In the opening round, held in Timmins: …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Windsor St. Joseph’s Lasers defeated Owen Sound Collegiate Falcons 61-55 after leading 17-10, 36-24 and 47-34 at the quarters. “We got a little sluggish in the fourth quarter, but we played okay,” Lasers’ assistant coach Nello Paolini told the Windsor Star. “We weren’t as sharp as we have been in recent games, but we got the first game out of the way and we’re just glad it’s over.” Michael Galanopoulos paced the Lasers with 22. Tommy Prskalo added 11 and John Balenzano 9. Mike McLeod led the Falcons with 19. …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Timmins HVS Blues clubbed the North Bay Chippewa Secondary Raiders 70-39 as Jon Kreiner scored 19. Mike Mitchell led the Raiders with 12. Charles Burns added 8. Raiders coach Dick Stewart told the North Bay Nugget that “it was pretty intimidating all right. The face they were the top seed and the packed gym put pressure on our players. They were really nervous.” …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Barrie North Vikings stomped the Timmins E.C.S. Theriault Flammes 72-52 as Derek Cotton and Chris Lumsdon each scored 17. Jeremy Boucher led the Flammes with 17. …………………………………………………… The Burlington Aldershot Lions stunned the 3rd-seeded Belleville Moira Trojans 50-48 as Paul Peterson scored 17 and Dan McPherson 12. Lion Tom Banks hit a jumper with three seconds to play to win it. Banks told the Burlington Spectator that “I wasn’t looking to shoot. We were trying to get the ball to Paul Peterson on an isolation but when they double-teamed him, I beat my man and put the ball up.” Lions coach Domenic Camastro said “our guys never stopped believing they could come back. Our big man (Mark Middleton) was dormant in the first half but he dominated the boards in the second half. But our player of the game was Dan McPherson.” The Trojans led 21-12, 33-22 and 44-37 at the quarters but Aldershot rallied with a 13-4 run. Ian Bentley led the Trojans with 15. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Stratford Central Rams thrashed the Cornwall Ecole Catholique La Citadelle Patriots 56-39 as Jason Henry scored 21. Rudy Nelson led the Patriots with 20. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Nepean St. Paul Golden Bears clipped the St. Catharines Lakeport Lakers 53-44 as Mike Keays scored 20. Derek Flindall led the Lakers with 18. Dave Aubin added 14. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Thunder Bay Port Arthur Redmen spanked the 7th-seeded Cannington Brock Bulldogs 71-47 as Nathan Stepanovic scored 31. Jeremy Storry paced the Bulldogs with 19.
In the second round: …………………………………………………… Timmins HVS Blues and Barrie North Vikings receive byes. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Nepean St. Paul Golden Bears defeated the Owen Sound Collegiate Falcons 61-41. Marc McLeod led the Falcons with 19. The Falcons (coached by Barry Boley) also included Rob Martin, Dave Calder, Jeff Goldie, Sheldon Schwandt, Gale Bravener, Ryan Polkinghorn, Kurt Reid, Ian Conn, Jason Wilkinson, Steve Brown and Jason Plater. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Windsor St. Joseph’s Lasers defeated the St. Catharines Lakeport Lakers 69-26 as John Lopez scored 19 and Shawn Farrant 12. The Lakers (coach Bob Mandzuk) included Derek Flindall, Dave Aubin, Chris O’Brien, Matt Rice, Kevin Althoff, Mike King, Randy Pahl. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Belleville Moira Trojans edged the 5th-seeded Stratford Central Rams 49-48. …………………………………………………… The Cornwall Ecole Catholique La Citadelle Patriots clipped the Burlington Aldershot Lions 64-54 as Hendrick Parisien scored 17. The Patriots led 22-11, 35-29 and 50-40 at the quarters. Paul Peterson led the Lions with 19. Tom Banks added 14. Lions coach Domenic Camastro told the Burlington Spectator that “we lost our point guard with a back injury (in the opening round game) and we just didn’t have the depth to replace him. That really hurt us). The Lions also included Dan McPherson, Mark Middleton. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Thunder Bay Port Arthur Redmen stomped the North Bay Chippewa Secondary Raiders 70-50. The Raiders (coached by Dick Stewart) included Mike Mitchell, Jason Blundell, Jason Casey, Ryan Berrigan, Matt Wood, Lloyd Caswell, Damon Topolie, Devyn Resmer, Gord Prisco, Tim Davies, John Fong and Charles Burns. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Cannington Brock Bulldogs dispatched the Timmins E.C.S. Theriault Flammes 69-58.
In the quarterfinals, the 4th-seeded Windsor St. Joseph’s Lasers clipped the 3rd-seeded Belleville Moira Trojans 49-35 as John Naccarto scored 13 and John Lopez 10.
The top-seeded Timmins HVS Blues blasted the 7th-seeded Cannington Brock Bulldogs 72-40.
The 2nd-seeded Barrie North Collegiate Institute Vikings whipped the 8th-seeded Thunder Bay Port Arthur Redmen 64-49.
In the last quarterfinal, the Cornwall Ecole Catholique La Citadelle Patriots dispatched the Nepean St. Paul Golden Bears x-x. The Golden Bears Chris Hall, Mike Keays, Carlton Reid, Tim Fallis.
In the semis, the 4th-seeded Windsor St. Joseph’s Lasers stunned the top-seeded Timmins HVS Blues 53-47 as Tom Prskalo scored 17 including a critical trey down the stretch. “After that, they had to foul us to get the ball back and we went six-for-six from the free throw line to ice it,” assistant coach Nello Paolini told the Windsor Star. “We played strong defence in the fourth quarter, held them to seven points and took the game away from them at that point.” The Lasers led 21-10 after the first quarter, 35-27 at halftime and the teams were tied 40-40 after three quarters. John Naccarato added 11 for the Lasers. Jon Kriener paced the Blues with 17.
In the other semi, the 3rd-seeded Barrie North Collegiate Institute Vikings dispatched Cornwall Ecole Catholique La Citadelle Patriots x-x. The Patriots included Hendrick Parisien.
In the final, the 3rd-seeded Barrie North CI Vikings defeated 4th-seeded Windsor St. Joseph’s Lasers 49-31. Derek Cotton led the Vikings with 17. Mike Galanopoulos paced the Lasers with 8. “I think we played our best game of the season this morning, but we had nothing left for the second one,” assistant coach Nello Paolini told the Windsor Star. “Barrie goes something like six-foot-eight, six-foot-eight, six-foot-seven across their front line and they just banged us around inside and controlled the boards. Beating the favorites in their own gym earlier was such an emotional experience and I just don’t think they had anything left to give.” The Vikings broke to a 32-13 lead at the half and were never threatened. “It’s hard to convince them right now but winning a silver medal is nothing to be ashamed of. But you know kids, once they get a taste of the gold, that’s all they want.”
The bronze medalist X:
The silver medalist Windsor St. Joseph’s Lasers: John Lopez; John Naccarato; Mike Galanopoulos; Shawn Farrant; Tommy Prskalo; John Balenzano; coach x; assistant Nello Paolini
The gold medalist Barrie North Collegiate Institute Vikings: Chris Lumsdon; Derek Cotton; coach Sandy Hosie; coach Doug Lowther