Smart was more concerned about how the Huskies were able to outmuscle Carleton.

"We were trying to keep them out of the paint and we had a tough time doing that," Smart said. "We physically didn't get to a lot of loose balls and there were a lot of opportunities that they got, and that's a credit to them."

Smart also lamented his team's struggles from beyond the arc.

"We were 2-for-17 from the three, and that again is a credit to the way they defend."

It's the first finals appearance for the Huskies, who led by as many as 12 points in the fourth quarter before Carleton put together a 12-3 run to make it a one-point game.

Elliot Thompson had 23 points for the Ravens, who lost for just the third time all season.

UBC and Saskatchewan met once in during the Canada West season, when the Thunderbirds rallied to knock off the Huskies 90-83.