For the 15th time in 18 seasons, the university basketball powerhouse Carleton Ravens have claimed the U SPORTS Final 8 championship as the Ravens defeated the Dalhousie Tigers 74-65 in the gold medal game in front of a home town crowd at the TD Place Arena in Ottawa.
Biniam Ghebrekidan led the Ravens with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Alex Carson led the Tigers with 20 points in the loss.
With the win, Ravens coach, Taffe Charles, who took over for long-time Carleton coach Dave Smart, made history becoming the first U SPORTS basketball head coach to win both men’s and women’s championship titles. Charles won a womens’ national championship with the Ravens in 2018.
Following the game Isiah Osborne of the Carleton Ravens received the Jack Donohue Trophy as the Championship MVP. Osborne was also named to the Championship All-Star Team alongside Manroop Clair (UBC), Alex Carson (Dalhousie), Keevan Veinot (Dalhousie) and Biniam Ghebrekidan (Carleton).
In the Bronze medal game, the UBC Thunderbirds defeated the Western Mustangs 99-82. Manroop Clair led the Thunderbirds with 39 points, adding 10 rebounds and five assists, while teammate Jadon Cohee contributed 20 points and six assists. Omar Shiddo led the mustangs with 29 points in the loss.
On the womens’ side, the Saskatchewan Huskies blew out the Brock Badgers 82-61 in the women’s gold medal game. Dukate led the Huskies with 24 points, three rebounds and three assists, while Samantha Keltos led the badgers with 21 points, two rebounds and one assist. This was the second national championship win for the Huskies who first won a national championship in 2016.
