In the opening round, held in London, (where OFSAA rules prohibited teams from dressing more than 10 players): …………………………………………………… The Brockville Red Rams whipped the Timmins E.C.S. Theriault Flammes 60-36. …………………………………………………… The London Westminster Wildcats defeated the Thunder Bay Lakeview Lions 53-46.
In the second round: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Windsor F.J. Brennan Cardinals opened the tourney with an 85-55 thrashing of the Port Perry Rebels after exploding in the second half to walk away from a 27-27 tie at the half. Dan Devin led the Cardinals with 15. Pete Barone added 13, Greg Marchant 12, Bob Dupuis 12, Jim Minello 11, Brian Smith 11, Tom Hogan 10 and Nipinak 1, while John Hogan and Tim Berthiaume were scoreless. The Cardinals hit 39-94 from the floor and 7-20 from the line. The Rebels were led by 6-11 c Jim Zoet’s 20 points. Williams added 19, Sinclair 10, Beare 5 and Skinner 1. Cardinals coach Leo Innocente told the Windsor Star that “their big guy (Zoet) played a fine game until we steer our offence away from him. We had a lousy first half and I really don’t know the reason for it. Some of my players were complaining about the dark (wood paneled) background behind the basket but we didn’t shoot well. It made all the difference in the world when our shots started to go through the hoop in the second half.” …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Burlington Nelson Lords crushed the North York Mackenzie Lions 75-54. Indrek Kongats led the Lords with 23. Indrek Kongats added 13, along with 10 boards, John Dow 9 and Lloyd Dyas 9, along with 12 boards. The Lords led 21-6 after one quarter and 38-24 at the half. Lords coach John MacLennan told the Hamilton Spectator that “it was too easy a start for us and then we slowed right up near the end. I tried to work everybody in, hoping the team would pick up again but we slowed down.” Emilio Tacconelli paced the Lions with 17. The Lions (coach Shelly Rodney) also included Larry Rotstein, Mitch Mendleson, Barry Carr, Percy Brik, Mike Freid, Larry Rotstein. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Ottawa Lisgar Lords defeated Coburg West 52-35. …………………………………………………… The Kitchener-Waterloo CI Scarlett Raiders nipped the Toronto St. Michael’s Blue Raiders 57-55 after hitting 20-61 from the floor and 17-24 from the line, while the Blue Raiders were 24-75 from the floor and 7-9 from the line. Seig Leidig paced the Scarlett Raiders with 16. Bob Wagner added 14 and Scott Acheson 12. The Scarlett Raiders committed 24 turnovers and Blue Raiders 13. Scarlett Raiders coach Jim Saddler told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that free throw shooting “bailed out” his team. “I just don’t know. They seemed to be panicking for some reason.” The score was knotted at 11 after one quarter. The Scarlett Raiders led 30-25 at the half and 44-35 after three quarters. Paul South led the Blue Raiders with 22. Rob Pietrobon added 11 and Joe Norkus 11. The Blue Raiders also included Nick Del Principe, Ambrose Campana, Joe Mihevc, John Goncalves, Tony Urbonas, Andy Kaknevicius, Tony Leighton and Joe Grigonis. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Toronto George Harvey Hawks edged the Sault Ste. Marie St. Mary’s Knights 79-77 in overtime. Paul Lattanzio hit a pair of 30-footers, one of which forced overtime and the second of which gave the Hawks a 77-75 lead. Hawks starters Barry Mosley, Tony Bianchi and Americo Coletta all fouled out in the fourth quarter, while Joe Macrito missed the third quarter with an ankle sprain. Joe Macrito led the Hawks with 21. Paul Lattanzio added 19, Rick Wasson scored 13 and Bob Marr. The Sault missed a chance to force a second overtime when a layup was called off by an offensive foul. Dave Piotrowski led the Knights with 24. John Doan added 18 and Mike Gabriel 12 on 10-10 from the line. Knights coach Jim McLean told Sault Star that “the breaks just fell wrong for us. What a way to lose a ball game. They kept fighting even when they were down by as much as eight points and that’s what counts to me.” The Knights (coached by McLean) also included Wayne Wakeford, Donnie McKenzie, Frank Ianni, Ralph Caria, Rick Hendermeier, Ivan Renaud and Mike Hennessey. …………………………………………………… The Tilsonburg Glendale Griffins defeated the Toronto Oakwood Barons 50-43 after hitting 16-24 from the line, while the Barons were 7-14. George Gorzynski paced the Barons with 11. Ev Spencer added 10. The Barons also included Branko Sansa, Len Koroneos, Frank Grespan, Nino Paoluca, Flavio Turchet. …………………………………………………… The Welland Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the Hamilton Cathedral Gaels 80-72 as Danm Vyrostko scored 23 and Greg Leon 21. The Fighting Irish led 19-8 after one quarter and 43-31 at the half. Ed Tirillis paced the Gaels with 22. Vito Bommarito added 19 and John Mallon 15. The Gaels (coached by Jim Daly, assisted by P Pacecca) also included Dante Dalia, Fred Scione, Al Zilvytis, Brian Mascarin, Rick Bolek, Ray Butkevicius, Tony Sestokas, Eric Kovac, Terry Hourigan, Fred Demers, Vid Lukosius and Mauro Buonamici. Daly told the Hamilton Spectator that “we just got off to a slow start and couldn’t get going until the second half. By that time, we were down and forced to use patterns we didn’t normally use. Maybe the boys were a little too emotional.” …………………………………………………… The London Westminster Wildcats whipped the Brockville Red Rams 70-49. The Red Rams included Cliff Dedman, Dale Ashton, Peter Muir, Tony McManus, Don Ferguson, John Zuiker, David Orr, Henry Bowhuis.
In the quarterfinals, the Windsor F.J. Brennan Cardinals totally dominated the wild-card entry London Westminster Wildcats, winning 69-41 as Bob Dupuis scored 14, Greg Marchant 12, including eight in a row in the third quarter, Dan Devin 11, Brian Smith 10, Tom Hogan 10, John Hogan 4, Pete Barone 4 and Mike Nipinak 2. The Cardinals led 14-7, 35-18 and 55-28 at the quarters. Bill Jansenberger led the Wildcats with 16. Hughes added 8, Sealey 6, G Perpich 5, Johnsen 4 and R Perpich 2. Cardinals coach Leo Innocente told the Windsor Star that “the big thing is that we got ourselves untracked right off the bat and took the play away from them before they had an opportunity to cause us some trouble.” Westminster coach Doug Marshall said “we tried to give it our best shot but just couldn’t handle them. They overpowered us.”
The 2nd-seeded Burlington Nelson Lords edged the Tilsonburg Glendale Griffins 49-45.
The Welland Notre Dame Fighting Irish stunned the 3rd-seeded Ottawa Lisgar Lords 80-52. The Lords (coached by Pat O’Brien and managed by Doug Sally) included Jon Love, Terry Stoqua, Ron Kelly, Paul Armstrong, Keith Barton, Jeff Allen, David MacKenzie, George Bowles, Barry Auger, Andre Dubois, Earl Wilson, Kim MacKenzie and Bob McNeil.
In the last quarterfinal, the Kitchener-Waterloo CI Scarlet Raiders nipped the Toronto George Harvey Hawks 71-69 in overtime. With Scarlett Raiders guard Bob Wagner and Jim Hughes in foul trouble, Gary Devitt came off the bench. Kevin Hay hit a bucket and Devitt a bucket and two free throws to give Kitchener a 49-45 lead. But the Hawks forced overtime on a Barry Mosley bucket at the buzzer to knot the score at 61. The Trojans took early command in the extra session as Seig Leidig hit a field goal and two free throws. Scarlett Raiders coach Jim Saddler told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “Devitt came through in the clutch. He hadn’t played than four minutes all year. Actcheson did a good job as well. He kept us in the game in the first half. … They were taking bad shots and we’d get the rebound and then give the ball right back to them.” Saddler told the Toronto Star that “we certainly saw that they could run but we also saw that they had the shooters, especially that No. 33 (Joe Macrito). You know, without seeing that game (in the opening round), we probably would have gone man-to-man but I decided on zone to keep their shooters outside.) The Raiders hit 25-55 from the floor, while the Hawks were 29-32. The Raiders hit 21-32 from the line. Seigfried Leidig paced the Raiders with 27, while nabbing 18 boards. Jim Hughes added 11, Scott Atcheson 9, Kevin Hay8, Gary Devitt 8, Bob Wagner 7 and Dougherty 1, while Devenny, B Hughes and McCredy were scoreless. The Scarlett Raiders committed 33 turnovers and the Hawks 18. Paul Lattanzio and Americo Coletta each scored 16 to pace the Hawks. Joe Macrito added 15, Bianchi 14, Barry Mosley 4, including a putback at the buzzer that forced overtime with the score knotted at 61, while Wasson added 2 and Blondi 2. The Hawks (coach John Petrushchak, manager Romesh Persuad) included Paul Lattanzio, Rick Wasson, Americo Coletta, Joe Macrito, Ed Gasparatto, Gus Pappas, Bob Marr, Tony Bianchi, Jose Biondi, Barry Mosley, Bruno Bedin, Angelo Mattacchione and Rob Jeysman.
In the semi-final, the top-seeded Windsor F.J. Brennan Cardinals defeated the Kitchener-Waterloo CI Raiders 52-40 in a remarkable display of speed and defensive pressure. Brennan led 13-10 at the quarter and 24-19 at the half before going on a 23-8 run in the third quarter to take control of game. Brennan shot 20-57 (.350) from the floor, while Kitchener-Waterloo shot 12-51 (.230). The Cardinals dominated the boards by a 47-29 count, including 21 and Dan Devin. Centre Jim Minello led Brennan with 14. Brian Smith added 11, Dan Devin 9, Greg Marchant 6, Pete Barone 6, Tom Hogan 4 and Bob Dupuis 2. Seigfried Leidig led the Raiders with 18. Wagner added 8, Hay 6, Hughes 5 and Acheson 3, while Devenny was scoreless. Scarlett Raiders coach Jim Saddler told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “they had us on the boards. We didn’t get many jump balls either. But we played them end-to-end).” The Trojans had 17 turnovers to Windsor’s 11.
In the other semi, the Welland Notre Dame Fighting Irish knocked off the defending champion and 2nd-seeded Burlington Nelson Lords 55-50.
In the bronze medal match, the 2nd-seeded Burlington Nelson Lords defeated the Kitchener-Waterloo CI Scarlet Raiders 68-51 as Indrek Kongats scored 20, John Dow 15, Tufford 12, Munro 7, Dyas 6, Sharpe 5, Howe 32 and Embedton 2. The Lords led 17-6 after one quarter and 32-20 at the half. Nelson shot 31-64 from the floor, while the Trojans were 18-43. Bob Wagner paced the Trojans with 14. Seig Leidig added 10, Jim Hughes 6, Kevin hay 6, Scott Acheson 5, Gary Devitt 5, Ken Dougherty 3 and Paul Devenny 2. The Scarlett Raiders (coached by Jim Saddler) also included Steve Apperson, John Hoover, Bernie Hughes, John Hooper, Steve Mecredy, Jim Brennamin, Rick Jankura, Keith Stolz, Bob McGill and Barry Goman. Saddler told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “it would have been nice to do better. … But we got behind. … We didn’t have much depth or height. But we did alright.”
In the final, the Windsor F.J. Brennan Cardinals defeated the Welland Notre Dame Fighting Irish 54-48. Brennan was cold from the floor early. The Fighting Irish led 15-9 at quarter but Greg Marchant sparked a rally to tie it at 19 and led Windsor to a 28-23 lead at half. Welland took a 35-34 lead early in the second half but two field goals by Tom Hogan gave Brennan the lead again. Welland’s Bob Civak responded with two free throws but then Dan Devin hit a field goal to give Brennan a 40-37 lead at three-quarter mark. Brennan scored four of the first five hoops in the final frame, with Hogan hitting three of those, and then coasted to the victory. Greg Marchant scored three times in final two minutes to seal the win. Brennan shot 23-66 (.355) from the floor and 8-21 from the line, while Notre Dame shot 19-46 (.412) from the floor and 10-19 from the line. Brennan was led by Greg Marchant’s 22 points. Tom Hogan added 14, Dan Devin 9, Bob Dupuis 3, Pete Barone 2, Jim Minello 2 and Bert Smith 2. Greg Leon led Welland with 16. Roger Adams added 12, Frank Gaspar 11, Rick Vyrostko 5, John Sczilecki 2 and Bob Civak 2. After the game, Brennan coach Leo Innocente told the Windsor Star “this is a great team. They did everything I asked of them all season. All of us have dreamed about this since the start of practice last fall and here we are. But we kept trying not to look too far ahead because you can never take anything for granted in that tough Windsor league. … We were loose throughout the playoff.” Brennan finished (30-2) on season. Innocente told the Hamilton Spectator that “we figured to be down after the first quarter. All through the tourney, we have been behind in the first quarter and don’t do much. But we noticed they were scoring on long shots and the percentage was against them that it would continue. They were not penetrating our defence, so we just waited.” Fighting Irish co-coach Jack Chambers said foul trouble for Frank Gaspar was the difference. “The whole story is Gaspar. As soon as we took him off, they started a comeback. The thing just went ‘bang’ and by the time we could get him back, we were down by 3 or 5 points.”
Unofficial all-stars were selected after the tourney by the media: Greg Marchant and Dan Devin of Brennan; Roger Adams and Greg Leon of Welland; John Dow and Indrek Kongats of Burlington Nelson; Rick Jacob of Tillsonburg Glendale; Siegfried Leidig of Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate; John Mallon of Hamilton Cathedral; and Jim Zoet of Port Perry.
The bronze medalist Burlington Nelson Lords: Indrek Kongats; Mike Sharp; John Dow; Tim Tufford; Doug Munro; Russ Simmons; Lloyd Dyas; Brian Howe; Scott Embleton; Eric Silmser; Steve Elder; John Novo; coach John MacLennan
The silver medalist Welland Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Bob Civak; Greg Leon; Roger Adams; Frank Gaspar; Dan Vyrostko; Rick Vyrostko; Tom Everett; Don Hall; John Sczelecki; Paul Beaudette; Don Kennedy; coach Jack Chambers
The gold medalist Windsor F.J. Brennan Cardinals: Dan Devin; Pete Barone; Greg Marchant; Bob Dupuis; Jim Minello; Bert Smith; John Hogan; Mike Nipinak; Tom Hogan; Tim Berthiaume; J.P. Brescacin; Jim Ermacora; Mitch St. Louis; Ron Pitre; John Battaglia; coach Ron Innocente
Thanks to: Then George Harvey-coach John Petrushchak’s family for the provision of newspaper clippings.