In the opening round, the Vancouver Gladstone Gladiators defeated the defending provincial runner-up Abbotsford Panthers 40-36. “That’s something I don’t want to remember,” Sam Vandermeulen years later told the Vancouver Province. “Here we were, one of two or three teams favoured to win the whole thing, and we blow it against a team we’re supposed to beat easily. I’ll tell you what I do remember: We were absolutely disgusted with ourselves. We sat and pouted after that game for a long time.” Zuccolin paced the Gladiators with 10. Bazeley added 10, Cooke 7, Parr 7, Kearns 4 and Hattori 2. Vandermeulen led the Panthers with 15. Bill Clark added 5, Stu Freund 5, Larson 4, Emery Baker 4 and Crombie 3. …………………………………………………… The Trail J.L. Crowe Hawks nipped the Penticton Lakers 37-35 as Ward scored 15, Burn 8, Yard 5, Russo 4, Bell 3 and Miller 2, while Orlando was scoreless. Palano paced the Lakers with 10. Cripps added 8, Schmunk 7, Matatall 6, Folk 3 and Burgart 1. …………………………………………………… The Kamloops Red Devils edged the Prince Rupert Rainmakers 61-59 as Hearn scored 16, Paterson 12, D Murphy 11, Atkins 20, R Murphy 8 and Marshall 4. Specht paced the Rainkaers with 16. Humpherville added 12, Greer 10, Mah 7 and Lloyd 4. …………………………………………………… The Victoria Oak Bay Bays whipped the Williams Lake Thunder 66-28 as Bob Burrows scored 13, Brian Craig 11, Brian MacKenzie 10, Tom Child 8, Glen Moffat 6, Gary Ford 4, Mike O’Connor 4, Barry Turner 4, Paul Baines 4 and Peter Songhurst 2. Robin Scott paced the Thunder (coached by Brent Rutherford) with 11. MacDonald added 9, Kantymir 2, Lee Phillips 2 and Rodbom 2. …………………………………………………… The Alberni District Chieftains dispatched the Vancouver Lord Byng Grey Ghosts 46-37 as Ralph Fredfinnson scored 12, Hilton 10, Herbert 9, Hutchinson 7, McLean 4, Hilliard 2 and LaSota 2. Joe Kainer paced the Grey Ghosts with 10. Steve Woods added 7, Sweet 6, Couch 4, Francis 3, Derek Sankey 3, Dave Cox 2 and Roper 2. …………………………………………………… The North Surrey Spartans edged the Victoria High Totems 50-48 as Terry Wiens scored 18, Gary Smith 17, Higham 9, House 4 and Dan Rowe 2. Ollie Moilanen paced the Totems with 18. Alvin Glover added 14, Drew Schroeder 9, Roger Halfaide 3, Rod Fields 2 and Dance 2 The Totems (coached by Bill Garner) also included Harper. …………………………………………………… The Burnaby Central Wildcats defeated the North Vancouver Norsemen 50-43 as Grenda scored 22, Hiduk 14, Marcus 6, Kennedy 5 and Smith 3. Russ Black led the Norsemen with 16. Warkentin added 9, Molinski 9, Hart 3, Rodenhizer 2, Klasen 2a nd Cline 2. The Norsemen also included Dobson, Dempsey, Hewer, Dunham, Metzner, Bland, Len Corbe, Brelsford. …………………………………………………… The Clearbrook Mennonite Educational Institute Eagles edged the Vancouver Windermere Warriors 43-42 as Wallace scored 14, Dennis Neumann 8, Giesbrecht 6, Falk 6, Harold Derkson 5 and Warkentin 4. McLeod paced the Warriors with 18. Frank Rotering added 12, Abel 5, Jackson 4, Phil Paul 2 and Solecki 1.
In the consolation draw, Sam Vandermeulen set what remains a tournament record by scoring 58 points as the Abbotsford Panthers defeated the Williams Lake Thunder 109-34. “All my shots were layups and free throws,” Vandermeulen later told the Vancouver Province. “I didn’t have a jump shot and don’t remember taking one. Jump shots were difficult for me anyway because I was born with my left leg two inches shorter than my right. I scored layups off the rebound and off the drive and went to the free-throw line a lot. I didn’t miss more than three or four shots the whole game. The record meant absolutely nothing to me at the time. We were on the consolation side of the draw and played Williams Lake very early in the morning. The gym was virtually empty and there was zilch atmosphere. I wasn’t even aware of the record until a UBC statistician informed me of it after the game. But I’ve come to appreciate it more over time.”
In the quarterfinals, the Victoria Oak Bay Bays clubbed the Vancouver Gladstone Gladiators 54-32 as Brian MacKenzie scored 20, Bob Burrows 16, Tom Child 10, Barrie Turner 4, Mike O’Connor 2 and Brian Craig 2. Kearns led the Gladiators with 10. Cooke added 5, Parr 3, Zuccolin 2 and Bazeley 2.
The Clearbrook M.E.I. Eagles dumped the Trail J.L. Crowe Hawks 45-32 as Wallace scored 18, Dennis Neumann 9, Harold Derkson 7, Jerry Falk 5, Giesbrecht 2, Warkentin 2, Toews 2 and Wiebe 1. Burn led the Hawks with 12, Ward added 7, Miller 6, Russo 3, Yard 2 and Babcock 2.
The Burnaby Central Wildcats defeated the North Surrey Spartans 38-33 as Grenda scored 15, Hiduk 9, Marcus 6, Kennedy 5 and Smith 4. Gary Smith paced the Spartans with 9. Ken House added 8, Terry Wiens 8, Don Higham 6 and Corbil 2. The Spartans also included Dan Rowe.
In the last quarterfinal, the Alberni District Chieftains defeated the Kamloops Red Devils 41-38 as Tony Herbert scored 15, Hilliard 13, Keene 6, McLean 5 and Hutchinson 2. Dave Murphy led the Red Devils with 13. Bud Atkins added 8, Bob Hearn 6, Bob Patterson 5, Dave Marshall 4 and Randy Murphy 2. The Red Devils (coached by Mr. Martino) also included Gary Mirtle, Brian Marchuck, Paul Kipp, Brian Kipp, Larry Barton and Jack Surline.
In the semis, the Victoria Oak Bay Bays stomped the Clearbrook M.E.I. Eagles 54-33 after leading 22-15 at the half. Bob Burrows paced the Bays with 16. Brian Craig added 13, Brian MacKenzie 10, Barrie Turner 8, Tom Child 4 and Brian Grexton 3 (also reported that it was Gary Ford who scored 3). Jerry Falk paced the Eagles with 11. Wallace added 10, Harold Derkson 6, Dennis Neumann 6 and Giesbrecht 2.
In the other semi, the Alberni District Chieftains edged the Burnaby Central Wildcats 48-45 after leading 25-14 at the half. Ralph Frindfinnson led the Chieftains with 11. Ken Hutchinson added 8, Brent McLean 8, Tony Herbert 7, Ray Lasota 5, Frank Keen 5 and Brock Hilliard 4. Henry Grenda paced the Wildcats with 20. Terry Hiduk added 11, Smith 5, Marcus 5 and Kennedy 4.
In the bronze medal match, the Clearbrook M.E.I. Eagles dusted the Burnaby Central Wildcats 36-28 as Dennis Neumann scored 9, Giesbrecht 9, Wallace 8, Jerry Falk 5 and Harold Derkson 5, while Warkentin, Teichroeb, Toews, Wiebe and Jack Falk were scoreless. Terry Hiduck paced the Wildcats with 8. Henry Grenda added 8, Singleton 6, Marcus 3, Doidge 2, Kennedy 1 and Smith 1, while Disbraw, Sung, Lang and Stubson were scoreless. The Wildcats also included Barry Green, Andy Johnson, Gaudin, McGregor, Cook, Armitage, McDell.
In the final, the Victoria Oak Bay Bays whipped the Port Alberni District Chieftains 48-34 after leading 15-9, 25-11 and 40-25 at the quarters. Bob Burrows and Brian MacKenzie led the Bays to an early lead and when MacKenzie twisted an ankle in the third quarter, the Chieftains rallied with a 6-0 run. But the rally soon fizzled. Bob Burrows paced the Bays with 15. MacKenzie added 14, Brian Craig 9, Tom Child 4, Glen Moffat 3 and Gary Ford 3. Ray Lasota led the Chieftains with 10. Tony Herbert added 8, Ken Hutchinson 4, Brent McLean 4, Ralph Fridfinnson 3, Don Hilton 2, Barry Magnusson 2 and Frank Keene 1. The Bays hit 19-45 from the floor and 10-18 from the line. The Chieftains hit 15-54 from the floor and 2-15 from the line.
The bronze medalist Clearbrook M.E.I. Eagles: Dennis Neumann; Giesbrecht; Wallace; Jerry Falk; Harold Derkson; Warkentin; Teichroeb, Toews; Wiebe; Jack Falk;
The silver medalist Port Alberni District Chieftains: Ralph Fridfinnson; Ken Hutchinson; Brent McLean; Ray Lasota; Tony Herbert; Don Hilton; Barry Magnusson; Frank Keene; Brock Hilliard; coach Jack Gilbert
The gold medalist Victoria Oak Bay Bays: Bob Burrows; Brian MacKenzie; Brian Craig; Tom Child; Barry Turner; Paul Baines; Gary Ford; Mike O’Connor; Glen Moffat; Peter Songhurst; Brian Grexton; coach Gary Taylor; manager Alex Coffey