LU men fall to Carleton Ravens in East semifinal

The Laurentian Voyageurs men's basketball found themselves on the losing end of the OUA East division semifinal against the Carleton Ravens on Saturday.

The two teams were facing off in the Ravens Nest in their third encounter of the season. The Ravens, who were undefeated this season, had won both previous games against the Voyageurs.

Laurentian was coming off a win against the York Lions in the first round of playoffs, and were looking for another strong performance.
The Ravens got off to a fast start on their home court, taking a six-point lead within the first five minutes of the opening quarter.

Voyageur Tychon Carter-Newman provided the offence that Laurentian needed to stay in the game, putting up his team's first seven points to open the quarter.

The Ravens maintained their lead throughout the first, managing a 33-20 lead on the Voyageurs to end the quarter.

In the second quarter, the Ravens showed why they're the top ranked team in the country. While the Voyageurs played strong defensively, they weren't able to keep up with the home team's offence. Carleton outscored Laurentian by 12 in the second, and headed into the half in full control, leading the game 60-35.

The third quarter was the strongest for the Voyageurs offensively. The men picked up their level of play and matched the Ravens, scoring point for point. Carter-Newman continued to put up the points for Laurentian, and was helped by Josh Budd and Ryan Bennett from behind the three-point line.

While the Voyageurs had great offence in the third, they were unable to chip away at the lead that Carleton had gotten in the first half.

Heading into the final quarter the Voyageurs trailed 58-83.

The Voyageurs couldn't keep up with their pace from the third, and were unable to stop the Ravens' dominating offence. Carleton put up 28 points to Laurentian's 19, further extending their lead to 34 in the final quarter. Despite their effort throughout the game, the Voyageurs weren't able to catch the Ravens, falling 111-77 in the OUA East semi final game.

This game closes a strong season for the Voyageurs. The men had a record of 12-10, and ended the regular season in fourth of the OUA East division. Their 2013-2014 season was highlighted by a top 10 CIS ranking and strong performances against some of the top teams in the OUA, and CIS.