In the quarterfinals, held in Thompson, the Selkirk Lord Selkirk Regional Royals defeated Swan River Swan Valley Tigers 57-35. The Tigers (coached by Duane Whyte) included Glenn Leonhard.
The Brandon Vincent Massey Vikings clubbed the Gimli Lakers 68-43 shortly after arriving from their 12-hour bus trip. “You have to love basketball to make a trip like that,” Vikings coach Aubrey Ferris told the Brandon Sun. The Vikings led 12-10, 35-21 and 49-34 at the quarters. Murray Lindenberg paced the Vikings with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Allan Endall added 12, Ron Harper 6, Max Clark 6 and Norm Doerkson 6. The Vikings hit 57% from the floor and notched 30 boards, 25 assists and 14 steals. “Gimli’s starting five were all taller than our tallest,” Ferris told the Brandon Sun. “Our kids did a good job against a tight, tall zone and we controlled both boards,” and didn’t panic, making “on-the-go adjustments as the game progressed.”
The Thompson R.C. Parker Trojans dispatched the Virden Golden Bears 65-28.
In the last quarterfinal, the Portage la Prairie Arthur Meighen Squires defeated the Winkler Garden Valley Zodiacs 44-40.
In the semis, the Brandon Vincent Massey Vikings defeated the Thompson R.D. Parker Trojans 52-45 as Norm Doerkson, Elwood Kehler and Murray Lindenberg each scored 10, while Ron Harper nabbed 10 boards. Darren Dailey led the Trojans with 23. Massey trailed 26-21 at the half but led 35-34 after three quarters and pulled away in the final frame.
In the other semi, the Selkirk Lord Selkirk Regional Royals defeated the Portage la Prairie Arthur Meighen Squires 40-35 as Greg Kuz scored 18. Grant Watson led the Squires with 19.
In the bronze medal match, the Thompson R.D. Parker Trojans dumped the Portage la Prairie Arthur Meighen Squires 65-39 as Peter Hagel scored 16, Devon Daley 14 and Len Roche 12. Grant Watson led the Squires with 21. The Squires (coached by Jim Lehman and managed by Nick Devine) also included Brian Mitchell, Calvin Stewart, Lorne Stevens, Bernard Jacques, Mike Erler, Brent Guinn, Robin Walmsley, Robert Mulligan, Rod Bourke and Bob McMillan.
In the final, the Selkirk Lord Selkirk Regional Royals defeated the Brandon Vincent Massey Vikings 44-30. The Royals took an 11-10 lead at the quarter over heavily favored Brandon. But the Vikings rallied to take a 20-18 lead at the half. The score was knotted at 24 after three quarters. But, led by a stingy zone and Rick Fewchuck and Dan Babaluk’s critical buckets down the stretch, Selkirk rallied to take an 8-point lead with two minutes to go. The Royals exploded in the final minutes to build a 14-point cushion. Rick Fewchuck finished with 15 points, while Murray Lindeberg led Vincent Massey with 12. Norm Doerksen added 6, along with 9 boards. “The kids didn’t quit,” Vikings coach Aubrey Ferris told the Brandon Sun. “We just played terribly and everything was off. If we had played our average game, I feel we could have beat Selkirk. We had played up to our capabilities in our last eight games but we came up flat in the most important one.” Selkirk Lord Selkirk finished (17-7) on the season, with Greg Kuz leading all scorers.
The bronze medalist Thompson R.D. Parker Trojans: Peter Hagel; Devon Daley; Len Roche;
The silver medalist Brandon Vincent Massey Vikings: Murray Lindenberg; Elwood Kehler; Doug McPhail; Marty Kulchyski; Norm Doerksen; Elwood Kehler; Kevin McLachlan; Ron Harper; coach Aubrey Ferris
The gold medalist Selkirk Lord Selkirk Regional Royals: Richard Kartzmark; Rick Fewchuck; Greg Kuz; Kevin Hartig; Schrever; Gunter Matysiak; Bruce Reid; Dan Babaluk; Dwight Wilson; Min Lee; Dan Babaluk; Dave Sterzer; coach Peter Gerbrant