LONDON, Ont – A strong first half gave the CIS No. 2 Carleton Ravens a lead they would never relinquish, giving the Ravens a 98-61 win over the Western Mustangs on Saturday night at Alumni Hall.  
 
With the loss the Mustangs record moves to 8-5, keeping them in second place in the OUA West Division Standings right behind Windsor, who have a game in hand. Western sits eight points ahead of the third-place Laurier Golden Hawks. Carleton adds another win to their record, updating to 11-2 which keeps them in second place in the OUA North Division standings, right behind the Ottawa Gee-Gees.
 
Second-year Mustang Cameron Morris topped the Western scoreboard with the team-high 17 points off of 6-for-7 shooting, including going an impressive 4-for-5 from beyond the three point line. Joining him with double digit totals were teammates Anthony Spiridis with 15 points and Greg Morrow with 10. Connor Wood of the Ravens took the game-high with 21 points, followed closely by four of his teammates who hit double digits as well. Thomas Scrubb made an impressive impact on the court racking 16 rebounds along with two assists.
 
The Ravens defence proved to be a challenging force right from the first quarter. Consistently keeping the Mustangs on their heels, the Ravens used their fast footwork and defensive schemes to keep the home side under intense pressure. Despite only connecting 26.7% of their field goals to the bottom of the basket, the first quarter ended on a positive note for the Mustangs with Morris hitting a three-point buzzer beater to put the Mustangs within six with a score of 19-13.

Although the Mustangs improved their outside shooting percentage in the second quarter, increasing from 28.6% to a 44.4% success rate, the Ravens continued to increase their lead throughout the frame. Veteran Thomas Scrubb was a key factor in the Ravens defence, grabbing 14 rebounds in the half, 11 of which in the opening quarter. Scrubb, along with two teammates, hit double digits in points for the half which gave them a comfortable 26-point lead to go into the third with a score of 51-25. 

The Ravens came back from the half with no plans to ease up on both ends of the court. Carleton's heavy defence led the Mustangs sending the ball around the arc in hopes to loosen up the Ravens and make a play for the net. The Mustangs kept the scoring tighter than in the second, only being outshot 26-19, but ended the third trailing 77-44 thanks in part to the Ravens strong rebounding as they grabbed 12 boards in the quarter. 

Despite keeping pace with the Ravens throughout the final 10 minutes, Carleton's first half lead proved to be too much to overcome as they walked away with a 98-61 win.
 
"With a short turnaround [from last night's game], there's a couple of details that normally we would be able to prepare for a little more. That hurt us a bit" said assistant coach John Curcio. "Once they gapped us, it was hard to get back into it."
 
The Mustangs will be back on home court to take on the York Lions on Friday, January 30 at Alumni Hall. Tip-off is at 8 p.m. and can be watched live on OUA.tv.