In the opening round, held in Sudbury: …………………………………………………… The Scarborough Cedarbrae CI Colts edged Sudbury St. Charles 71-68. St. Charles built an early 9-0 lead and maintained a 33-25 lead at the half. But Cedarbrae rallied back as three of St. Charles’ starters fouled out. In fact, all three Sudbury centres were gone for the final five minutes. Cedarbrae led 69-68 with 12 seconds to play and iced it with a pair of free throws by Phil Reynolds. Cedarbrae also got strong second half performances from Dave Watt and Colin Lauder. “I got all over Watt for his play and I benched Lauder in the second quarter,” said Cedarbrae coach John Volpe. “It was then they decided they wouldn’t lose.” Watt finished with 23 points, including 19 in the second half. Lauder had 10, all the second half. Mike Rapke scored 12. Claudio Pen paced St. Charles with 18. Ray Foucault added 16. St. Charles (coached by Dino Delben) also included Fern Silvestri, Art Potvin, Charles McIntyre. …………………………………………………… Port Hope whipped Orillia Park Street 54-34. Park Street was coached by Ken Shore.
In the second round: …………………………………………………… The Toronto St. Michael’s Blue Raiders crushed the Cornwall Cougars 94-66 (also reported as 94-61) as they dominated with speed. Cornwall built an early 8-2 lead and clung to a 16-15 margin after one quarter. But then the Blue Raiders got their transition game going and pulled away. “I had my fingers crossed,” Blue Raiders coach Dan Prendergast told the Globe & Mail. ‘They had a big team and they took that quick lead but we were shooting well.” Sam Kaknevicius led St. Michael’s with 32 points. Steve Ignatavicius added 27. The Cougars (coached by Joe Sanborn) included Chris Bertrand, Kim Forstad, Doug Patterson, Dave Luce. …………………………………………………… The Tillsonburg Glendale Griffins whipped the Toronto George Harvey Hawks 65-46. Tillsonburg led 28-22 at the half as both teams shot poorly in the first frame. But George Harvey coach John Petrushchak said his troops never found their range, finishing with a .180 average from the floor. “At three-quarter time, we had only made 10 out of 51 shots.” Bruce Coulthard paced Glendale with 36. Rick Jacob and Peter Dick each added 10. Jack Miniaci and Tony Bianchi led the Hawks with 12 each. The Hawks (coached by Jack Petruschak) also included Paul Lattanzio, Barry Mosley, Joe Tersigni, Americo Coletti, Joe Venafro, Dominic Schiraldi, Loris Gasparotto, Paul Mosley. …………………………………………………… The Sault Ste. Marie Sir James Dunn Eagles swamped the Hamilton CI Cougars 123-85 as John Dionisi scored 38, including 16-17 from the line. Guy Vetrie added 22 and George Trbovich 21. Coach Dick Joy rested his starters the entire final quarter. The Soo led 58-38 at the half and 82-63 after three quarters. Both teams full-court pressed from the start. All 5 Cougar started fouled out in the fourth quarter. Mike Sturk paced the Cougars with 12. Mike Reynolds added 12, Mike Zaokimnyj 10, Russ Edwards 8, Ira Jacobs 8, Paul Shute 8, Ed Mandula 7 and Bob Balaban 6. The Cougars (coached by Ken Omerod) also included Dave Luce, Hildebrant and Baldauf. …………………………………………………… The Kitchener Forest Heights Trojans whipped the Port Arthur Hammarskjold Vikings 98-32 (also reported as 99-32) as Mike Moser scored 24, Bill Marsden 16, Seig Leidig 14 and Bill Ferguson 13. Trojans coach Don MacCrae told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “our kids had a lot jitters at first. This game gave them a chance to unwind.” The Trojans led 44-17 at the half. The Vikings were coached by Bob Elvin. …………………………………………………… The Sudbury High North Stars crushed the Toronto Oakwood Barons 75-59 as Walter Kurnew scored 37 and Gary Todd 20. Kevin Judge led Oakwood with 17. Bill Francis added 16. The Barons (coached by Bob McKinney) also included John Hunter, Paul Chiddenton, Mindagus Misevicius, Tony Dubinsky, Ev Spence. …………………………………………………… The Windsor W.D. Lowe Trojans dumped the Ottawa Brookfield Blues 75-47 as Phil Goggins scored 22, Dave Burgess 13, Bill Symons 11, Hehn 11, Martini 7, Dave Howell 5, Tom Dufault 3 and Gillard 2. The Trojans broke open a 21-8 game with a 12-0 run in the second quarter. Trojans coach Gerry Brumpton told the Windsor Star that “I certainly wasn’t impressed with the way we played. We looked awfully dead early in the game. Maybe our billets are feeding the boys too well. … We had too many turnovers and made too many mistakes. They were an aggressive bunch and we didn’t play aggressively enough.” The Trojans hit 31-66 from the floor and 13-19 from the line. Dave Bustard led the Blues with 13. Dave Stewart added 13, Ken Sagadore 11, Scott Cook 5, Dave Bridgeman 4, Adam Brishinger 2 and Darcy Depre 1. The Blues (coached by John Scobie) also included Scott Houston. …………………………………………………… The Niagara Falls Stamford Hornets defeated Port Hope 58-42 as Gord Histrop scored 23, Ross Armstrong 11, Dave Bain 8, Tim Crowe 8, Paul Gastaldi 6, Garry Gibbs 3, John Fear 2, Dave Bailey 2 and Earl Shuman 1, while John London was scoreless. Hornets coach Bob Coull told the Niagara Falls Review that “I thought they [Gord Histrop and Dave Bain] both played very well. The Hornets led 17-15, 343-21 and 48-28 at the quarters. Bruce Bell Chambers scored 17 to lead Port Hope (coach Ken Rose). Fred Hodgson added 10, Kirk Dayman 7, Rick Hagerman 5 and David Thompson 3. …………………………………………………… The Scarborough Cedarbrae Colts defeated the Timmins E.C.S. Theriault Flammes 88-54 (also reported as 74-37) after most of their foes fouled out. Dave Watt scored 29 for Cedarbrae. Phil Reynolds added 20. The Flammes (coached by Reverend Roland Saumur) included Jacques Riopelle, Michel Lalonde, Rene Leblond.
In the quarterfinals, the Sault Ste. Marie Sir James Dunn Eagles stunned the top-seeded Toronto St. Michael’s Blue Raiders 93-83 as Guy Vetrie, bound for Marquette on a football scholarship, scored 28 despite smashing his nose in a third quarter collision with Steve Ignatavicius. Coach Dick Joy patted Vetrie on the back, stuffed his nose with tissue and sent him back on the floor. “That was the best high school basketball game I ever saw,” said Joy. “Playing against American schools has helped us this year. We played 10 different schools in Michigan and beat all but one. We were disappointed we were seeded only seventh in the tournament here, but no one is worried about that now.” The Soo led 22-17 after a quarter. St. Michael’s led 47-42 at the half. The Soo led 72-65 after three quarters and St. Michael’s was never able to get closer than five. Eagles coach Richard Joy told the Sault Star “it was a tremendous effort.” John Dionisi paced the Soo with 20. Jim Rudack added 14 and Paul Mousseau 13. George Rautins paced St. Michael’s with 36. Sam Kaknevicius added 18 and Steve Ignatavicius 16. The Blue Raiders (coached by Dan Pendergrast) also included Jon Zorza, Paul Kolycius, Vince Santoro and Al Nakrosius.
The Tillsonburg Glendale Griffins eliminated the Scarborough Cedarbrae Colts 75-57 as Bruce Coulthard scored 34. Peter Dick added 15. Phil Reynolds paced Cedarbrae with 20. Dave Watt added 14 and Mike Rapke 13. The Colts (coached by John Volpe) also included Don Thomson, Colin Lauder, Andy Illes, Dave Scott, Dave Barton and Phil Hartwell.
The Kitchener Forest Heights Trojans dumped the Niagara Falls Stamford Hornets 60-47 as 6-6 centre Mike Moser scored 17, Seig Leidig 14, Phil Schlote 13, Bill Ferguson 7, Marsden 4, Scott Tippin 2 and Mike Sinclair 2. The Trojans led 25-21 at the half and 41-26 (also reported as 45-28) after three quarters as Seig Leidig ignited a late 12-0 run. The Trojans dominated the boards while forced a host of rushed Hornet shots. Trojans coach Don McRae told the Niagara Falls Review that “they gave us a game in the first half but we wore them down. It was just of case of (Stamford) jumping, jumping and jumping and finally getting tired. I’m please with the work of my centre (Moser) who had a tough time in the first half but really worked in the second half. … (Seig Leidig) at the start of the second half, he scored eight straight. That was the game.” MacCrae told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “we’ll continue to play man-on-man. We haven’t done anything too exciting so far. The team’s really been struggling. We’ve been winning though, and that’s what counts. … Mike (Moser) is really getting special attention. But he just keeps working away. He’s doing a real fine job.” Gord Histrop paced the Hornets with 16. Dave Bain added 8, Earl Schuman 6, Jerry Gibbs 6, Ross Armstrong 5, Paul Gastaldi 4 and Dave Bailey 2. The Hornets (coach Bob Coull) also included Tim Crowe and London. Coull said “the kids just got tired. We got beat by a good 6-6 player (Moser).”
In the last quarterfinal, the Windsor W.D. Lowe Trojans edged the Sudbury High North Stars 68-60 as Phil Goggins and Ernie Hehn dominated the boards. Sudbury led 13-11 after one quarter but Windsor moved ahead 28-23 at the half and never trailed again. Trojans coach Gerry Brumpton told the Windsor Star “we’re still not playing as well as we should. We’re continuing to make too many fundamental mistakes.” Tom Dufault paced Windsor with 18. Phil Goggins added 16, Robbie Symons 14, Dave Bigness 12 and Hehn 8, while Dave Howell was scoreless. Alex Viahovlich scored 16 to pace the North Stars (coached by Warren Gingell). Walter Kirnew and Sam Martin each added 14, George Plach 8, Gary Todd 6 and Swain 2. The North Stars (coached by Warren Gingell) also included Kurylowicz, Vlahovich, Bate and Grace. The North Stars hit 26-60 from the floor and 8-13 from the line.
In the semis, the Tillsonburg Glendale Griffins edged the Sault Ste. Marie Sir James Dunn Eagles 76-72 as Bruce Coulthard scored 26, including 10-11 from the line. Rick Jacob added 20. The Soo led 37-34 at the half. Guy Vetrie paced Sir James Dunn with 25. John Dioniski added 22. Dunn was coached by Dick Joy and led by Vetrie, who later went on to coach at Saskatchewan and Victoria.
In the other semi, the Kitchener Forest Heights Trojans defeated the Windsor W.D. Lowe Trojans 57-48 after leading 20-14 at the quarter and 32-23 at the half. Kitchener was paced by post Mike Moser, who scored 24. Phil Schlote added 10, Bill Ferguson 10, Seig Leidig 6, guard Bill Marsden 5 and Scott Tippin 2. Forest Heights coach Don MacCrae told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “the boys considered that game to be the major hurdle. WE just about lost it after leading by 14 points in the third quarter. Lowe pressed after pulling to within two points of us but time ran out.” Windsor W.D. Lowe was led by Phil Goggin’s 23 points. Robbie Symons added 6, Dave Bigness 6, Martini 6, Dufault 5 and Hehn 2. Forest Heights shot 23-57 from the floor, while Lowe was 18-67. Forest Heights survived a five-minute scoring drought in the second half.
In the bronze medal match, the Windsor W.D. Lowe Trojans defeated the Sault Ste. Marie Sir James Dunn Eagles 67-63. The Soo led 38-36 at the half. Dave Bigness paced Windsor with 19. Ernie Hehn added 15, Dave Howell 12, Robbie Symons 10, Phil Goggins 6, Tom Dufault 2 and Barker 2. Guy Vetrie scored 28 for the Eagles. Paul Mousseau added 12, George Trbovich 9, John Dionisi 7, Rudack 5 and Rajnovich 2. The Eagles (coached by Richard Joy) also included Rahn, George Chandler, Boston and Apostle. Dave Bigness gave the Trojans a 62-61 lead with a field goal. Dave Howell hit three insurance free throws in the final minute.
In the final, the 2nd-seeded Kitchener Forest Heights Trojans defeated the Tillsonburg Glendale Griffins 67-61. “I figured we were among the top three or four teams,” Trojans coach Don McCrae told Canadian Press after his players tossed him in the shower. “But I never dared to dream we would win it. We knew we had to stop Coulthard and we felt if we could hold him to 30 points, we would take it. We didn’t do that well, but in the fourth quarter, we shifted from a man-to-man defence to a zone defence and that seemed to bother his team a little.” Mike Moser controlled the boards and led Forest Heights with 28 points and grabbed 11 boards in the second half. Bruce Coulthard, a 6-0 guard, scored 37 for Glendale, hitting 15-27 from the floor and adding seven free throws. After 14 minutes of play, he’d scored 20 of Glendale’s 25 points. Coulthard told the Toronto Star “I was playing basketball before I could write my name.” Griffins coach Brian O’Rourke said “Moser beat us. They had more height overall, but he beat us.” Moser said “we knew we couldn’t stop Coulthard. So we tried to prevent him going all the way for a shot, make him pass and then block him off so they couldn’t get the ball back to him. We felt if he didn’t score for a couple of minutes at a time, they might get rattled.” Forest Heights had entered with a (26-3) record under McCrae, who went to university coaching fame. Seig Leidig and Bill Ferguson added 12 each for Kitchener, while Phil Schlote scored 6, Bill Marsden 4, Scott Tippin 2 and Jeff Scott 2. The score was knotted at 15 after one quarter. Rick Jacob added 9 for the Griffins, Peter Dick 7, Craig Carle 5 and Don Caswell 2. MacCrae told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “we struggled in this game. Just as we did throughout the tournament. I don’t want to sound as if I’m bragging, but the team didn’t play that well. We had problems offensively. Our defensive play saved us. We were easily the best rebounding team and some say that’s where the game is won or lost. … We had full control of the backboards but couln’t do a thing. Bruce Coulthard hit on five straight baskets for them and got 21 points in the first half. … They were a one-man team. … We did everything to try to keep the ball away from him but they worked hard at giving him the ball and it paid off. We tried to double-team him in the middle of the game. Then in the fourth quarter, when we were only four points ahead, we went to a match-up zone. We just adjusted to their way their personnel were set up. That seemed to confuse theh. … They used a 1-3-1 defence. It was the first time we had seen it. We prepared for it in practice but it’s different in a game. We struggled against it. They tried to press up late in the game but were too tired.”
Sportswriters covering the tourney subsequently chose Bruce Coulthard as the tourney MVP. He was joined on their all-tournament team by Guy Vetrie (SSM); George Rautins (Toronto St. Michael’s); Coulthard; Moser; and Windsor’s Phil Goggins.
The bronze medalist Windsor W.D. Lowe Trojans (then the Roughriders): Dave Bigness; Phil Goggins; Ernie Hehn; Tom Dufault; Martini; Tom Dufault; Dave Howell; Gillard; Robbie Symons; Barker; coach Gerry Brumpton
The silver medalist Tillsonburg Glendale Griffins: Bruce Coulthard; Rick Jacob; Peter Dick; Don Caswell; Dan Lamb; Craig Carle; Bruce Coulthard; Dennis Fairall; Ed DeLoose; Jim Koteles; Ken McPherson; coach Brian O`Rourke; manager Greg Lambden
The gold medalist Kitchener Forest Heights Trojans: Mike Moser; Bill Marsden; Phil Schlote; Scott Tippin; Jeff Scott; Bill Ferguson; Seig Leidig; Bob Luelo; Mike Sinclair; Larry Rose; Bery Juschka; Scott Tippin; Leo Tobi; Jeff Scott?; Mit Tilkov; Ralph Moore; Dave Shelton; coach Don McCrae