In the regional qualifiers and Regina city playoffs: …………………………………………………… In the quarterfinals, the Campbell Tartans whipped the Thom Trojans 91-64 as Ryan Giesbrecht scored 16. Ryan Knaus led the Trojans with 17. The Trojans also included Chad Patterson. …………………………………………………… The Michael A. Riffel Royals dispatched the Dr. Martin LeBoldus Golden Suns 80-73 as Jared Janotta score 30. Adam Ralko led the Golden Suns with 18. The Golden Suns also included Marcus Ward, Ian Patterson, Seamus Neary, Jacob Carr. …………………………………………………… The Balfour Redmen dumped the Winston Knoll Wolverines 81-67 as Tanner Forster scored 16. Joel Lagasse led the Wolverines with 23. The Wolverines also included Jaze Sorenson, Will Redl. …………………………………………………… In the last quarterfinal, the Luther Lions dispatched the Sheldon-Williams Spartans 70-55 as Andrew Henry scored 21. Stafford Bates led the Spartans with 16. Amanuel Amon added 16. The Spartans also included Nicholas Brown. …………………………………………………… In the semis, the Balfour Redmen edged the Luther Lions 66-61. Cameron Hinchcliffe led the Redmen with 25. Andrew Henry paced the Lions with 15. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the Campbell Tartans torched the Michael A. Riffel Royals 108-93 as Matthew Campbell scored 32. Jared Janotta led the Royals with 39. …………………………………………………… In the bronze medal match, the Luther Lions defeated the Michael A. Riffel Royals 74-62 as Andrew Henry scored 26. Jared Janotta led the Royals with 40. …………………………………………………… In the final, the Campbell Tartans dispatched the Balfour Redmen 75-60 as Matt Campbell scored 27. Seth Hastings led the Redmen with 23. Mack Nagel added 11.
In the regional qualifiers and Saskatoon city playoffs: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Holy Cross Crusaders torched the 8th-seeded Walter Murray Marauders 90-68 as Scott Boechler scored 20 and Evan Ostertag 17. Ryan Davis led the Marauders with 20. Ahmed Bwana added 18. …………………………………………………… The Aden Bowman Bears thrashed the Bishop J. Mahoney Saints 64-45 as Cuyler Borrowman scored 19 and Ben Baker 12. Brendan Stookey paced the Saints with 19. Kurtis Gryba added 10. …………………………………………………… The Evan Hardy Souls blasted the St. Joseph Guaradians 88-61 as Graham Unruh scored 33 and Joey Deason 24. Brett Boyko led the Guardians with 18. Eli Lichtenwald added 14. …………………………………………………… In the last quarterfinal, the 5th-seeded Centennial Chargers clipped the 4th-seeded Marion Graham Falcons 85-71 as Hasib Karimi scored 20 and Matthew Smith 15. Nick Foth led the Falcons with 17. Cossy Nachilobe added 11. …………………………………………………… In the semis, the Aden Bowman Bears spanked the Evan Hardy Souls 87-68 as Sam Derksen scored 22, Ben Baker 18 and Cuyler Borrowman 14. The Bears led 21-13, 45-33 and 68-49 at the quarters. Graham Unruh paced the Souls with 24. Chris Friesen added 19 and Joey Deason 15. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the Holy Cross Crusaders whipped the Centennial Chargers 71-55 as Evan Ostertag scored 18, Jeremy Bondgaard 13, Scott Boechler 11 and Jon Harding 11. Mike Klassen paced the Chargers with 24. Drew Golding added 14 and Ryan Schmidt 10. …………………………………………………… In the final, the Aden Bowman Bears defeated the Holy Cross Crusaders 69-62 as Sam Derksen scored 19, Cuyler Borrowman 17, Ben Baker 11 and Preston Dolgolpol 10. Steve Boryski led the Crusaders with 16. Scott Boechler added 13 and Evan Ostertag 12.
In the provincial quarterfinals, the fourth Regina seed Riffel Royals dumped the top Saskatoon seed Aden Bowman Bears 89-78 as Jared Janotta scored 33 and Brendan Hebert 28. The Royals led 25-18 after one quarter. The score was knotted at 43 at the half. Riffel led 69-51 after three quarters. Cuyler Borrowman added 17. “One step closer to getting that ring,” Royals guard Garrin Bulani told the Regina Leader-Post. “We just have to keep it going.” Guard Brendan Hebert added that “it’s definitely a momentum-booster.” Riffel used a solid start to build a 25-18 lead after the first quarter before the Bears clawed their way back to tie the game 43-43 at the half. The Royals outscored the Bears 26-8 in the third quarter before Aden Bowman rallied in the fourth. The lead never dipped below seven, though, and Riffel sealed the victory from the line. “It was getting a little tense, but we knew we had to stay under control,” Bulani said. “They’ve got a great team with a lot of great shooters. Luckily our defence picked it up and that’s what won us the game.” Bowman played a tentative game, coming up flat against an aggressive and gritty Riffel squad. The Saskatoon champion Bears were simply stifled. Although they erased an eight-point deficit in the first half to take a 41-35 lead, the Bears could not repeat the comeback in the second half and fizzled down the stretch. “We were facing a team that really had nothing to lose, coming in as a fourth seed and playing a No. 1 seed,” Bears coach Sheldon Lewchuk told the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. “I can spit out clichés and say they played harder than us, but they did. They did everything that they had to. We couldn’t stop their star (Jared Janotta). They always seemed to have their hand on the offensive boards. We just couldn’t block out properly. Once a team starts doing that, it just starts snowballing. It gets difficult to stop that momentum.” Hebert sank a string of long-distance buckets that helped Riffel pull ahead 51-45 early in the third quarter. “It’s definitely a good feeling,” Hebert said. “We’ve been in a slump lately and it’s nice to get out of it. We got the win and, hopefully, we can keep playing hard. “Aden Bowman’s a really good team. We’ve had some run-ins with them. We won one; they won one. So this was sort of a grudge match. “Defensively, we came out very intense and that won us the game.” The teams were knotted at 43-43 at halftime, but the Royals came out like gangbusters to start the second half. “We went into the locker-room at halftime and talked about defence,” said Riffel coach Wade Hackl. “When we play defence, we’ve been a real tough team to beat all year. We felt we did a pretty good job in the first half. We just needed to clean up a few things. They’re a hell of a team, a great basketball team. Their guard (Sam Derksen) is really good and their inside game is tough. We knew we had to take away a few things and we did that and, luckily, we came out with the win.” Hackl said “Brendan is a great player. He’s in Grade 11, but he plays like he’s in Grade 12. He’s played in a lot of big games. When the game’s on the line, I’ll always put the ball in his hands.” Bears post Alex Burko, who was called for his fourth foul just 37 seconds into the second half, said “it was tough, man. Nothing was clicking. We just came out flat. We know we can’t do that. We expect to go out there and hit everything. We expect Sam to hit every shot and Ben hits everything he takes, but that isn’t possible. Everybody’s got to step up and that didn’t happen today.” Riffel built up a 20-point lead early in the fourth quarter. Bowman battled back to twice cut the deficit to seven, but it wasn’t enough. “It was hard to come back,” said Burko. “Our goal is set so high and it seemed like we were taking too many three’s or not going through our offence. We’re just not doing what we’re supposed to do and running through.” Sam Derkson led the Bears with 30. Cuyler Borrowman added 17 and Ben Baker 11. The Bears (coached by Sheldon Lewchuk, assisted by Wendy Benson), also included Corey Edington, Luke Patola, Preston Dolgopol, Robert Graham, Russell Agnew, Brendan McIntosh, Jared Udchic, Alex Burko and Hussieni Aw-Dahir.
The second Regina seed Balfour Redmen stuffed the third Saskatoon seed Evan Hardy Souls 73-61 as Sam Kirkness and Mack Nagel each scored 20. Joey Deason paced the Souls with 18. The Souls also included Pierce Ward, Graham Unruh, Chris Friesen, Andrew Burnyeat.
The second Saskatoon seed Holy Cross Crusaders defeated the third Regina seed Luther Lions 86-59. The Lions couldn’t overcome a rash of turnovers against the Crusaders. “It’s disappointing,” Lions coach Drew Hunter, whose team was without two key post players in Mitchell Jones (mono) and Brock Mackenzie (ankle injury early in the game), told the Regina Leader-Post. “We worked pretty hard all year to put ourselves in a good position and we won our third-place game (over Riffel). We thought we matched up well with Cross. No excuses.” Evan Ostertag had 16 points for Holy Cross. Nathan Yule had 19 for Luther. The Lions (coached by Drew Hunter, assisted by Bill Johnson, Adam Hunter and Joel Hunter) also included Ethan Kummerfield, Brendan Lee, Sam Han, Justin Lee, Andrew Henry, Mitchell Jones, Taylor Carson, Paddy Foley, Eric Anderson, Kelsey Guenzel, Brock Mackenzie and John Schulte.
In the last quarterfinal, the top seed and Reginal city champ Campbell Tartans whipped fourth Saskatoon seed Centennial Chargers 95-59 as Matt Campbell scored 16. Mike Klassen paced Centennial with 16. “The whole school can come out,” Kelsey Lothian told the Regina Leader-Post. “Having both teams in it when it’s in Regina is really exciting because the fans can come to the games and support us.” The Chargers (coached by Korey Dawe) also included Hasib Karimi, Drew Golding, Dylan Thorpe, Will Quiring, Matt Smith, Ryan Schmidt.
In the semis, the fourth-seeded Regina Riffel Royals defeated the Regina Balfour Redmen 63-58 as Brendan Hebert scored 22. Mack Nagel led Balfour with 22. Balfour 24-8, 44-29 and 52-41 at the quarters. “It all started with defence,” the Royals’ Jared Janotta said after scoring 12 points. “I know everyone says that, but it’s true. Our shots weren’t falling early, so what do you do but play defence and wait for the shots to start falling?” Riffel did not lead until Brendan Hebert hit a runner with 3:36 remaining. The Royals never trailed thereafter.
In the other semi, the Regina Campbell Tartans dumped the Saskatoon Holy Cross Crusaders 69-55 as Matt Campbell scored 21. Connor Burns, a rangy 6-foot-6 post, also had success under the basket, finishing with 13 points. Iain McLeod added 11. Evan Ostertag paced the Crusaders with 11. Grade 12 senior Scott Boechler had nine. Jon Karwacki, Andrew Bitz and Jonathan Harding each had six. Campbell overcame an 11-point first-half deficit to defeat the Crusaders. “It was actually all defence — absolutely,” said the Tartans’ Matt Campbell. “Our defensive plays brought offence for us. Our defence brought offence for us. Things just starting going in for us (on offence). It was good. We calmed down in the second half. We tried to rotate the ball. Eventually, things worked out for us. “Right after we won provincials in volleyball, we said, ‘Let’s do it in basketball.’” Crusaders coach Shaun Nechvatal said “they just banged away inside. Our bigs, obviously, were in foul trouble early on and we had to cycle guys through. They just came out and were aggressive in the second half.” Twice, the Crusaders enjoyed 11-point leads in the opening half and appeared poised for an upset. In the fourth, however, Campbell took over under the basket and Matt Campbell led the way during a 10-point run to open the fourth. A long three-pointer by Daniel Simaluk, just beating the shot-clock buzzer, gave the Tartans a 59-50 lead. It was 61-50 with 5:06 left. Holy Cross could not answer. “They went to their strengths; they went to their bigs,” said Holy Cross point guard Steve Boryski, who had five points. “We were undersized. We tried to do our best but we were just too small. It sucks. We were up. We were hoping to keep it going, but we just couldn’t do it. He (Campbell) is a big guy to stop. I played with him this past summer and he’s a good guy.” Nechvatal added that “our guys were battling all night long. Our guys were often mismatched (size and height-wise). It was tough on those guys. They worked their butts off tonight. We tried to ride the success of the first half into the second half, but we just fell a little short.”
In the bronze medal match, the Saskatoon Holy Cross Crusaders nipped the Regina Balfour Redmen 65-64 as Scott Boechler scored 17. Tanner Forster paced Balfour with 16. Mack Nagel hit a three-pointer with 22 seconds left to get Balfour within one point. Holy Cross turned over the ball after the inbounds, giving the Redmen another shot — or two, actually. Neither attempt went in. The Redmen (coached by Glen Fekula, assisted by Mick Panko and Jason Coghill) also included Bunreath Uy, Mack Nagel, Faysal Moumin, Cooper Toppings, Sam Kirkness, Ryan Tulloch, Simon Trenholm, Nick Fox, Brandon Donsberger, Cam Hinchcliffe, Seth Hastings and Jeremy Zver.
In the final, the Regina Campbell Tartans nipped the fourth-seeded Regina Riffel Royals 72-70 as Matt Campbell scored at the buzzer on an inbounds pass from Ryan Giesbrecht. Riffel had tied the game at 70 with 2.1 seconds to play as Garrin Bulani nailed a trey. Campbell finished with 39 points. Iain McLeod added 11. Brendan Hebert and Jared Janotta each notched 25 to lead Riffel. The score was knotted at 51 after three quarters. “There’s no way you can dream something that big,” Campbell told the Regina Leader-Post of his buzzer-beater. “I’m pretty sure the whole team thought it was going into overtime, to tell you the truth.” Tartans coach Skip Campbell (Matt’s father) called a timeout after Bulani’s trey. The Tartans’ Ryan Giesbrecht then inbounded the ball from centre court. “I took off toward the key, got the pass, took the shot and banked it off the backboard,” Campbell said. “I couldn’t even describe what was going through my mind when that happened. I just ran toward our players and jumped in the air because we won.” The Royals were shocked. “(The three-pointer) gave my team a second chance,” a subdued Bulani said. “We felt we’d go into overtime and take it, but it wasn’t enough. My heart was just broken. We worked so hard to get here. They’re a great team. I give them props … but it broke my heart. It was my last game in high school and it was just a killer.” 2009 marked the first year that Saskatoon began playing with the 24-second (and 8 seconds over midcourt) clocks. Regina had been doing so for years.
The bronze medalist Saskatoon Holy Cross Crusaders: Scott Boechler; Evan Ostertag; Jon Karwacki; Steve Boryski; Andrew Bitz; Jonathan Harding; John Trumpy; Jeremy Bundgaard; Cole Noyes; Jordan Beck; Jacob Lazariuk; Ryan Thomas; Michael McLean; coach Shaun Nechvatal
The silver medalist Regina Riffel Royals: Brendan Hebert; Jared Janotta; Garrin Bulain; Paul Duchsher; Lex Ewen; Andrew Hamilton; Julius Landry; Matthew Bueck; Daniel Osiowy; Benjamin Quesnel; Daniel Rapley; Devin Storle; Mitchell Zimmer; coach Wade Hackl; assistant Al Collins; assistant Bob Pilon; manager Drew Strelau
The gold medalist Regina Campbell Tartans: Matt Campbell; Ryan Giesbrecht; Iain McLeod; James Anderson; Garrett Burgess; Kyle Burns; Connor Burns; Jesse Cole; Taylor Garrett; Bryce Gorman; Mike Malecha; Spencer O’Brien; Andrew Schmidt; Dan Simaluk; Yashar Zareh; coach Skip Campbell; assistant Terry Burns; assistant Tylor Campbell