The year marked the first time that teams were seeded 1-4, in a bid to prevent a scenario like that of 1990 when Ross Sheppard and Western Canada, the two best teams in the draw, met in the semis.
In the quarterfinals, held in Calgary, the Lethbridge Collegiate Institute Rams defeated Red Deer Lindsay Thurber Raiders 112-64 as Curtis Bullock scored 26, Ryan Seaman 13 and Dale Nielson 12. The Raiders (coached by Steve Latta) included Colin Bowlby, Kelly Liles, Donnie Goulet, Vince Thorson, Chad Hebert, Rob Boyd, Lee Luders.
The Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans dumped the Grande Prairie Tomahawks 124-69. Curtis Levasseur paced the Tomahawks with 22. Kevin VanBerg added 18. The Tomahawks (coached by Don Student) also included Andrew Cox, Clayton Rubie, Trent Hill, Scott Craig.
The Calgary St. Francis Browns defeated the Magrath Zeniths 95-72. The Zeniths (coached by Phil Tollestrup) included Ryan Anderson, Danny Balderson, Trevor Lowry, P.J. Christensen, Trevor Millward, Luke Bullock, Brent Bourne, Mark Tollestrup, Darin Wilde, James Beres, Dean Passey and Bartley Harris.
The Calgary Crescent Heights Cowboys defeated the Edmonton M.E. Lazerte Voyageurs 88-77 as Luke McKee score 23 and ripped down a dozen boards. “It was a tougher game than I thought it would be,” McKee told the Calgary Herald. “We knew they’d be physical but we were ready for them. All we want to do is make to the finals.” Coach Skip Morgan thought his troops were unpredictable. “Sometimes we just reach a point where we sit back and wait to see what happens. We still have to up tempo our defence a little bit. But we also have to realize that in the provincials, you just have to be prepared for each game because it’s a one-game shot.” Craig Newman scored 23 for the Cowboys. “We can play with most teams in the province,” Newman said. “It really felt good to get out there and win. They started to toughen up their defence late in the game but we hung on.” Junior Donald added 16. Clint Boodram paced Lazerte with 17.
In the semis, the Lethbridge Collegiate Institute Rams defeated Calgary Crescent Heights Cowboys 92-77 as Ryan Seeman scored 37, Kelsey Caldwell 12 and Chris Bailey 11. Nathan Roberts nabbed 25 boards. Luke McKee paced the Cowboys with 30. “Our lack of experience in pressure situations was a major reason for the loss,” Cowboys coach Skip Morgan told the Calgary Herald. “This game was won on the boards and we couldn’t do it. Still, I’m pleased with what we did accomplish during the season.”
In the other semi, the top-seeded Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans defeated the Calgary St. Francis Browns 109-75. “I think we just lost our composure,” said St. Francis forward Nelson Van Waes, who led the Browns with 20 told the Calgary Herald. “We have never come up against such a good team and we just couldn’t get anything going. I wanted to put the best effort possible in case it was to be my last game. We just couldn’t get it done,” added Van Waes, bound for Tulsa on a football scholarship. Browns coach Gary DeMan said Ainlay’s “defence determined how we were going to play. They played with a lot of composure and we didn’t.” Kevin Mosar led Harry Ainlay with 34.
In the bronze medal match, the Calgary Crescent Heights Cowboys dispatched the Calgary St. Francis Brown 104-93. The Browns (coached by Gary DeMan, assisted by Joe Stambene) included Nelson Van Waes, Lawrence McMaster.
In the final, the Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans defeated the Lethbridge Collegiate Institute Rams 100-79. The title was the Titans’ first and they finished the season (41-1) and undefeated against Canadian competition. “We had great motivation last year watching the provincials in our gym while we weren’t in it,” said Titans coach Rob Poole told the Calgary Herald. Kevin Moser paced Harry Ainlay with 24. Darren Mulcahy added 23. Don Conley led t Rams with 16. Ryan Seeman and Kelsey Caldwell each added 13. The Rams stayed close for the first 10 minutes, trailing only 25-24, but the Titans then put together a 14-3 run en route to a 51-35 halftime lead. With three minutes gone in the second half, but margin was up to 20. “We knew Ainlay had a lot of talent and depth and they hadn’t lost a game in Canada this year,” said Cliff Walters, Rams co-coach along with Glen Alexander. “In the first half, it seemed whatever they put up went in. We tried a number of things defensively, but nothing worked.” Titans coach Rob Poole said “we have a large high school (2,400 students) and we have a lot of junior high feeder schools. The LCI Rams have a great team as well, but we were determined to win the finals of every tournament we played in this year.” Walters said “we were ranked second in the province coming into this tournament and we’re second in the end. We’re very proud of what the kids did; they represented the south well.”
The bronze medalist Calgary Crescent Heights Cowboys: Luke McKee; Junior Donald; coach Skip Morgan
The silver medalist Lethbridge Collegiate Institute Rams: Ryan Seaman; Brett Walters; Don Conley; Jason Klovansky; Dale Nielson; Dustin Cole; Brad Appleton; Jason Pecht; Curtis Bullock; Nathan Roberts; Chad London; Kent Earl; Kelsey Caldwell; Chris Bailey; coach Cliff Walters; coach Glen Alexander
The gold medalist Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans: Kevin Moser; Jason Laverick; coach Rob Poole