Title time

Jamie Searle caught about an hour’s sleep on Friday night.

He might not get much more on Saturday. But that’s OK, he can sleep on the plane on Sunday afternoon, his arms wrapped around the Wilson Cup.

The fifth-year guard, who only managed a pair of free-throws in Friday night’s 71-69 win over Ottawa in the OUA semifinal, scored a game-high 23 points on Saturday at McMaster University to power the Lakehead Thunderwolves to a stunning 77-62 dismantling of the previously undefeated No. 1-nationally ranked Carleton Ravens.

It earned the Wolves their first-ever OUA basketball championship, something no one can ever take away, said LU coach Scott Morrison, just four years removed from a one-win campaign.

“This is a great win for our program,” Morrison told The Score following the game, his players posing for the customary trophy shot and mugging for the television cameras in the wake of the biggest upset in school history.

“It puts us in the history books forever. But I hope this is just the start for us. I hope that every game that we lost over the last few years turns into wins over the next few years. Carleton is the best team out there. We just got fortunate to beat them in this one game tonight.”

Morrison, who arrived in Thunder Bay in 2003, said he’ll let his troops celebrate tonight, but after that it’s all business as the Wolves get ready for next weekend’s CIS national championship in Halifax.

“We’re really excited, we’re going to be happy about it, but come tomorrow morning we’re going to be thinking about Halifax and what we can do to get another banner next week,” said Morrison, who tempered his players’ celebrations, telling them to put their shirts back on for another few days after they doffed them at the buzzer.

Still, the Prince Edward Island native did give his team some props before heading off to join them on the court.

“Thunder Bay’s in the house tonight,” he said.

Searle said they didn’t allow themselves to be intimidated by the heavily favoured Ravens, who raced through the regular season with 22 wins and no losses, including a lopsided 75-49 win over Lakehead in first-half play.

“We knew if we kept fighting, we were going to do it. We were the only ones in the gym who thought we had a chance, and we didn’t doubt ourselves for a second,” the Belleville, Ont. native told The Score. “We outworked them for 40 minutes and we got the win.”

For Searle it was a matter of redemption, following an offensive performance he’d just as soon forget.

“The team stepped up (last night) and I knew the shots would start falling and they did.”

Searle, who watched the Laurier Golden Hawks take the Ravens to the limit in the other semifinal the night before, said it was all about sticking to the game plan.

“We knew we were a great team too. Carleton’s an amazing team, they fought hard, but this was our night.”

The Ravens threatened to pull away early, rushing out to a 10-4 first-quarter lead, but LU’s long-distance game quickly pulled the Wolves back into contention late in the stanza.

Joseph Jones nailed a big three to draw the OUA West Division champions to within a pair, then Searle buried another one at the buzzer to give the Wolves a 15-14 edge after one.

Thomas Scrubb scored early in the second to give the Ravens a 16-15 lead, but Ben Johnson responded with a trey, putting the Wolves up by two and they never trailed the rest of the way, taking a 32-26 advantage into the half.

Maintaining the six-point cushion through the first four minutes of the third, they opened a nine-point lead when Ryan Thomson dropped a three from the corner to make it 41-32. Carleton rallied with a pair of baskets, but Johnson halted the mini-run, stopping and popping for two to make it 43-36.

The tide turned in LU’s favour for good at the buzzer, when Joseph Jones nailed a desperation shot from just inside half court as time ran out.

Originally waved off by officials, during the break they looked at the replay, allowed under FIBA rules, and ruled that Jones in fact did get the shot off before the clock hit zero, re-establishing a seven-point margin at 46-39.

Carleton's Michael Kenny hit a three to start the fourth, but then Searle took over, dropping six points in a 9-1 LU run that pushed the lead to 55-43. But the Ravens weren't quite finished.

OUA East MVP Tyson Hinz, who struggled most of the night after an eight-point first quarter and finished with 19, completed a three-point play to pull Carleton to within nine, then later made a lay-in to make it 58-51.

But shortly after Andrew Hackner, playing his final OUA game, barrelled his way to the hoop, sank the shot and drew the foul to re-establish a 10-point LU lead.

Searle put it away with a pair of steals and uncontested lay-ins, ending the Ravens three-year run as league champions.

Follow all the action here next weekend as tbnewswatch.com's Leith Dunick will be in Halifax with the Thunderwolves providing complete coverage of the team's quest for a national championship.