Offence took a back seat Saturday night in Calgary.
Instead, two relentless, hard-fought defensive semifinals shuffled the U SPORTS championship bracket and guaranteed a new national champion.
When the dust settled at Jack Simpson Gym, the road to the national title was a little narrower; only two teams remain, and one final game stands between them and a national title.
Here’s how we got there.
Carleton settles score with Bold
Seven days after losing the OUA championship to Toronto Metropolitan, the Carleton Ravens found their response.
Behind a 19-point performance from Cedric Mbiaba and a dominant rebounding effort, Carleton ground out a 58-52 win over the Bold in a bruising U SPORTS Final 8 semifinal Saturday afternoon.
The Ravens will play for their 18th national championship Sunday, while TMU moves to the bronze medal game.
In a contest where offensive rhythm was a rarity, Carleton relied on rebounding, particularly on the offensive boards where the Ravens held a 23-3 edge. The Ravens shot just 28.6 per cent from the field but dominated the glass 59-35 and generated 21 second-chance points to secure the win.
Without MJ Okado in the lineup, Mbiaba did the bulk of the scoring. The fifth year power forward finished 7-for-10 from the floor while adding three steals, and hit two clutch free throws late in the fourth.
Mark Dike chipped in nine points, hitting three three-pointers, two of which came during pivotal moments down the stretch.
The performance marked one of Mbiaba’s biggest games of the season and helped push the historically dominant Carleton program into yet another national final.
“This is an incredible feeling,” the Ottawa, Ontario native said postgame. “I can’t describe it — from not winning a playoff game to playing in the national finals — I’m emotional right now.”
Neither team was able to separate early. The Ravens struggled from the field early as TMU led 13-12 after the first quarter and built a brief seven-point advantage midway through the second. When the Bold’s shooting started to sputter, Carleton clawed back to tie the game 26-26 at halftime.
The Ravens began to gain control in the third quarter.
TMU briefly moved ahead 34-33 off back-to-back threes from Aaron Rhooms, Carleton responded with a key run highlighted by a Dike three-pointer. A late bucket from Louth-Mohamed Coulibaly pushed the Ravens ahead 42-37 entering the final frame.
The Bold continued to threaten, cutting the deficit to two multiple times in the fourth quarter and tied the game 47-47 with just over four minutes remaining.
But Carleton never lost its composure.
Dike drained another three-pointer to restore the Ravens’ lead, and Mbiaba followed with a late layup and two free throws in the final minute to extend the margin to eight before TMU added a final basket.
The Bold struggled to generate offence against Carleton’s stout interior defence throughout the game. TMU shot 32.7 per cent from the field and committed 17 turnovers in their search for answers.
U SPORTS Player of the Year Aaron Rhooms led TMU with 18 points and nine rebounds but shot 6-for-20 from the floor, often seeing double-teams with the ball in his hands.
For Carleton, Coulibaly finished with nine rebounds while Tyler Brown added eight boards as the Ravens put on a clinic in creating extra possessions through offensive rebounding.
The victory avenges last week’s 66-56 loss to TMU in the OUA championship game while sending the Ravens to their 26th Final 8 championship appearance. Carleton owns 17 national titles, with the most recent coming in 2023.
Now the Ravens are just one win away from another banner.
“We’ve been talking about this all year,” Mbiaba said. “We’re right there now. We just need one more.”
Gaiters end Victoria's title defence
For nearly 40 minutes Saturday night, the defending champions kept finding ways to hang around, but the Bishop’s Gaiters had all the answers.
In the final seconds, that persistence held — bending but not breaking — and grinding out a 66-65 win in one of the tournament’s tightest battles.
“We worked so damn hard for this,” Tiernan McDougall said postgame. “We built the culture from the ground up with an amazing staff and an amazing team. We deserve to be here. We didn’t win the RSEQ, so we’ve got a chip on our shoulder. It’s time to get that ring.”
Charles Robert led Bishop’s with 17 points, while Zach John added 14 and Obinna Dike-Nwagbara chipped in 10. Forward Etienne Gagnon — the U SPORTS defensive player of the year — was steady on the glass with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
“It was about sticking together,” Tiernan said. “Teams go on runs — that’s basketball. But the teams that stay together and don’t panic are the ones that win. That’s what we did tonight.”
For Victoria, Geoffrey James scored 16 points and Renoldo Robinson added 13 points and nine rebounds, but the Vikes struggled to find their usual offensive rhythm. The Canada West champions were held to just 32.3 per cent shooting from the field.
Both teams opened the game cold offensively before layups from Shadynn Smid and Ethan Boag created separation. Followed up by a three-pointer from James, the Vikes had built a 12-3 advantage midway through the first quarter.
But Bishop’s slowly settled in.
Yanis Malanda and Gagnon helped Bishop’s control the boards, and a three-pointer from McDougall briefly pushed the Gaiters in front. Victoria responded behind Cameron Slaymaker and Boag trading baskets, but not getting stops.
By halftime, Boag had gotten into early foul trouble, and Bishop’s had edged ahead 35-34.
The turning point came late in the third quarter.
Gagnon knocked down back-to-back three-pointers and Zachary John added another from deep as the Gaiters strung together a 12-2 run — pushing Bishop’s ahead 55-45 and forcing Victoria into chase mode.
The top seeded Vikes hung around, but never truly threatened to take over.
Robinson sparked the comeback effort midway through the fourth, converting a three-point play and later hitting a pull-up jumper that put Victoria back in front 63-62 with just over four minutes remaining.
But Bishop’s answered again.
A transition layup from Dike-Nwagbara restored the lead for the Gaiters, and John followed with another in the paint to make it 66-63 with just over three minutes left.
Victoria cut the deficit to one on two Boag free throws with 1:37 remaining and had multiple chances to take the lead in the final minute, but Bishop’s repeatedly forced the Vikes into scrambled possessions.
The Vikes had one final opportunity after a defensive stop in the closing seconds, and coach Murphy Burnatowski drew up the final play for Robinson.
The Montreal, QC native got away a contested three-point attempt at the buzzer which missed, ultimately sealing the Vikes’ fate.
The victory sends Bishop’s to its first national championship game since capturing the program’s only title in 1998, while Victoria will play Toronto Metropolitan in Sunday’s bronze-medal game.
Carleton and Bishop's tipoff tomorrow at 5PM MDT in Calgary, while Saskatchewan and UNB play for gold at 5PM EDT in Québec City.