Defending champion Carleton Ravens beat Ottawa Gee-Gees to reach U Sports men's basketball final

The third-seeded Carleton Ravens have something to crow about — they're the first team to reach Sunday's final in the U Sports men's Final 8 national basketball championship in Halifax.

The Ravens, led by Connor Vreeken's 27 points, defeated the second-seeded University of Ottawa Gee-Gees 81-75 on Saturday and will now face the winner Saturday's late game between the StFX X-Men and Victoria Vikes.

Aiden Warnholtz scored 21 points for the Ravens and Marjok Okado chipped in with 11.

Dragan Stajic led the Gee-Gees with 16 points, while Guillaume Pepin had 14 and Cole Newton added 12.

The Ravens led 40-33 at halftime and 64-52 heading into the final quarter.

The Ravens, who are seeking their fourth straight national title and 17th overall, entered the tournament as the third seed after losing the Ontario University Athletics final to Ottawa.

WATCH | Ravens take down Gee-Gees in semifinals: 

Citadins beat the Winnipeg Wesmen 90-85 in double overtime, while the Queen's Gaels dunked UPEI Panthers 93-68. UQAM will play Queen's on Sunday in the fifth-place game.

Ottawa will play the loser of Saturday's late game in Sunday's bronze-medal final.