Surging Ottawa men’s team aims to flip the script on Carleton at Capital Hoops showdown

There wasn’t any hesitation for Khalifa Koulamallah in the final seconds before a sold-out crowd on Dec. 6, 2023, as the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees trailed the Carleton University Ravens by a single point. 

With 33.7 seconds left in the game and trailing 76-75, Koulamallah cut inside from the three-point line, slipped past his defender and scored a layup to put the Gee-Gees up a point as they eventually secured a 77-76 win against their cross-town rivals.

It marked the latest chapter in one of the most passionate rivalries in Canadian university sports and a marker of the latest power shift in Ottawa. 

For over two decades, Carleton has dominated the Ottawa rivalry in men’s basketball while establishing itself as the pre-eminent force in Canadian university basketball. 

The 17 U Sports championships and 12 Ontario University Athletics titles speak for themselves — as do the number of non-conference wins against NCAA D1 competition. 

Yet this season, men’s basketball in the nation’s capital looks different. It’s the Gee-Gees leading the OUA East division with a 16-1 record, while the defending national champion Ravens are a shell of what they once were, sitting fourth at 10-7.

The two schools clash on Friday in their annual Capital Hoops matchup, a showcase night at TD Place featuring men’s and women’s rivalry games with crowds that often mark the largest non-NBA basketball gatherings in Canada each year. 

Last year’s games were attended by 7,029, while 10,780 took in the event in 2015, an all-time attendance record. 

The women tip off at 6 p.m. ET and the men at 8 p.m. ET, with live coverage available on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem.

“It’s a bit of a different dynamic… Carleton’s 25-year run can put it in perspective of how, even with our program being a very strong one, this scenario hasn’t happened before,” Gee-Gees head coach James Derouin said. “We’ve waited a long time to be in this position, so we’re excited about it.”

The Ravens are amid a youthful campaign, having lost many key contributors from last year’s championship-winning group, headlined by Aiden Warnholtz and Grant Shephard. However, their cross-town rival’s success isn’t out of the blue. 

WATCH | Aiden Warnholtz reflects on 2023 U Sports championship win:

It took a few years for the Gee-Gees to come together. Still, the top-ranked team has a winning combination and lofty goals of securing a national championship banner for their program as they continue to grow out of Carleton’s shadow. 

“We have six, seven or even eight guys that can contribute and be star players in a game. We’re doing it by committee and have a great group, so we are very fortunate,” Derouin said. “This program is hungry for a national championship, and I feel that at least today, we’re in a really good spot to compete for one.”

Since the start of the Capital Hoops showdown in 2007, the Ravens have won 13 times on the men’s side, while the Gee-Gees have come out with three victories, the last in 2016 marking the only one in Derouin’s 13-year coaching tenure. 

For leading forward Brock Newton, who transferred to Ottawa after a year with the NCAA’s Bucknell University, the Capital Hoops matchup marks not only the largest and most passionate crowd he has played for but also a test in a pressure-filled environment before taking a run at the U Sports championship. 

“This is a strong rivalry in this city, and both programs are good every year, so it’s always a good test,” the 21-year-old Fergus, Ont., native said. “It was super exciting last year as a first year, but it was easy to get overwhelmed. But I’m a guy who loves to feed off energy, and I’m excited for this year.”‘

With a tight win over their rivals already on their record, putting up another positive result against Carleton, this time in front of the season’s largest crowd, could prove a critical moment in Ottawa’s search for provincial and national glory. 

Kali Pocrnic leading contending Ravens

As the Carleton men’s team rebuilds, the defending U Sports women’s champion Ravens hope to harness Capital Hoops as a launching pad into the season’s final stretch while looking to avenge their loss to Ottawa in December. 

Approaching what could be her final Capital Hoops matchup, fourth-year point guard Kali Pocrnic has taken on a leadership role within the Ravens program, which sits atop the OUA standings, led by her 14.5 points per game. 

“Our standards this year have had to be a lot higher because after winning, you have to be at your best all the time,” the Oakville, Ont. native said. “There’s never a time when we can be relaxed; we’re always panicked, and we don’t expect anything; we’re just trying to work harder than last year.”

With the loss to Ottawa the only blip on an otherwise perfect record, confidence is sky-high with the Ravens heading into the matchup as they look to win the event for a third straight season and secure an energizing victory they know can set the tone for a championship run. 

“We’re really pumped, and Ottawa is a great team to play. They have a lot of depth and some great guards, so it’s going to be a battle and we’re excited to see them again,” Pocrnic said. “We’re not trying to think of it as pressure, just more as an opportunity.”

Around the U Sports world:

• The University of Calgary Dinos and Mount Royal University Cougars men’s and women’s hockey teams hit Calgary’s Saddledome last week for their annual Crowchild Classic games, drawing 10,474 fans to see the Cougars men beat the Dinos 3-2, while Calgary’s women blanked MRU 2-0. 
• The Algoma University Thunderbirds men’s basketball squad picked up its second win of the season in a shocking 71-70 upset over the ninth-ranked Toronto Metropolitan University Bold.