VANCOUVER

While their former star guards, Osvaldo Jeanty and Phil Scrubb, deserve mention as perhaps their two greatest stars, the Carleton Ravens are still the dynasty that has no face.

And they’re OK with that because they’ve always known it’s more important to have a true identity.

In an era of dominance which continued here Sunday with a sixth straight CIS Final 8 national men’s basketball title, the Ravens once again won because of the total sum of their parts.

In a 101-79 victory over the Canada West champion Calgary Dinos, a program playing in its first national final in 50 years and still in search of its first golden moment, the Ravens were at their absolute selfless best with all five of their starters reaching double figures in scoring, including tournament MVP Connor Wood, who led the way with 22 points.

Think about it.

Even without a player bearing the surname Jeanty or Scrubb on their roster, they hoisted the W.P. McGee Trophy, emblematic of CIS hoops supremacy, for the 12th time in 14 years.

Heck, they didn’t even have their program’s architect and guru-like guiding force Dave Smart on the bench as they rolled out to a 48-32 halftime lead before 4,450 fans at UBC’s Doug Mitchell Arena

Taking a one-season sabbatical, Smart turned the team over to his nephew Rob Smart and the winning just continued.

Just as it did over the course of the regular season, one in which seven different players took turns in leading the team in scoring, the Ravens simply lived up to their DNA to win a school-record half-dozen straight titles.

“Part way through the season we realized that it was really going to be a big part of our identity,” said Rob Smart of the by-committee approach on offence. “And so we had to really commit to it. Everyone did an unbelievable job of buying in. We have no idea game in and game out who is going to score 15 or 20 and that makes us hard to play against if everyone is ready to contribute.”

Multiple points of attack. Everyone ready to step up based on evolving matchups. And most importantly, everything stemming from its commitment to team defence.

That much was apparent right off the opening tip with key plays coming from a pair of fifth-year seniors.

Forward Guillaume Payen Boucard twice blocked Dinos’ star guard Thomas Cooper before the game was even a minute old. And guard Gavin Resch twice drew charges in the paint on drives by both David Kapinga and Cooper.

Those hustle plays keyed not only transition points, but efficient half-court ball movement to the degree that Carleton got 16 triples (16-of-36) from five different players on the night.

Defensively, the game plan was to make Cooper work for his buckets, but even more so, to hold back the rest of the Dinos’ lineup.

With a 48-32 lead at the break, it was a rousing success.

Cooper scored 14 of game-high 25 points by the half, but shot 5-of-13 from the field while the rest of the Calgary team shot 5-of-20. On the game he went 8-of-18. Teammate David Kapinga scored 15.

“I don’t know what the stats were,” Cooper said in the post-game interview room before being handed a final box score. “Oh my God. Sixteen threes,” he continued. “No one did that to us all year. Six-time champs. They just proved why.”

Added Calgary head coach Dan Vanhooren: “And some of those (threes) were right at the end of the shot clock when we did all the right things That can be disappointing. We made our runs at them. We got within 13. But then they’d just hit another three.”

Resch went 6-of-12 from downtown and scored 18 points while Wood went 5-of-12 and finished with 22 points.

“Most games, some guys are hot and some guys are cold,” said Wood. “But today it was everybody.”

Energized by their defence, Carleton got eight players into their first-half scoring mix, five of whom scored six or more points. The Ravens continued to exert their dominance throughout the third quarter, but Calgary’s 8-2 run just past the midway mark of the frame caught coach Smart’s attention and he immediately brought rising star forward Ryan Ejim off the bench.

All Ejim proceeded to do was scored three straight baskets and set the tone for the remainder of the contest.

“It was great to see Gavin and Connor really get us going,” said Smart.

“Kaza was really creating for them and Guillaume did a great job wearing (Cooper) down. (Calgary) is a great team and we had to be firing on all cylinders to beat them.”

Three Ravens were picked CIS Final 8 all-stars: Boucard, Ejim and Wood. Joining them were Calgary’s Cooper and Ryerson’s Adika Peter-McNeilly.