OTTAWA, Ont. - It took a career-high in scoring from their best player and a near season-best effort on the glass for the defending national champions and #1-ranked Carleton Ravens to defeat the visiting Laurier Golden Hawks in Saturday night's quarterfinal matchup.
The Ravens were undoubtedly the better team throughout the game, but the Golden Hawks were never out of it. They put together big runs at the end of the second and fourth quarters, and brought the game to within nine points with just under a minute to play. In the end, it was a 97-84 victory for Carleton.
Starting games cold has been a consistent weakness this season for the Golden Hawks, and it cost them in this one. The Ravens completely dominated out of the gates, mounting a 16-4 lead before the game's first timeout just over three minutes in.
Leading the way was fifth-year pivot Grant Shephard. He shot a perfect six of six from the field in the opening frame, collecting 13 of his eventual game-high 32 points.
Carleton showed excellent discipline and anticipation on defence, and the lead grew to 21 points before Laurier managed to get into any rhythm offensively. An 8-2 run in the final three minutes cut the deficit to 32-17 by the end of the first quarter.
The Golden Hawks looked much more confident on both ends of the court in the second, and the game began to look more like the free-flowing fast-paced style we've seen from them all season. They forced five Ravens turnovers in the period, leading to 10 points the other way.
Any momentum Laurier hoped to gain, however, was hampered by Carleton's complete and utter dominance on the boards. They outrebounded the Golden Hawks 15-5 in the second quarter, bringing the first-half tally to a lopsided 28-9.
Down by 17 with just under three minutes to go in the half, Laurier was looking for a spark, and found it in Justin Malnerich. The fifth-year guard has had no shortage of hot streaks over the course of the season, but he saved his best for last, scoring 11 straight points to cut the lead to 46-38 at halftime.
"Every time he was running by me and he was close to the three-point line, I'm like "Buddy, you let it fly"," said Laurier's manager of men's basketball operations and head coach Justin Serresse.
"We needed some crazy, and we sure got some. That really helped us get a nice momentum."
The Ravens were able to steal some of that momentum back with a 6-0 run to start the third quarter, but the Golden Hawks offence was now awake and not going anywhere. Every run the black birds put together in the second half, the purple and gold answered right back.
"I take pride in not putting your head down," said Serresse, "Especially at Carleton... if you just focus on the next play, the next quarter, just be disciplined, I think from top down, coaches to players, you're going to put together a run you didn't even know you had [in you]."
The Ravens managed to grow the lead back up to 68-55 heading into the fourth quarter. Laurier looked energized in the final frame, and seemed capable of changing the narrative of the game on every possession.
As it's been so often this season, it was the young guard trio of second-year Ethan Passley and rookies Taye Donald and Jahmyah Brown Jeffers leading the way offensively. Brown Jeffers followed up his 17-point performance in Thursday's post-season opener with what was easily his best game in a Golden Hawks uniform to date.
He scored 12 of his team-high 28 points in the fourth quarter, consistently getting to the paint and swerving around defenders like they were minor annoyances.
Laurier scored 29 points in the period, but once again ran into the Grant Shephard problem. The big man shot five of six for 12 points in the fourth, including the final basket to slam the door shut on the last-minute comeback effort.
Carleton will move on to face the #9 Queen's Gaels in the OUA semifinals.
TOP PERFORMERS
Laurier Golden Hawks
Jahmyah Brown Jeffers's 28 points shatters his regular season career-high of 17. He also led the team with five assists, and shot an efficient 50% from the field.
Carleton Ravens
Speaking of efficiency, Grant Shephard's 32 points came on a ridiculous 86% from the field and 80% from the free-throw line. He also pulled down nine rebounds.
CURTAIN CALL
It's the second straight season the Golden Hawks have lost in the second round of the OUA playoffs. Last year, they fell to the eventual OUA champion Brock Badgers.
Serresse made sure to highlight Malnerich and Ben Stevens, who each gave solid performances in what was their final game as Golden Hawks. Malnerich finished with 20 points, shooting a blistering five of seven from three-point range, while Stevens was all over the scoresheet with eight points, nine rebounds, three blocks, and three steals.
Malnerich, who joined Laurier as a graduate student after four seasons with the Waterloo Warriors, impressed Serresse with his professionalism and dedication to improving his game. "For the young guards – Taye, Jahmyah, and Ethan – to see him working on his craft, taking care of his body, knowing the [scouting report], always being on time, he was such a pleasure to coach."
Stevens joined the team the same year as Serresse, back in the 2017-2018 season. "I had no experience at the time. So for him, being a top recruit, recruited by every single top team in the country, he trusted me. He trusted us and he stayed with us through the ups and downs. His loyalty, his commitment to our program, and his trust in us is unmatched."
"He's a very pleasing person to have been around for six years," he continued. "He's a great kid, great teammate, just amazing from top to bottom." He finishes his career in second place on the all-time Golden Hawks leaderboard with 714 rebounds.
