In the quarterfinals, the Oromocto Blues nipped the Moncton Harrison Trimble Trojans 69-66 as Billy Wilson scored 20 and Ross Corbett 19. Matt Girvan led the Trojans with 17. Shane Chevaller added 16. The Blues led 33-30 at the half.
The Saint John Greyhounds
The Fredericton Black Kats defeated x
In the last quarterfinal, the Moncton Purple Knights.
In the semis (and regional final), the Fredericton Black Kats defeated Oromocto Blues 103-58. Joe Thompson and Andy Cotter each scored 21 for Fredericton. Dan Rogers added 16 and Steve Banks with five three-pointers for 15. Ross Corbett led the Blues with 15. The Black Kats led 48-34 at halftime.
In the other semi, the Saint John Greyhounds dumped the host Moncton Purple Knights 96-85. Mike Kierstead led Saint John with 34. Kurt MacAlpine added 23. Nick Donald netted 40 and Jason Tse added 33 for Moncton. SJHS led 53-37 at the half.
In the final, the Fredericton Black Kats defeated the Saint John Greyhounds 75-65 to capture their third title in four years. The Black Kats overcame a 35 point, 15-board effort from Greyhound Mike Keirstead. Player of the game Dave Myers paced Fredericton with 17 and contained Kierstead in the second half. “I just kept trying to post up hard, seal, get the ball and just put it in the hoop,” Myers told the New Brunswick Telegraph Journal. “This has been our goal all year and it is such a great feeling to win this. I can’t believe it.” The Kats took control with a 16-5 run in the third quarter. “In the second half, we started to push the ball a lot,” said captain Dan Rogers. “The long floor was definitely to our advantage. I thought we tired the guys out and Saint John High was starting to lag a bit and look tired. Our bench is deep and that helps a lot.” Up until that point, Kierstead had hit 24 in the first half, which featured 11 ties. “I started the game and I seemed to be hitting anything. I was pretty lucky there,” said Keirstead. “I didn’t get many touches in the second half and they started playing good defence on me and I couldn’t get the ball. Therefore, I couldn’t get any more shots.” The score was knotted at 37 at the half. The Kats began double-teaming the 6-4 Kierstead in the second half and held him to 2 points in 11 minutes. Meanwhile, the Black Kats slowly pulled away as Myers hit for of his 17 points and Andy Cotter 12 of his 14. Dan Rogers added 16, Todd Jamieson 10, Barry Brennan 8 and Joe Thompson 6. “Everyone contributed, it’s been that way all year,” said Myers. So too did the adjustment on Kierstead in the second half. “We were trying to fatigue him and make him take a lot of shots, which he did,” said Fredericton coach Gary Young. “We just let it roll. If he scores 37 and we win, we’re happy. We don’t care about that part of it. He’s a great player and he can score. Kierstead said “I played the whole game and halfway through the second half, I was getting tired and my shots weren’t falling.” The Black Kats finished (32-2) on the season.
The co-bronze medalist Oromocto Blues: Ross Corbett;
The co-bronze medalist Moncton Purple Knights: Nick Donald; Jason Tse;
The silver medalist Saint John Greyhounds: Mike Kierstead; Doug Jamer; Kurt McAlpine; coach Peter Huestis
The gold medalist Fredericton Black Kats: Dave Myers; Dan Rogers; Andy Cotter; Todd Jamieson; Barry Brennan; Joe Thompson; Steve Banks; Dan Goggin; John Phillips; Geordie Doak; Simon Wilby; Dave Myers; Peter Batt; Gabe Hanselpacker; coach Gary Young; assistant Gina Hopper; assistant George Doak; manager Moe Perez