In the quarterfinals, held in Lethbridge, the Lethbridge Collegiate Institute Rams nipped the Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans 49-48 in overtime. Wes Steed hit a bucket and a free throw in the extra session as the Rams pulled out the win. The Rams led 13-12, 30-22 and 36-30 at the quarters. The score was knotted at 44 after regulation and the Titans stalled for the first few minutes of the extra session before the Rams stole the ball with 40 seconds to play. “I think that stall worked to their detriment,” Rams coach Joey Shackleford told the Lethbridge Herald. “It put the pressure on them to not throw the ball away and to make a shot. In the overtime we didn’t really have a strategy, our plan was just to move the ball, work for the good shot and avoid turnovers. I didn’t know what to expect from Ainlay. I hadn’t seen them play, but I knew they would be tough — teams aren’t here by a fluke.” Dave Ross paced the Rams with 18. Wes Steed added 13, Nelson 8, Webb 5, Ell 5. Eric Watt led the Titans with 17. Phil Bartlett added 14, Grant Danyluk 6, Chisotti 4, Proctor 3, Frank Tarbox 2 and Cook 2. The Titans (coached by Bryan Anderson) also included
Darrin Getty, John Nelson, Eric Salmon.
The Calgary Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs dispatched the Blood Reserve St. Mary’s Warriors 70-62 with an 8-2 run over the final two minutes of play. The Bulldogs led 21-18, 44-31 and 55-44 at the quarters. Bulldogs coach Skip Morgan said “we wanted to run a lot in the first half and tire them out, but at the same time I didn’t want to run excessively, thinking ahead to our next games. In the fourth quarter I didn’t substitute nearly as much as the first half. I really like to substitute in the opening quarter, getting all the boys in.” Brian Jones led the Bulldogs with 22. George Rigaux added 15, Cam McNichol 11, Burkholder 10, Dunn 8 and Whittaker 4. Jones told the Calgary herald “it was a good game all around. We knew they were going to be fast but we didn’t know how fast. I was really sucking wind in the second quarter. And that (Calvin Chief Calf). … He’s unbelievable. He has moves that are impossible to stop.” Warriors coach Jerry Dawson said “I don’t believe they’re number two in Calgary.” Morgan told Canadian Press that “Jones is an excellent ball player. We’ve got a funny team with a couple of guards that are real speedsters, Rigaux inside, and Kent Burkholder, who’s the real brains of the team.” Calvin Chief Calf led the Warriors with 25. Marcel Weasel Head and Mark Brave Rock each added 14, and Jim Plume 9. The Warriors (coached by Jerry Dawson) also included Les Big Swallow, Mike Fox.
The Edmonton St. Mary’s Angels edged the Cardston Cougars 60-56 after leading 9-8, 28-20 and 46-37 at the quarters. Jo Jo Molo paced the Angels with 12. Steve Fudor added 12, Pat Gangl 10, Sherwood 9, Iwanow 7, Hagen 6 and Morin 4. The Angels led 46-37 at the half. The Cougars missed a chance to tie it with the score at 58-56 and 10 seconds to play. “My heart is still pounding,” said Angels coach Paul Kirk. “It was a tight game. Momentum tends to change in games, and it changed in that final quarter. Cardston pressed us in the last quarter and we didn’t handle it. It hurt us when Gangl fouled out, he usually helps us with the pressure. Jo Jo is a fine play-maker and a good ball-handler, and without him, we wouldn’t be where we are.” Ken McMurray led the Cougars with 12. Wendell Olsen added 12, Clay Leavitt 8, Tony Pierson 6, Curtis French 6, Fox 5 and Kevin Molcak 2.The Cougars (coached by Clark Sloan) also included Smith, West, Richard French.
In the last quarterfinal, the Calgary Crescent Heights Cowboys thrashed the Sherwood Park Salisbury Sabres 71-49 after leading 16-9, 32-20 and 53-33 at the quarters. Cowboys coach Jim Christie said “in a way, it was a bad game to start out the tournament with. We played like there was no pressure and we were weren’t shooting well. But we’ve been able to come up when we had to this year — we’re capable. If we play to our ability, I don’t think any team here can
beat us. We’ve beaten pretty well every team here at one time or another this year — LCI twice, Sir Winston Churchill
five times and Ainlay once. If we play as well as we can. we’ll be hard to beat. Overall, we’ve got height, shooting and we play good defence when we have to. But, if we’re off, there are teams that can beat us.” Christie told the Calgary Herald that “we weren’t very tense but then, we didn’t have to be. It’s nice to have a win like this for confidence but it would have been nice if they would have pushed us.” Rob Fisher and Les Cochrane each scored 12 to pace the Cowboys. Mike Cole and Joe McKinnon each added 11, Dell 8, Tainish 7, Link 5 and Ferguson 5. Chris Box led the Sabres with 15. Kerry LaBerge added 8, Henderson 7, Kent Timanson 7, Brad Wilkinson 6, Mickey Paulsen 4 and Suppes 2. The Sabres (coached by Ken Short) also included Talman Pizzey, Clydesdale and Foster.
In the semis, the Lethbridge Collegiate Institute Rams edged the Calgary Crescent Heights Cowboys 51-48 as Jerome Ell scored 17, Todd Nelson 14, Dave Ross 7, Wes Steed 7, Alex Russell 4 and Don Webb 2. Joe McKinnon paced the Cowboys with 21. Les Cochrane added 12, Mike Cole 8, Derek Dell 5 and Fisher 2. Crescent Heights forward Mike Cole told the Calgary Herald “maybe we were over-confident. It was going great at the beginning and it just fell apart. We had them. We should have won. We took too many bad shots at the end and they never missed after that.” Cowboys coach Jim Christie said “a couple of guys we counted on just didn’t play well.”
In the other semi, the Calgary Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs clipped the Edmonton St. Mary’s Angels 75-60 as Brian Jones scored 22, Rob Dunn 14, Whittaker 10, George Rigaux 7, Cam McNichol 6, Price 4, Lui 4, Firth 2 and Paxman 2. Steve Fudor paced the Angels with 18. Jo Jo Molo added 17, David Iwanow 14, Pat Gangl 7, Sherwood 2 and Morin 2.
In the bronze medal match, the Calgary Crescent Heights Cowboys thumped the Edmonton St. Mary’s Angels 63-49 as Tom Link and Mike Cole each scored 11. Jo Jo Molo, Steve Fudor and David Iwanow each notched 8 for the Angels (coached by Paul Kirk), who also included Pat Gangl, Sherwood, Morin.
In the final, the Calgary Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs defeated the Lethbridge Collegiate Institute Rams 55-45. A year after losing Karl Tilleman to the University of Calgary, coach Skip Morgan wins a title with a team led by Brian Jones. The Rams had lost 46-45 to Taber St. Mary’s in the southern regional finals but had qualified for the provincials through the zone’s second “host” berth. The Rams led 11-8 after one quarter. The Bulldogs led 30-19 at the half and 43-27 after three quarters. “It was a good win, I’m happy for me and I’m happy for our kids,” Bulldogs coach Skip Morgan told the Lethbridge Herald. “We respect LCI. and I like to play them, they are a good team. … We have 14 stars on this team, not just one or two, and they all contributed to the win. Rams coach Joey Shackleford said the Bulldogs superior depth wore down his troops. “Skip uses the fresh legs off his bench effectively. We had played two other tough games where we had to use all our first stringers most of the way, and we were tired. We just didn’t have the firepower on our bench to freewheel like Skip. We were putting up good shots, I can’t complain about that. They were high percentage shots, but they’d just roll off the rim and there was nothing we could do about it. I’ve got to be proud of our team. They made me feel good, and as a first-year head coach I can’t complain with being second in the province.” The Bulldogs led by as many as 19. Morgan told the Calgary Herald that “I thought they got tired. I think the full-court press showed their inexperience a bit. We wore them down.” Schackleford told the Herald that George Rigaux “was just unbelievable. Rebounding was the difference between the teams. He was the difference in the game.” Rigaux paced the Bulldogs with 20. Brian Jones added 11, Rob Dunn 8, Kent Burkholder 6, Cam MacNicol 4, Lui 3, Paxman 2 and Whittaker 1. Todd Nelson paced the Rams with 16. Dave Ross added 12, Jerome Ell 8, Wes Steed 7 and Alex Russell 2.
The bronze medalist Calgary Crescent Heights Cowboys: Joe McKinnon; Tom Link; Mike Cole; Dereck Dell; Les Cochrane; Fisher; Rob Dunn; Tainish; Joe McKinnon; coach Jim Christie
The silver medalist Lethbridge Collegiate Institute Rams: Kevin Kasperski; Rob Gough; Todd Nelson; Rory Maclennan; Dave Schwass; Jack Lilja; Don Webb; Alex Russell; Dave Ross; Jerome Ell; Wes Steed; coach Joey Shackelford; assistant Jim Whitelaw
The gold medalist Calgary Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs: Brian Jones; George Rigaux; Cam McNichol; Kent Burkholder; Whittaker; Rob Dunn; Paxman; Lui; Price; Firth; Petkau; coach Skip Morgan