The CIS Final 8 tournament is off to a great start. Carleton University and Dalhousie University will face each other in the CIS semifinal Saturday at 3 p.m. at Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.
Carleton took on the Thompson River University (TRU) Wolfpack earlier this afternoon, claiming a 91-75 win. It was a five-point competition until the fourth quarter when Carleton exploded with a 26 point quarter, folding TRU to just 15. Carleton out rebounded TRU 54-37 while forcing 16 turnovers.
At 3 p.m., the sixth-seed Dalhouise Tigers took down the third-ranked University of Ottawa Gee-Gees. Strong defence turned out to be the Tigers' winning strategy. The game was close throughout, but a scoreless first five minutes of the fourth frame from Ottawa allowed Dalhousie to take the lead.
The two winning teams will take Friday off as they prepare for their semifinal match up.
“When I took the job, my very first game was against Carleton and we lost by 45,” said Dalhousie head coach Rick Plato. “I take that as taking our lumps and learning and so have the guys. You take your lumps and play your best and that's the benchmark. You work your butt off to get there.”
TRU and Ottawa will clash Friday at 5 p.m. in hopes of going through to the fifth place game.
The University of Calgary and McGill University are next to take the floor at 6 p.m. before the Thunderbirds take on number one ranked Ryerson University in front of a sold out stadium.