In the quarterfinals, held in Edmonton, the Raymond Comets dusted the Sherwood Park Salisbury Sabres 74-57. The Sabres broke to a 10-4 lead but Comets coach Roger Baldry awoke his troops by shifting from a zone to man-to-man defence and Raymond rallied to a 31-21 lead at the half. They led 54-37 after three quarters and by as many as 27. Ryan Heggie led the Comets with 25, along with 16 boards and 3 steals. “We were a little nervous at the start,” Heggie told the Lethbridge Herald, adding that they got rolling “when the guards started to hit from outside. When they (Sabres) came out on the guards, the guards just dumped it inside. As soon as we started running, I knew we could keep going. I think we can run with any team.” Duane Kindt added 14 points and 12 boards, while Cam Dudley scored 14. Talman Pizzey led the Sabres with 17. Mark Baker added 15. The Sabres also included Chris Box.
The Lethbridge Catholic Central Cougars edged the Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans 50-44. Cougars coach Dave Adams was delighted with the win “because we played a bad game but still managed to win.” The Titans led 10-6, 17-16 and 34-31 at the quarters but the Cougars pulled out the win at the line, hitting 7-11 from the stripe in the fourth quarter, while Ainlay was 0-8, and 8-21 on the night. Cougars captain Sean Gilborn hit four free throws in 48 seconds to give Central a 43-38 lead. Kevin Kinahan paced the Cougars with 14. Frank Fraulin added 8, Gilborn 6 and Allan Gieske 6. e third quarter. Darin Getty led the Titans with 11. Doug Poole added 9. Gilborn said “I think we finally got into our rhythm. We just came out more aggressive on defence. That’s usually our trade mark.” Adams said his troops struggled with the Titans ball control game. “They surprised me. They played the tempo of game that can beat us on a big floor. What they did was work the ball and around and get back doors.” A shift from a zone to man-to-man defence in the second half turned the tide. “We came out and pressured and look them out of their offence,” Adams said. “Another key was
we rebounded very well.” The Titans (coached by Bryan Anderson) also included Jon Liteplo.
The Calgary Viscount Bennett Vikings edged the Edmonton McNally Tigers 53-49 as Chuck Frey scored 17 and Jay Kenyon 15. John Traish led the Tigers with 26. The Vikings led 14-6, 23-21 and 35-27 at the quarters.
In the last quarterfinal, the Edmonton St. Joseph’s Saints nipped the Calgary Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs 62-60 as Mike Kornak scored 15, Giovanni Solias 12, Santo Faporito 12 and Tony DeLuca 10. DeLuca hit the winning bucket with 12 seconds to play. Saints coach Ron Woytiuk told the Edmonton Journal that “not playing FIBA rules probaby cost us about four points.” Dave Richards led the Bulldogs with 22. Ray Bishop added 14 and Dick Price 12. St. Joseph’s led 20-16 after one quarter, trailed 37-32 at halftime and led 48-45 after three quarters.
In the semis, held in Edmonton, the Lethbridge Catholic Central Cougars defeated Calgary Viscount Bennett Vikings 74-73 despite trailing 45-30 at the half. Kevin Kinahan dominated the boards, while scoring 23 for the Cougars. Jay Kenyon led the Vikings with 26. Chuck Frey added 16. Vikings coach Ken Bray told the Calgary Herald “we had them down at the half. We outplayed them most of the game but had the one three-minute dry spot at the start of the third quarter.
In the other semi, the Raymond Comets clocked the Edmonton St. Joseph’s Saints 76-58 as Ryan Heggie scored 30 and Duane Kindt 15.
In the bronze medal match, the Edmonton St. Joseph’s Saints defeated Calgary Viscount Bennett Vikings 69-36 (also reported as 71-56) as Mike Kornak scored 28. Chuck Frey led the Vikings with 16. Jay Kenyon added 12. Vikings coach Ken Bray told the Calgary Herald “our hearts just weren’t in it.” The Vikings (coached by Bray, assisted by Dennis Locking) also included Dan Morrison, Clyde Harris, Dan Thorne, Mike Volcko.
In the final, the Raymond Comets defeated the Lethbridge Catholic Central Cougars 62-61 as Ryan Heggie hit the winning free throw with three seconds remaining on the clocks. “I knew it was going in,” Heggie told the Lethbridge Herald. “I just put the crowd right out of my mind.” Heggie told the Edmonton Journal “I just said, it’s going in. I shut everything out of my mind. I didn’t hear the crowd or anything.” Raymond led 22-10 midway through the second quarter, 26-23 at the half and 50-43 after three quarters. But the Comets were concerned that the Cougars would rally as they did in their semi. “We thought they would come back because them come back the game before,” said Duane Kindt, who fouled out. Comets coach Roger Baldry said “in the first half, we got running and had the momentum going. Just before the second, we got running.” Baldry added that Comet Randy Baker provided a big lift off the bench when Kindt fouled out. Cougars took the lead with 3:51 remaining and the score seesawed until Heggie went to work. With 2:04 on the clock, he hit a foul shot to tie the score at 57-57. Heggie missed the next, but stole the ball, scored and was fouled. Catholic Central also received a technical foul after the play. Heggie made the foul shot and one of two technical foul shots, putting the Comets up 61-57. Catholic Central rallied to tie the game at 61 with 19 seconds to play and missed a bunny under the basket that would have given them the lead. Heggie rebounded a missed Raymond shot in the final seconds and was fouled while shooting, setting the stage for his winning free throw. Heggie finished with 22 points and 20 boards. Stephen Kaupp added 14, Richard Dahl 10 and Cam Dudley 10. Allan Gieske led the Cougars with 17. Kevin Kinahan added 13, Sean Gilborn 11 and Eric Stanley 11.
The bronze medalist Edmonton St. Joseph’s Saints: Mike Kornak; Santo Saporito; Len Guglietta; Mark Denesiuk; coach Ron Woytiuk
The silver medalist Lethbridge Catholic Central Cougars: Allan Gieske; Kevin Kinahan; Sean Gilborn; Eric Stanley; Joey Herauf; Pat Monaghan; Dave Westwood; James Szilaglyi; Gary Saler; Frank Fraulin; Mark Hoveling; Tom Pyllarz; A Gieske; coach Dave Adams; assistant Don Gellatly
The gold medalist Raymond Comets: Ryan Heggie; Steven Kaupp; Richard Dahl; Cam Dudley; Duane Kindt; Randy Baker; Kevin Dahl; Brian Smith; Don Visser; Selman; coach Roger Baldry