In the regional qualifiers and Regina city playoffs: …………………………………………………… In the quarterfinals, the Balfour Redmen thrashed the Thom Trojans 92-72 as Rick Kullman scored 27. Jeremy Seidlitz led the Trojans with 25. The Trojans also included Joel Stevens, Nick Hutchins, Jordan Huber, Austin McKee. …………………………………………………… The Archbishop M.C. O’neill Titans clipped the Winston Knoll Wolverines 84-74 as Jeff Lukomski scored 29. Jay Roth led the Wolverines with 16. Reid Quest added 16. The Wolverines also include Jordan McFarlen, Rory Kohlert. …………………………………………………… The Sheldon-Williams Spartans clipped the Luther Lions 93-82 as Jason Price scored 22. Marc Van Burck led the Lions with 25. The Lions (coached by Drew Hunter) also included Connor Hewson, Vaughn Rice, Scott Milton. …………………………………………………… In the last quarterfinal, the Campbell Tartans dusted the Dr. Martin LeBoldus Golden Suns 104-74 as Kai Williams scored 24. Jared Ralko led the Golden Suns with 20. The Golden Suns (coached by Wade Bartlett) also included David Thomas, Ian Jestadt, Evan Fornwald. …………………………………………………… In the semis, the Balfour Redmen whipped the Archbishop M.C. O’Neill Titans 87-66 as Paul Schubach scored 26. Jeff Lukomski led the Titans with 22. The Titans also included Paul Gareau. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the Campbell Tartans thrashed the Sheldon-Williams Spartans 109-67 as Steve Herbison scored 31. Kolten Solomon led the Spartans with 20. The Spartans (coached by Paul Jacoby) also included Jason Price, Jacob Bayda, Lance Kruger, Kory Campbell. …………………………………………………… In the final, the Balfour Redmen nipped the Campbell Tartans 77-75 as Paul Schubach scored 22, Lance Aldcorn 18, Rick Kullman 14 and Lucas Askew 10. Steve Herbison led the Tartans with 19. Kai Williams added 16, Jamal Williams 12, Greg Finch 11 and Andrew Giesbrecht 10.
In the regional qualifiers and Saskatoon city playoffs: …………………………………………………… In the quarterfinals, the 4th-seeded Evan Hardy Souls defeated the 5th-seeded Bishop J. Mahoney Saints 72-62 in overtime as David Neufeld scored 29 and Zee Cilimdzic 24. Brett Reid led the Saints with 27. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Holy Cross Crusaders spanked the 8th-seeded Mount Royal Mustangs 97-75 as Tim Hollman scored 20. Cale Fentiman led the Mustangs with 17. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Aden Bowman Bears crushed the 7th-seeded St. Joseph Guardians 73-47 as Rejean Chabot scored 42. Kyle Dellezay led the Guardians with 12. …………………………………………………… In the last quarterfinal, the E.D. Feehan Trojans rolled the Bedford Road Redmen 82-59 as Nathan Dixon scored 39, Brett Farquharson 26 and Mike Lieffers 16. Andre Morin led the Redmen with 15. …………………………………………………… In the semis, the E.D. Feehan Trojans edged the Aden Bowman Bears 75-73 as Nathan Dixon scored 32. Rejean Chabot led the Bears with 38. The Bears (coached by Rod Friesen) also included Dave Espeseth, Joel Goy, Cory Wallen. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the Holy Cross Crusaders defeated the Evan Hardy Souls 87-77 as Chris Bodnar scored 23 and Scott McHenry 19. Matt Rapperle led the Souls with 17. Tinasha Mutswanga added 17. The Souls also included David Neufeld, Zee Cilimdzic, Richard Aramenko. …………………………………………………… In the final, the Holy Cross Crusaders nipped the E.D. Feehan Trojans 85-84 as Chris Bodnar scored 22, Scott Mchenry 18, Dan Brudehl 18 and Adam Vangool 13. Brent Farquharson led the Trojans with 25. Neil Nagy added 22, Kyle Bryksa 17 and Nathan Dixon 11.
In the small cities quarterfinals: …………………………………………………… The Moose Jaw A.E. Peacock Toilers whipped the Estevan Elecs 104-50 as Troy Gottselig scored 20. Brad Aspinell paced Estevan with 29. …………………………………………………… The Yorkton Regional Raiders thrashed the Swift Current Colts 57-37 as Mike Kirkness and Kris Heske each scored 11. Josh Liebrecht added 10. Lane Sherger paced Swift Current with 10. Chad Macleod added 9 and Trevor Klein 8. The Colts also included Kerry Hunter. …………………………………………………… The Prince Albert Carlton Crusaders dumped the Weyburn Eagles 64-53 as Rick Werchuk scored 15. Kristopher Frisk paced Weyburn with 21. The Crusaders took command with a 10-0 run to start the second quarter and extended their lead to 13 at the half. They built their lead to 20 in the second half. The Eagles rallied within 12 but Jeremy Waditaka drained a trey and Matt Wendt block a shot to turn the tide and Crusaders then coasted to the easy win. “We didn’t start the way we wanted to,” Carlton coach Kelly Klassen told the Prince Albert Daily Herald. “I think at the start we were a little excited. But the guys picked it up, especially on defence, and started to play a little better. I think this was a good starting point. The boys felt a little of the pressure, but it gave them a chance to get their feet wet and get used to it.” Darryl Truba said “they played hard defence and we took some bad shots and made some bad mistakes. We had a bad time last year when we lost in the first game while being a heavy favourite. I think when we looked like we were going to win this one, some guys got a little nervous and tried to do it all instead of playing like a team.” …………………………………………………… In the last quarterfinal, the North Battleford Vikings nipped the Prince Albert St. Mary Marauders 76-72 Luke Harrison scored 30, including 6 treys. Cale Baleski led St. Mary with 22. The Marauders trailed by 14 in the first half but rallied to knot the score with a minute to play. After a steal by Marauder Dave Lahaye led to a Cody McArthur layup to tie the score at 72-72, St. Mary forced a turnover with 40 seconds left, but then turned the ball over themselves seconds later. Viking Sorin Degbon hit a jumper with 20 seconds left to make the score 74-72, and again St. Mary turned the ball over. Viking Calin McFaul hit two free throws to ice the game. “Turnovers were our downfall in the first half and in the end, turnovers killed us again,” St. Mary coach Stan Oleksinski told the Prince Albert Daily Herald. “Turnovers were one of our bad points all year and they came back to kill us tonight. We must have given them 10 to 15 points on turnovers in the first half alone. “If we don’t do that, we are winning at halftime instead of being down 10.” The Marauders (coached by Dale Regel) also included Cole Boleski, Cody McArthur, Greg Swenson. …………………………………………………… In the semis, the Moose Jaw A.E. Peacock Toilers crushed the Yorkton Regional Raiders 70-29. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, Prince Albert Carleton defeated the North Battleford Vikings 85-64 as Matt Wendt scored 29 and Jeremy Waditaka 22. Luke Harrison paced North Battleford with 35. The Vikings also included Brandon Wilkinson. …………………………………………………… In the final, the Moose Jaw A.E. Peacock Toilers dumped the Prince Albert Carlton Crusaders 76-60 as Clayton Smith scored 18, Tyler James 17 and Troy Gottselig 12, along with a handful of blocks. Darryl Truba paced the Crusaders with 16. Rick Werchuk added 14 and Matt Wendt 11. Both teams qualified for the provincial draw. The Toilers dominated the third quarter by a 15-6 count as they took command. The Crusaders drew within 10 in the fourth when Darryl Truba hit a pair of treys and Rick Werchuk three free throws but the Toilers regained total control. “It’s not exactly how we wanted it to end,” Carlton coach Kelly Klassen told the Prince Albert Daily Herald. “But the guys gave 100 per cent and gave everything they had out there. The last two games, I couldn’t be prouder of these guys. Everything we practiced all year came out in the last two games,” except for the “dead time” third quarter. Crusaders post Matt Wendt said “we stayed with them in the first half, but we just let them get away in the second. Their big guy (Gottselig) was really tough. We couldn’t go inside as much against them. We had to rely on our shooters a little more.”
In the provincial quarterfinals, held in Saskatoon, the 3rd-seeded Saskatoon Holy Cross Crusaders whipped the Prince Albert Carlton Crusaders 94-71. Holy Cross took command in the second quarter and led 48-30 at the half. The Crusaders subbed five at a time and kept things simple. “We didn’t want to show too much. We kept a few things in the bag,” Holy Cross guard Chris Bodnar told the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. Bodnar’s defence, Scott McHenry and Dan Brudehl play inside and Tim Hollman’s perimeter shooting combined to ignite a 22-7 run at the end of the first and start of the second quarter in which the Crusaders took command. Against Cross subs, Carlton cut a 48-30 half-time deficit to 10 by the end of the third, and behind hot shooting from Darryl Truba and Rick Werchuk actually pulled within eight early in the fourth quarter. Cross’s starters returned to the game, though, and quickly restored order. Within three minutes, the Saskatoon city champs were back up by 18, and when the starters sat down, they were ahead 94- 68. “You can’t win giving up rebounds and easy baskets,” said Carlton coach Kelly Klassen. “We couldn’t keep up with their fast break.” Werchuk finished with 26. Truba added 15. Carlton also included Jeremy Waditaka, Jeremy Sadler, Cody Villaneuve, Shawn Budd.
In the other quarterfinal, the 4th-seeded Saskatoon E.D. Feehan Trojans nipped the 5th-seeded Moose Jaw A.E. Peacock Toilers 73-71. Moose Jaw led 36-35 at the half in an up-tempo affair. Feehan notched a decisive 7-0 run in the final minutes to pull out the win. Forward Brett Farquharson hauled in a missed shot and converted a lay-up with 1.1 seconds remaining to give the Trojans the win. “I’ve never been in a game like that,” Farquharson told the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. “That was my first game winner. It feels great.” Feehan led 71-70 with 12.1 seconds left when Moose Jaw forced a turnover off an inbounds pass. Feehan’s Nathan Dixon quickly committed a foul, his fifth, that prevented a lay-up but sent Moose Jaw’s Ian Carlson to the free-throw line. After he missed his first but made the second, Feehan pushed the ball down court, where Neil Nagy attempted a jumper. It fell short but the ball went right to Farquharson under the basket and he powered up for the game winner. “They were being physical with me all night. It feels good to make that play,” said Farquharson, who finished with 14. Dixon led the Trojans with 20. Clayton Smith paced the Toilers with 20. Tyler James added 17. The Toilers (coached by Ryan Boughen) also included Matt Wendt, Brett Goodwin, Kevin Larson, Jason Hetherington, Ian Carlson.
In the semis, the 2nd-seeded Regina city champion Balfour Redmen dumped the 3rd-seeded Saskatoon Holy Cross Crusaders 80-68 as Paul Schubach scored 32 and Lance Aldcorn 22 in a rematch of the 2004 provincial final. Balfour exploded to a 42-26 lead as Paul Schubach hit 21 points. Balfour led by as many as 16 before the Crusaders rallied to within 46-37 at the half. They exploded for an 18-0 run led by Josh Farthing, Dan Brudehl and Scott McHenry in the second half and soon led 55-48. But Lance Aldcorn scored eight consecutive points for the Redmen as Balfour knotted the score at 61. Schubach promptly notched back-to-back three-point plays to ignite a 10-3 run in the final quarter. “He was the difference maker,” said Holy Cross coach Barry Rawlyk. Chris Bodnar paced Holy Cross with 15. Daniel Brudehl added 13. “It’s disappointed to come up short of our goals,” said Rawlyk. “I can’t be disappointed with our guy’s efforts. I’m proud of the character they showed to claw their way back into it. Ultimately, we as coaches didn’t give them enough tools to win that game. I’m disappointed about that.” Schubach told the Regina Leader-Post that said Balfour retained its cool when it fell behind. “We knew we could come back. We’ve done it in games before. Teams are going to have runs, especially at provincials where all the best are. … They forced us to go back to our game plan, and execute on offence. We concentrated a lot more on tough defence. We played our toughest when we had to.” Adam Vangool paced the Crusaders with 14. “It’s disappointing to come up short of our goals,” said Rawlyk. “I can’t be disappointed with our guys’ efforts. I’m proud of the character they showed to claw their way back into it. Ultimately, we as coaches didn’t give them enough tools to win that game. I’m disappointed about that.” Rawlyk added that Schubach “was the difference maker.” Schubach noted that the Crusaders “forced us to go back to our game plan . . . and execute on offence. We concentrated a lot more on tough defence, too. We played our toughest when we had to.” Adam Vangool led the Crusaders with 14 points.
In the other semi, the top-seeded Regina Campbell Tartans defeated the 4th-seeded Saskatoon E.D. Feehan Trojans 83-71 as Jamal Williams scored 24 and Kai Williams 22. Nathan Dixon paced Feehan with 29. Brett Farquharson and Neil Nagy each added 15.
In the bronze medal match, the 3rd-seeded Saskatoon Holy Cross Crusaders defeated the 4th-seeded Saskatoon E.D. Feehan Trojans 82-71. Feehan led 21-18 after a quarter and 49-33 at the half as Nathan Dixon hit five treys. Holy Cross rallied to within 61-56 after three quarters and took command in the final frame. “It would have stayed with us if we lost this one,” said Cross guard Chris Bodnar, who scored 25 points. “We made a good comeback.” Daniel Brudehl added 20. Brett Farquharson scored 22 to lead the Trojans. Nathan Dixon added 17. The Trojans (coached by Brett Hardy, assisted by Garret Olver) also included Kyle Bryksa, Mike Lieffers, Neil Nagy, Matthew Hricz, Chris Maquincy, Jonathon Tsingkovang, Emmanuel Bala, Ashley Lightle, Brydon Leham, Randolf Bernales and Chris Mercer.
In the final, the top-seeded Regina Campbell Tartans defeated the 2nd-seeded Regina Balfour Redmen 80-67 as Kai Williams scored 31, including 21 in the first half. Andrew Giesbrecht added 17, including 12 in the final seven minutes of play. Jamal Williams notched a triple-double, scoring 15, dishing 14 assists and nabbing 11 boards. Paul Schubach paced Balfour with 19. Kevin Tamaki scored 16, including a trey with seven minutes to play that gave Balfour a short-lived 60-59 lead. Remington Lenton-Young and Andrew Giesbrecht scored to extend a 65- 64 lead to 69-64, and when Kai Williams hit back-to-back treys, the Tartans were on their way. Campbell had led 25-10; 36-24 and 57-47 after the quarters. The two teams had split four encounters during the season and the final was a grudge match. Balfour had won the Regina city final, but “the provincial championship might be better because we get to say we’re the best in the province instead of the city,” Giesbrecht, who heated up down the stretch after being benched in the four quarter by coach Skip Campbell for taking a technical foul, told the Regina Leader-Post. “It was the last game of my high school career so he put me back in. They were playing a 2-3 zone and I was hoping he would put me in because I saw which holes were open. It kind of changes the pace of the game.” Jamal Williams said the disappointment of the city final loss motivated the Tartans. “But our coach made sure we got on track and told us the provincial championship was more important than winning a city title.” Schubach said it was difficult to end his career on a losing note. “But in the big picture, we had a great season and it’s not too much of a disappointment.” Kai Williams noted that “this is just a step down from being the most successful season we could have had if we won the city championship. The fact it was the last game of the season in the Tartan uniform for the Grade 12s and the fact Balfour beat us in the city final gave us some additional motivation. Jamal Williams noted that, “of course, we’d like to have that city title, but I’d rather be No. 1 in the province than No. 1 in the city. We weren’t going to let them beat us again. … To leave your high school career No. 1 in the province is unbelievable,” said Jamal Williams.
The bronze medalist Saskatoon Holy Cross Crusaders: Charles Puno; Justin Dunn; Cory Schlosser; Josh Farthing; Brett Harbidge; Chris Bodnar; Tim Hollman; Daniel Brudehl; Jonny Bast; Adan Vangool; Colby Pocock; Chris Mearns; Sam Farthing; Scott McHenry; coach Barry Rawlyk; assistant Brett Czarnota; manager Ryan Epp
The silver medalist Regina Balfour Redmen: Will Hornsberger; Paul Schubach; Taylor Orban; Rick Kullman; Kevin Tamaki; Rene Eklund; Lucas Askew; Justin Manz; Alex Nagel; Andres Palma; Donovan Shire; Lance Aldcorn; Justin Simaluk; coach Glen Fekula; assistant Scott Babcock; trainer Hailey McCrystal; trainer Crystal Kowalyk
The gold medalist Regina Campbell Tartans: Remington Lenton-Young; Joel Kullman; Jon Bridge; Steve Herbison; Greg Finch; Eli Graybiel; Jay Rendall; Andrew Giesbrecht; Jeff Burgess; Francois Vermeulin; Gord Binther; Jamal Williams; Kai Williams; Jeff Campbell; coach Skip Campbell; assistant Hal Herbison; assistant Tylor Campbell trainer Laura Turner; trainer A.J. Brown; manager Jess Ramsdell; manager Cherise Phillips manager Laura Staudt; manager Allen Ssenjogi
The Saskatchewan High School Athletic Association passed a resolution, allowing Saskatoon and Regina schools to allow their districts to each send four teams to Hoopla and compete exclusively against each other for a provincial 6A title. The 5A divisions will feature four teams from small cities. The remaining four divisions remain the same.