In the quarterfinals, held in Dartmouth, the top-seeded Dartmouth Cole Harbour District Cavaliers defeated the 8th-seeded Coxheath Riverview Rural Royals 96-58 as Timmy Gray scored 22. Patrick Campbell paced Riverview with 23. The Royals (coached by Chris MacIsaac, assisted by Dennis Stapleton, managers Jeff Kalbhen and Jeff Rogez) also included Kyle MacIsaac, Dave Dubois, Joe Rogez, J.D. MacKinnon, Liam Devereaux, Blair MacLean, Jordan Keough, Allen Fraser, Jeff Byrne, Stephen Oravecz and Greg Byrne.
The 4th-seeded Halifax J.L. Ilsley Judges clipped the 5th-seeded Halifax Charles P. Allen Cheetahs 90-84 in overtime as Casey Fox scored 28, all in the second half, including five from beyond the arc. Myles Rattray added 17, Mike Poole 15 and B.J. Shaw 16. The Cheetahs had a chance to win in regulation when Poole coughed up the ball with 14 seconds to play. But Pat McIver missed a jumper from the top of the key. J.D. Howlett grabbed the rebound but missed a 12-foot fadeaway at the buzzer. “My miscue nearly cost us but the first everyone said to me in the huddle was: don’t worry. We still got this. We still got this,” said Poole, who scored 4 in overtime. “My teammates were there for me.” There were 17 lead changes in the second half. Pat McIver led Charles P. Allen with 33. J.D. Howlett added 22, Jeff Inglis 11 and Josh Beattie 10.
The 2nd-seeded Greenwich Horton Griffins dumped the 7th-seeded Bridgewater Park View Education Centre Panthers 74-69 as Ellis Ffrench scored 27 and James Prest 13. Ben Emery led the Panthers with 18.
The 6th-seeded Sackville Kingfishers stunned the 3rd-seeded Truro Cobequid Educational Centre Cougars 82-54 as 5-11 guard Basil Habib scored 27, including 6 treys. Andreas Frantz added 23. Mark Scotland led Cobequid with 22. The Cougars also included Jon McLanders, Sean Davidson, Robbie Lebans.
In the semis, the top-seeded Dartmouth Cole Harbour District Cavaliers defeated the 4th-seeded Halifax J.L. Ilsley Judges 80-72, despite trailing by 12 in the first half and by 44-43 at the half. The Cavaliers up-tempo style wore down the bigger Judges unit in the second half. “We were like a car with no gas,” said Cole Harbour coach Jerome Sparks. “But we sucked it up and continued to just drive, drive, drive.” Narico Downey led the Cavaliers with 21. Terrance Taylor added 15, Ferderko Willis 15, Timmy Gray 14 and Tremel Beals 10. Willis delivered a dagger with just over five minutes to play when he drained a trey to give the Cavaliers a 71-61 lead. Casey Fox led J.L. Ilsley with 24. Mike Poole added 19 and B.J. Shaw 11.
In the other semi, the Greenwich Horton Griffins defeated the Sackville Kingfishers 79-68 as James Prest scored 29, Tim Corkum 27, including seven from beyond the arc, and Brandon MacInnis 14. Todd Williams led Sackville with 21. Sackville led 34-31 at the half.
In the bronze medal match, the J.L. Ilsley Judges defeated the Sackville Kingfishers 69-65 as Mike Poole scored 21. Ryan Engles led Sackville with 18. Basil Habib added 12.
In the final, the top-seeded Dartmouth Cole Harbour District Cavaliers dumped the Greenwich Horton Griffins 89-62. The Cavaliers benefited from having played the Griffins in the final of the Coal Bowl tourney in January, second year coach Jerome Sparks told the Halifax Daily News. “We practiced like they play. We duplicated their plays, ran them and knew their game. Playing in the Coal Bowl final may have cost them because we all watched it as a team and learned from it.” The Cavaliers broke to a 13-4 lead and coasted to the easy win. Narico Downey paced Cole Harbour with 32, knifing through the Griffins defence at will. Cavaliers captain Ferderko Willis said “it feels like I’m on top of the world. I have love for all the teams in this tournament but we wanted this. We worked on defence, defence and proved we were the best.” Willis finished with 23. Timmy Gray added 17. James Prest led Horton with 23. Tim Corkum added 16. Griffins coach Tim Kendrick pleaded with his troops to stop fouling down the stretch. “We aren’t blocking their shots, so don’t foul them and give them free ones,” he screamed during a time out. The Griffins finished (36-11) on the season. The Cavaliers dedicated the win to Jontia Whynder and Romaine Provo, a pair of Cole Harbour graduates who’d toiled for the Cavaliers in 2001 and 2002, and who’d been killed in a traffic accident in October, 2005.
The bronze medalist Halifax J.L. Ilsley Judges: Mike Poole; Casey Fox; B.J. Shaw; Jeremy Miller; Myles Rattray; coach Chad Wadden
The silver medalist Greenwich Horton Griffins: James Prest; Tim Corkum; Joe Kendrick; Brandon MacInnis; Josh McGill; Jackson Parker; Joey Harvey; Mitchell Kelly; Pat Rily; Ellis Ffrench; Sage Tanner; Evan Baird; coach Tim Kendrick; assistant Jay Robichaud; assistant Marvin Rhyno; manager Manuel Abreu; manager Jake Kendrick; manager Greg Moore
The gold medalist Dartmouth Cole Harbour District Cavaliers: Narico Downey; Ferderko Willis; Timothy Gray; Terrance Taylor; Tremel Beals; Corvell Beals; Carmen Dixon; coach Jerome Sparks