In the quarterfinals, held in Sydney, the 5th-seeded Dartmouth Spartans dumped the 4th-seeded Greenwich Horton Griffins 95-68. The Griffins lost two of their senior starters entering the tournament — high-scorer Neal McGill to a knee injury and post Keegan Fiske to a team violation. “We said right from the start we had to go crash both sets of boards,” Dartmouth head coach Bruce McLaughlin told the Halifax Chronicle-Herald. “We matched up very well with them. We had them pretty much outmanned at every position. The size of the score really wasn’t a big surprise. But, still, you’re out of town … and in the provincials for the first time in a bunch of years. So we had to get the job done and we did.” Dartmouth got up 13 in the first quarter and stretched it to 25 in the second quarter. Dorelle Parsons led all scorers with 26 for the Spartans. Sage Tanner led the Griffins with 19. The Griffins also included Jake Kendrick.
The 3rd-seeded Cole Harbour Cavaliers clipped the 6th-seeded Truro Cobequid Educational Centre Cougars 105-83 as Mandrez Downey scored 25 and Julian Smith 24. Kyle Hoare paced the Cougars with 29. Tim Crouse added 17, Alex Works 16 and Chance Simmonds 9. The Cougars (coached by Marc Roberts, assisted by Jeff Piers) also included Eugene Anderson, Ryan Pederson, Jeremy Naughler, Justin Currie, T.J. Jordan, Andrew Myette, Brandon MacKay, Shane Stonehouse, Sanjay Pederson and Dylan Hortie.
The top-seeded Auburn Drive Eagles crushed the 8th-seeded Halifax Sir John A. Macdonald Flames 108-71 as Terry Thomas scored 34 and Jeremy Kane 24. Geoff Doane led the Flames with 27. Mac Ellis added 24.
In the last quarterfinal, the 2nd-seeded Halifax Citadel Phoenix stomped the 7th-seeded Sydney Academy Wildcats 74-44 as Dwayne Gero-Carvery scored 23, Marquis Clayton 11 and Jevel Carvery 10. Lee MacQuarrie paced the Wildcats with 16. Kenneth MacLeod added 11 and Josh Martin 8.
In the semis, the top-seeded Auburn Drive Eagles defeated 5th-seeded Dartmouth Spartans 102-78 as Magael Buchan scored 31, Jeremy McAvoy 26 and Terry Thomas 17. Thomas Denny led the Spartans with 18. Dorelle Parson added 15. “We played real well as a team. We certainly had some big game jitters,” Auburn Drive coach Colin Bush told the Halifax Chronicle-Herald. “So many of these kids are (Grade) 10s and 11s with one or two 12s thrown in there and it’s their first provincial championships, the first in school history. And you’re playing against a team that athletically and toughness-wise, can matchup with us.”
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Halifax Citadel Phoenix defeated the 3rd-seeded Cole Harbour Cavaliers 87-76 as Dwayne Gero-Carvery scored 28 and Riley Halpin 19. Mandrez Downey paced the Cavaliers attack with 22.
In the bronze medal match, the 3rd-seeded Cole Harbour Cavaliers defeated the 5th-seeded Dartmouth Spartans 94-72.
In the final, the 2nd-seeded Halifax Citadel Phoenix, in just the school’s second year of operations, captured the provincial title by dumping the top-seeded Auburn Drive Eagles 83-76 as Dwayne Gero-Carvery scored 23, Riley Halpin 19, Marquis Clayton 16, including several key free throws in the final minute, while Jevel Carvery added 11. The Phoenix rallied from a double-digit deficit in the third quarter. Jeremy McAvoy led the Eagles with 22. Terry Thomas added 21. “In the third quarter, they just went nuts,” Citadel coach Mark Parker told the Halifax Chronicle Herald. “We got down by 12, I called a time out, and I just told them ‘Hey, let’s go out with pride and we best finish off with pride.’ And our seniors stepped up and the next thing I know, we’re back in the basketball game.” The victory avenged a loss to the Eagles in the Capital Region championship two weeks ago, and helped erase the memories of a two-point loss to Horton in last year’s provincial final. The score was knotted at 73 with two minutes to play.
The bronze medalist Dartmouth Cole Harbour Cavaliers: Mandrez Downey; Jerry Downey; Julian Smith;
The silver medalist Cole Harbour Auburn Drive Eagles: Jeremy McAvoy; Terry Thomas; Magael Buchan; Jeremy Kane; coach Colin Bush
The gold medalist Halifax Citadel Phoenix: Marquis Clayton; Harrison Brown; Riley Halpin; Colton Johnson; Jonathan Diggs; Dwayne Gero-Carvery; Torres Anderson; Carter Kirby; Chris Brown; Trey Crooks; Derrico Tynes; Nathan Rowarth; Level Carvery; D.J. Smith; coach Mark Parker; coach Ian Macrae