TORONTO

With 1:05 left in a 40-something point game, Dave Smart actually smiled.

The ultra-intense Carleton Ravens coach allowed himself that brief pleasure when he embraced Thomas Scrubb after taking him and his brother Philip off the court for the final time.

Apparently, you don’t win five national championships in a row for the second time in 12 years (or 11 in 13 years) by taking your foot off the gas pedal.

That was on vivid display on Sunday during the Ravens’ clinical 93-46 demolition of the Ottawa Gee-Gees in the CIS final before a near-capacity crowd of 3,917 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.

Minutes before cracking that grin, Smart was barking at his team during a timeout — with the outcome long since decided.

“That’s what makes him a great coach,” Philip Scrubb, a 6-foot-4 guard, shrugged after torching the Ravens’ Ottawa rivals to the tune of 28 points and 10 assists.

“He doesn’t take any possession off. If we’re not trying and we’re up by 40, (they’ll hear about it). That kind of speaks to our character. We want to focus on playing every possession like it’s a one-point game. He just expects the best from us.”

Smart got that on Sunday as the Ravens made last year’s 12-point win over the Gee-Gees in the national final look like a nail-biter by comparison.

Of course, no matter how effective a coach is, he doesn’t achieve this kind of success without players like the soft-spoken Scrubb brothers from Richmond, B.C. — guys who have top-notch talent to go along with serious basketball smarts.

That formula led them to five national championships in as many years and should get them pro looks.

Time and again, Philip broke down the Gee-Gees defence, which held Ryerson star Jahmal Jones to just two points a night earlier in semifinal play.

When Ottawa stiffened up, Scrubb was up to the test, hitting tough looks on his way to a 50% shooting afternoon.

Another option was passing to sharp-shooting Connor Wood, whose early third-quarter eruption from deep sealed it.

Thomas Scrubb, meanwhile, is a force at both ends of the floor, using his long reach to force tough shots while cleaning up the glass.

The six-foot-six forward finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds.

“I think this is the most important (title) not because it’s the last but because of what we’ve been through as a team,” Thomas said.

He’s referring to an ever-so-horrible — by Ravens standards — two-loss season.

“We had some struggles, we lost a couple of games to teams,” Thomas continued.

“We just felt like the general perception around the country was that Ottawa was the best in the country … That was a great motivator for us. We just wanted to prove something.”

Defensively, the Ravens are a well-oiled machine.

It seemed any time a Gee-Gee would beat a man, another Raven was there to block a path or change a shot.

CIS player of the year Johnny Berhanemeskel was swarmed by Ravens all afternoon. He shot 1-of-10 with six points and five turnovers. Overall, the Gee-Gees shot 25%, way below the Ravens’ 55.4% clip — which is what happens when a team moves the ball as well as Carleton.

“I’m at a loss,” said an emotional Gee-Gees coach James Derouin, who was thrown out for taking a second technical in the third quarter — a strange and unfortunate decision by the officials during a national championship game, considering many coaches say far more to refs than the Ottawa bench boss did.

“We’re one of the top offensive teams in the country, if not the top offensive team. We couldn’t get anything going offensively whatsoever. They did an incredible job on the ball. Their switching defence gave us headaches all night. They challenged every shot we took. Even when we got offensive rebounds, we still couldn’t turn them into points. We’re not making shots and Phil was picking us apart at the other end. When that happens, the score ends up looking like that.”

The Scrubbs, meanwhile, shouldn’t expect Smart to start treating them any differently now that he’s no longer eligible to coach them as college players.

Philip, the more-talked about pro prospect because of his offensive abilities, has to get meaner, Smart says. If he does that, Smart feels he can make an impact at the next level.

“We’ll have that (pro) discussion in April,” Smart said.

“We’ll sit down with the two boys, their dad and (assistant coach) Rob Smart and we’ll probably talk to Jay Triano as well and figure out what’s best … There’s a lot of interest. It’s hard to say what they should do at this point. We have to see what the opportunities are and pick the best fit for them.

“They’re right there with any of the (Canadian) kids who play in the NCAA.

“There’s no NCAA kid any better than Tommy or Phil. I’m not saying they’re better than those guys, but those (NCAA) guys aren’t any better. They’re in the same league.”

JONES OUT ON A HIGH

Jahmal Jones won’t leave Ryerson as a champion, but he wasn’t about to exit without one more outstanding performance.

The fifth-year Mississauga guard, who helped turn a sad Ryerson program into one of the top teams in the country alongside coach Roy Rana, saved some of his best for last.

Just over 12 hours after the Rams’ championship hopes came to an end on their home court at the Mattamy Athletic Centre, Jones delivered an excellent fourth-quarter effort to lift Ryerson to an 82-68 win over the Victoria Vikes in the CIS bronze-medal game on Sunday.

“It was heartbreaking to see a young kid who has had such a special career struggle on a big stage (on Saturday night),” Rana said of Jones, who was held to two points by a ferocious Ottawa Gee-Gees defence in semifinal play.

“I think he bounced back and showed people why he’s one of the best players in the country.”

Jones shot 6-of-7 in the decisive fourth quarter, scoring 12 of his game-high 25 points. His pace and court vision proved too much for the Vikes to handle, turning a 56-55 lead at the start of the fourth quarter into a convincing victory.

“He’s a big role model,” said Ryerson guard Adika Peter-McNeilly, who finished with 21 points. “First guy in, last guy out. Works the hardest, plays through injuries. What he’s done, everyone just feeds off it. If he keeps going, everyone else is going to keep going.”

Rana, who took the reins in 2009, didn’t get the championship he so desired at home, but still has every reason to hold his head high. The place was full and loud for the semifinal — which never would have happened just a few years ago in Toronto.

“I certainly hope the powers that be think about hosting again,” he said. “I think it was a great success and we can only hope to make it better.”

Now, it’s up to guys like Peter-McNeilly to carry on Jones’ legacy.

“It’s big, it’s the first time we got this far,” he said. “I think it’s big, positive thing for the future. It’s not the (medal) we wanted, sadly. But when you look back on it, it’s going to be a big accomplishment and we only can use it for the future.”

— Mike Koreen​