CENTRALWEST
Alberta16-026-2Barnaby CraddockVictoria17-123-3Craig Beaucamp
Calgary 9-711-10Dan VanhoorenU.B.C.16-219-4Kevin Hanson
Lethbridge 8-8 9-10Jermaine SmallFraser Valley 9-9 9-12Joe Enevoldsen
Mount Royal 7-912-13Marc DobellTrinity Western 8-1011-12Trevor Priddie
MacEwan 0-16 1-22Mike ConnollyNorthern B.C. 6-12 6-15Todd Jordan
EASTThompson Rivers 4-14 4-18Scott Clark
Regina12-417-9Steve BurrowsU.B.C. Okanagan 3-15 6-19Clayton Pottinger
Saskatchewan11-521-8Barry Rawlyk
Winnipeg 8-812-10Mike Raimbault
Manitoba 7-9 9-14Kirby Schepp
Brandon 2-14 5-18Gil Cheung

In the opening round of the single-elimination postseason tournament: …………………………………………………… The 14th-seeded Brandon Bobcats defeated the 13th-seeded Northern British Columbia Timberwolves 95-89. The Bobcats led 16-15 after one quarter and 41-34 at the half on a trey by Anthony Tsegakele at the buzzer. The Timberwolves led 63-59 after three quarters as Tyrell Laing and Vova Pluzhnikov got hot from the perimeter. Laing hit a trey to extend the margin to seven but Dominique Dennis and Tsegakele rallied the Bobcats to knot the score at 71. Brandon began dominating the offensive glass and pulled out the win. Bobcats coach Gil Cheung said “it looked like a team that didn’t want to go home. … It has been a long couple years. But we got enough stops, and the leadership of [Jahmaal] Gardner and Tsegakele were amazing. They committed to getting stops. As a coach, you’re proud because they didn’t pack it in. UNBC made a big run and we hung in there and got it done.” Timberwolves coach Todd Jordan said the Bobcats “play with a lot of waves of energy. They’ll go cold for a bit and then all of a sudden they’re flying around and playing with a ton of energy. They got to the glass a ton, and that was the difference. Tsegakele was a monster on the glass, and it really hurt us.” Anthony Tsegakele paced the Bobcats with 33 on 12-24 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 8-10 from the line, 15 boards, 2 assists and 4 steals. Jahmaal Gardner added 29 on 11-16 from the floor, 5-7 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards, 5 assists, and 3 steals. Elisha Ampofo notched 11 on 4-7 from the floor, 13- from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Sultan Haider Bhatti scored 7 on 3-12 from the floor, 1-8 from the arc, 11 boards and 5 assists. Hans Befus added 6 on 2-4 from the floor and 2-3 from the arc. Dominique Dennis scored 5 on 1-8 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 3-6 from the line, 4 boards, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Malik Lewis notched 2 on 1-2 from the floor, while Silas Owusu-Acheaw and Ian Simba Gasana were scoreless.  The Bobcats hit 35-77 (.455) from the floor, 10-31 (.323) from the arc and 15-20 (.750) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 14 fouls, 16 assists, 6 turnovers, 3 blocks and 9 steals. Tyrell Laing paced Northern British Columbia with 26 on 9-14 from the floor, 4-8 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 8 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Fareed Shittu added 23 on 10-15 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Volodmyyr Pluzhnikov notched 20 on 7-13 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 7 boards and 4 assists. Spencer Ledoux scored 10 on 4-7 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Chris Ross added 4 on 1-6 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Payton Tirrell notched 4 on 2-7 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 7 boards and 2 assists. Rohtash Mattu scored 2 on 1-3 from the floor, while Darren Hunter and Daniel Kopf were scoreless. The Timberwolves hit 34-65 (.523) from the floor, 10-23 (.435) from the arc and 11-16 (.688) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 4 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 17 assists, 10 turnovers, 2 blocks and 3 steals. The Timberwolves (coach Todd Jordan, assistant Aaron Brouwer, assistant Dale Derogusoff, assistant Nav Parmar) also included David Tiessen, Matt Jickling, Ben Onyenwosa, Jackson Netzel and Rory Goodwin. …………………………………………………… The 12th-seeded Mount Royal Cougars edged the 15th-seeded Thompson Rivers Wolfpack 80-75 after leading 18-9, 45-28 and 70-57 at the quarters. The Wolfpack opened the final frame with a 13-2 run to draw within 72-70. But Patrick Vandervelden answered with back-to-back dunks. Asher Mayan hit a corner trey to draw the Wolfpack with three in the final minute but Thompson Rivers was unable to complete the rally. Cougars guard Brock Dewbery said “playoff games are going to be tough.” “You have to keep fighting, and at the end got the win and get to move on.” Nate Petrone paced the Cougars with 20 on 5-18 from the floor, 5-14 from the arc, 5-5 from the line, 6 boards and 7 assists. Patrick Vandervelden added 14 on 6-9 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 9 boards and 4 blocks. Holt Tomie notched 13 on 6-12 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 7 boards and 4 assists. Dylan Lutes scored 10 on 3-14 from the floor, 1-8 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 7 boards and 4 assists. Chase Bohne added 8 on 3-8 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 2 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Nick Tancon scored 5 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 9 boards. Brock Dewsbury notched 4 on 2-8 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 assists. Lincoln Anderson added 3 on 1-3 from the arc and 2 boards. Matt Fullerton scored 3 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 2 boards, while Daniel Mulder was scoreless. The Cougars hit 29-78 (.372) from the floor, 12-42 (.286) from the arc and 10-13 (.769) from the line, while garnering 51 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 20 assists, 9 turnovers, 6 blocks and 4 steals. Asher Mayan paced the Wolfpack with 27 on 9-20 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 10 boards and 2 assists. Brendan Sullivan added 17 on 7-16 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 8 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Thomas Olsen notched 14 on 5-7 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 4-7 from the line and 9 boards. Brad King scored 6 on 3-9 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 10 boards and 4 assists. Daniel Bost added 5 on 2-15 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 4 boards and 2 assists. Simon Crossfield notched 4 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 5 boards and 4 assists. Tyler Schilling scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor, while Gavin Reis and Jayden Lalonde were scoreless. The Wolfpack hit 29-78 (.372) from the floor, 7-27 (.259) from the arc and 10-17 (.588) from the line, while garnering 52 boards, including 20 on the offensive glass, 16 fouls, 18 assists, 11 turnovers, 3 blocks and 4 steals. The Wolfpack (coach Scott Clark, assistant Ted Murray, assistant Joe Davis) also included Evan Smith, Richie Mageto, David Usuomon, Markus Modrovic and redshirt Thaivan Haak. …………………………………………………… The 11th-seeded Trinity Western Spartans torched the 16th-seeded MacEwan Griffins 115-78. The Spartans took total command with 20 unanswered points to end the first quarter. They led 36-14, 63-31 and 85-57 at the quarters. MacEwan never seriously threatened as the Spartans backcourt tandem of Ja’Qualyn Gilbreath and Mason Bourcier dominated, with both posting double-doubles. Bourcier said “after a long start to the season and trying to figure out how guys played with each other, this was the ideal start to the playoffs. If anything, three games, this is a good warmup. … (Tonight) was nice because we could really get out in transition, get a comfortable feel for the court and everyone got on the scoreboard today. It’s a great start. Everyone’s touching the ball, everyone’s having fun. It was a good start.” Spartans coach Trevor Priddie said “I think the highlight for me – outside the win – was ‘Q’ and ‘Mace.’ Both those guys we felt got snubbed on the Canada West All Star voting. Q gets a second team when he led the nation in scoring and Mason sets I don’t know how many records this year. These guys have two of the greatest statistical seasons ever. They help build this program and turn this thing around and they both have triple-doubles tonight. That was pretty cool and pretty special for those guys in their first playoff win.” Griffins coach Mike Connolly said “at the beginning, we were a little scared when they jumped on us, and we couldn’t recover, I thought we did some good things at the end, but again, we have had some terrible starts, and that is our biggest downfall all year. We aren’t deep and we’re young, and we are learning. I thought there were some good moments out there, we just need to keep working on our game. … Their big two scored 30 of their 61 first-half points – they may be the best duo in the country. Their best players were great. … We had some scoring moments, but couldn’t get any runs on them. Colton (Halbersma) had another good scoring output and I thought Mason (Hunter) did a good job organizing and leading the young guys out there.” JaQualyn Gilbreath paced the Spartans with 19 on 7-13 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 13 boards, 10 assists and 3 blocks. Andrew Goertzen added 16 on 8-9 from the floor and 6 boards. Mason Bourcier notched 15 on 7-11 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 11 boards and 13 assists. Connor Platz scored 12 on 6-10 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 9 boards, 2 assists and 4 blocks. Isaiah Reimer added 10 on 4-6 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 2 boards and 3 steals. Sam Dyck scored 10 on 5-9 from the floor, 3 boards and 2 assists. Tre Filmore notched 9 on 3-9 from the floor and 3-7 from the arc. Vlad Mihaila scored 9 on 4-8 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 4 boards. Jacob Fortune added 6 on 2-2 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Daniel Lybbert scored 5 on 2-5 from the floor and 1-4 from the arc. Mitch Morgan added 4 on 2-6 from the floor and 0-3 from the arc. The Spartans hit 50-88 (.568) from the floor, 12-32 (.375) from the arc and 3-8 (.375) from the line, while garnering 54 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 22 fouls, 31 assists, 11 turnovers, 7 blocks and 7 steals. Mason Hunter led the Griffins with 21 on 7-17 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 4-5 from the line and 4 boards. Colton Halbersma added 19 on 7-21 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc, 2-5 from the line and 6 boards. Damilola Osuma notched 11 on 5-8 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 8 boards. Jesse Trussler scored 9 on 3-10 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 3 boards and 5 assists. Eric Carretero Lopez added 7 on 2-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Matthew Osunde scored 5 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Job Janda added 4 on 1-3 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 7 boards. Taylor Cook scored 2 on 1-3 from the floor, while Milan Jaksic and Tylar Dobish were scoreless. Jaksic nabbed 4 boards and blocked 2 shots. Dobish nabbed 2 boards. The Griffins hit 27-80 (.338) from the floor, 9-38 (.237) from the arc and 15-22 (.682) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 9 fouls, 10 assists, 17 turnovers, 4 blocks and 1 steal. The Griffins (coach Mike Connolly, assistant Samson Cleare, assistant Sebastian Cava, assistant/strength & conditioning Paul Japp, student assistant Bradley Roslinski) also included Samuel Payne, Luke Harold, Joshua Edwards, Marco Mariani Correas and Alex Jap. …………………………………………………… The 17th-seeded U.B.C. Okanagan Heat stunned the 10th-seeded Manitoba Bisons 83-73 after leading 20-17, 43-39 and 62-48 at the quarters. Heat assistant Luke Penner said “I think that our seeding did not really show how talented we are as a team. … Having coached with the University of Manitoba Bisons for the first five years of my career, it was sweet to get my first win against them. I do not think our record is indicative of how talented we are as a team. We were able to show people tonight that we are not a joke as the seventeenth seed.” Bisons coach Kirby Schepp said “I thought in parts of the game they outcompeted us.” Kevin Hamlet paced the Heat with 17 on 5-19 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 11 boards, 6 assists and 2 blocks. Gus Goerzen added 17 on 7-10 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc and 4 boards. Hafith Moallin notched 14 on 4-6 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 7 boards, 6 assists and 2 steals. Jalen Shirley scored 11 on 3-4 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 4-4 from the line. Elan Kimpton-Cuellar added 9 on 4-5 from the floor and 1-4 from the line. B.B. Chuks-Mady scored 6 on 2-6 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 5 boards. Liban Yousef notched 5 on 1-8 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 8 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Keaton Souster added 2 on 1-1 from the floor and 4 boards. Dallas Hancox scored 2 on 1-5 from the floor and 3 blocks, while Gavin Ashworth was scoreless and nabbed 2 boards. The Heat hit 28-66 (.424) from the floor, 8-18 (.444) from the arc and 19-24 (.792) from the line, while garnering 49 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 18 assists, 18 turnovers, 7 blocks and 5 steals. James Wagner paced the Bisons with 18 on 8-17 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 3 boards, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Mason Kraus added 15 on 5-10 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Keiran Zziwa notched 15 on 5-14 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 4 boards. Wyatt Tait scored 11 on 4-7 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 7 boards, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Cameron O’Hara added 6 on 3-7 from the floor, 0-3 from the line and 4 boards. Elijah Lostracco scored 4 on 2-7 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc and 2 boards.  Risto Zimbakov added 2 on 1-3 from the floor and 3 boards. Bolatito Obasoto scored 2 on 0-2 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards, while Cieran O’Hara was scoreless and nabbed 3 boards. The Bisons hit 28-68 (.412) from the floor, 4-18 (.222) from the arc and 13-20 (.650) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 10 the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 6 assists, 8 turnovers, 4 blocks and 6 steals. The Bisons (coach Kirby Schepp, assistant Srdjan Komlenovic, assistant Ethan Cardinal, assistant Donny Hayes, strength & conditioning Cole Scheller, director operations Tyler Penner, manager Thendo Magugumela, therapist Mandy Los, student therapist Tyson McCombe, student therapist Joseph Yumang) also included Isaac Miller-Jose, Mark Tachie, Daren Watts, James Wagner, Samuel Jensen, Jonam Kazadi, Gregoire Diouf, redshirt Aka Ebubechukwu and redshirt Jackson Tachinski.

In the 2nd round: …………………………………………………… The 9th-seeded Winnipeg Wesmen edged the 8th-seeded Fraser Valley Cascades 83-79. The Cascades led 22-14, 42-35 and 59-55 at the quarters. The Cascades led by as many as 16 but the Wesmen clawed back, while notching a 9-2 run to start the final frame but Vick notched a layup and a trey to give the Cascades a 75-72 lead with 2:39 to play. The Wesmen regained the lead at 77-76 on an Eric Racine steal and runout, and then held the Cascades to just one field goal, a trey from Zuber Seyed with eight seconds to play, down the stretch, while icing it at the line. Wesmen coach Mike Raimbault said “Fraser Valley played great, what we had to do is try to weather the storm with how well they were shooting the ball and executing and making plays. We had to stay together that was probably the biggest thing. It is a fun game to be a part of because there is so much on the line.” Cascades coach Joe Enevoldson said “it was your prototypical 8-9 game you would see in a March Madness tournament. These were two evenly matched teams. We shot the three-ball pretty well – the best we have all year – and in the second half, we settled at times. Credit to them, they made some shots in the second half and they grinded us for 40 minutes. Credit to Winnipeg – they hit shots when they needed to.  Don Dayrit was phenomenal in the second half. He took it upon himself – hit a couple threes early (in the third quarter), and showed why he’s the second-leading scorer in the conference. … We settled a little bit offensively – got a little iso-dominant, and that was enough to swing it. They got to the line a lot, and we didn’t. Unfortunately that’s the way the game unfolded.” Don Dayrit paced the Wesmen with 23 on 7-26 from the floor, 4-19 from the arc, 5-8 from the line, 4 boards, 3 assists and 5 steals. Eric Racine added 21 on 7-15 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 7 boards and 5 steals. Spas Nikolov notched 10 on 2-6 from the floor, 6-6 from the line, 16 boards and 3 blocks. Joshua Gandier scored 9 on 3-6 from the arc. Malachi Alexander scored 8 on 3-12 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-6 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Donte Makazu added 4 on 1-2 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Emmanuel Thomas scored 4 on 4-10 from the line, 6 boards, 3 blocks and 2 steals. Shawn Maranan added 4 on 1-5 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals, while Jamon Campbell, Donald Stewart, Mikhail Mikhailov and James Rae were scoreless. The Wesmen hit 24-73 (.329) from the floor, 9-32 (.281) from the arc and 26-40 (.650) from the line, while garnering 50 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 11 assists, 14 turnovers, 7 blocks and 15 steals. Zubair Seyed paced the Cascades with 16 on 6-9 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 assists. Dylan Kinley added 12 on 4-13 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 2 boards and 4 assists. Kyle Claggett notched 11 on 5-9 from the floor, 1-1 from the line and 3 boards. Vick Toor scored 11 on 3-13 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 4-5 from the line, 8 boards, 7 assists and 3 steals. Dario Lopez added 8 on 2-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4-6 from the line and 7 boards. Jake Willemsen scored 7 on 2-5 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards. Aidan Wilson notched 6 on 3-3 from the floor, 5 boards and 2 blocks. Jamar Ergas added 6 on 2-6 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc and 3 boards. Matthias Klim scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 7 boards, while Ahmad Athman, Jordyn Sekhon and Jiordano Khan were scoreless. Sekhon nabbed 4 boards. The Cascades hit 28-70 (.400) from the floor, 10-26 (.385) from the arc and 13-18 (.722) from the line, while garnering 51 boards, including 10 the offensive glass, 27 fouls, 18 assists, 25 turnovers, 6 blocks and 4 steals. The Cascades (coach Joe Enevoldsen, assistant Cassidy Kannemeyer, assistant Grant Campbell, assistant Matt Guynup, assistant Jason Price, assistant Troy Gottselig, student therapist Cody Dowell, student therapist Logan McDonal) also included Suraj Gahir, Kenan Hadzovic, Jomel Puno, Joban Pandher and redshirt Daniel McCullough. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Saskatchewan Huskies torched the 14th-seeded Brandon Bobcats 101-76 after leading 23-13, 50-34 and 75-52 at the quarters. Huskies associate coach Chad Jacobson — who’d assumed the helm shortly before the playoffs after Barry Rawlyk abruptly resigned, with the school’s administration telling CBC that “when Huskie Athletics was made aware of the situation, Coach Rawlyk was put on administrative leave pending investigation.” CBC added that Saskatchewan “did not clarify what it meant by ‘the situation’.” — said “Our guys competed for 40 minutes. We talked about putting together a full 40 minutes from start to finish and I thought that the guys brought that from opening tip until the end of the game. They played so hard and they did that together for a full game. … Marq (Marquavian Stephens) is a really special player. He is a gamer. When the lights come on, he shows up. I was really happy with his performance tonight. I thought it was a great team effort. Chan De Ciman was also really effective tonight on both sides of the ball.” Bobcat Anthony Tsegakele said “they are a really well coached team. They are really deep, beat us five times this year and just outplayed us. Defensively they made it hard for me to get into the paint and all credit to them. They outplayed and outcoached us.” Bobcats coach Gil Cheung said “we lost to a better team. “They were fresher, they were live, they defended really well, they were active. We couldn’t make a couple shots early and they jumped out on us.” Marquavian Stephens paced the Huskies with 30 on 11-7 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 5-8 from the line, 6 boards, 6 assists and 3 steals. Alexander Dewar added 18 on 7-9 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 4 steals. Chan De Ciman notched 17 on 6-8 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 8 boards and 5 steals. Nervens Demosthene added 12 on 4-14 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Maxwell Amoafo scored 10 on 5-7 from the floor, 6 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Tyrese Potoma notched 5 on 2-2 from the floor and 1-1 from the arc. Kessler Bishop added 4 on 2-4 from the floor and 0-2 from the line. Griffin Sharkey scored 3 on 1-1 from the arc. Fisayo Moibi added 2 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 3 boards and 2 steals, while Ryker Wuttke, Noah Nickel and Emmanuel Akintunde were scoreless. Akintunde nabbed 3 boards. The Huskies hit 39-70 (.557) from the floor, 12-24 from the arc and 11-16 (.688) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 15 assists, 14 turnovers, 1 block and 18 steals. Jahmaal Gardner paced the Bobcats with 26 on 8-15 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 7-7 from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals. Anthony Tsegakele added 21 on 5-10 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 10-16 from the line, 3 boards and 3 assists. Elisha Ampofo notched 9 on 3-5 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 assists. Sulta Haider Bhatti added 7 on 2-11 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 8 boards. Dominique Dennis scored 5 on 2-9 from the floor, 0-6 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 7 boards and 4 assists. Travis Hamberger added 3 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 4 boards. Hans Befus notched 3 on 1-4 from the arc and 2 boards. Malik Lewis scored 2 on 0-1 from the floor and 2-2 from the line, while Blake Magnusson, Patrick Jonas, Ian Simba Gasana and Silas Owusu-Acheaw were scoreless. The Bobcats hit 22-58 (.379) from the floor, 10-34 (.294) from the arc and 22-29 (.759) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 12 assists, 23 turnovers, 1 block and 5 steals. The Bobcats (coach Gil Cheung, assistant Brett Nohr, assistant O’Neil Gordon, assistant Derek Barnett) also included Braden Cancade, Tilkisew Gebeyehu, redshirt Soren Befus and redshirt Christian Konu. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded British Columbia Thunderbirds dispatched the 12th-seeded Mount Royal Cougars 77-72. The Thunderbirds led 23-18, 46-32 and 61-51 at the quarters. But the Cougars opened the final frame with a 10-0 run on buckets by Chase Bohne, Holt Tomie and Brock Dewsbery. Tomie then notched an and-one to give Mount Royal its first lead since hitting the game’s opening bucket. U.B.C. answered with a 7-4 run to take a 75-72 lead with 30 seconds to play and iced it when the Cougars repeatedly coughed up the ball. Thunderbird Grant Audu said “it’s playoffs, so it is going to be a grind every game. We got up big, but they kept fighting. It was a grind, but we got it done. … I was just out there trying to win. It’s playoff time. I wanted to leave nothing in the tank. I was just playing my hardest to try help my team win.” Cougars coach Marc Dobell said “I am really proud of how our guys battled back after such a tough start. We faced a lot of adversity in the game and our guys competed to the end.” Grant Audu paced the Thunderbirds with 22 on 8-17 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 5-6 from the line and 4 boards. Brian Wallack added 15 on 4-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 6-7 from the line and 8 boards. James Woods notched 13 on 5-12 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Kyle Foreman scored 11 on 4-9 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 6 boards, 6 assists and 5 steals. Triston Matthews added 6 on 1-7 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 8 boards. Lincoln Rosebush scored 6 on 1-4 from the floor and 4-5 from the line. Esaie Maurancy notched 2 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 0-2 from the line and 4 boards. Nikola Guzina scored 2 on 1-3 from the floor and 2 boards, while Sukhman Sandhu, Jack Cruz-Dumont and Tobi Akinkunmi were scoreless. Akinkunmi nabbed 6 boards. Sandu nabbed 3 boards and blocked 2 shots. Cruz-Dumont nabbed 2 boards. The Thunderbirds hit 25-70 (.357) from the floor, 5-22 (.227) from the arc and 22-28 (.786) from the line, while garnering 49 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 11 assists, 12 turnovers, 3 blocks and 8 steals. Holt Tomie paced the Cougars with 23 on 7-11 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 8-9 from the line, 11 boards and 2 assists. Nate Petrone added 14 on 6-15 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 3 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Nick Tancon notched 6 on 3-9 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 13 boards and 3 steals. Brock Dewsbery scored 6 on 3-10 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 2 boards and 3 assists. Chase Bohne added 6 on 2-5 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc and 3 boards. Matt Fullerton scored 6 on 2-2 from the arc and 2 boards. Dylan Lutes notched 5 on 2-9 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 1-3 from the line and 4 boards. Patrick Vandervelden scored 4 on 2-3 from the floor, 3 boards, 2 assists and 2 blocks, while Lincoln Anderson and Daniel Mulder were scoreless. Anderson nabbed 3 boards. The Cougars hit 27-70 (.386) from the floor, 7-29 (.241) from the arc and 11-15 (.733) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 22 fouls, 12 assists, 14 turnovers, 2 blocks and 6 steals. The Cougars (coach Marc Dobell, assistant Keith Harder, assistant Noah Lewis, assistant John Reece, student therapist Emma Naughton, student therapist Christel Mae Coronado) also included Caden Kangas and Adam Pahl. …………………………………………………… The 11th-seeded Trinity Western Spartans stunned the 6th-seeded host Calgary Dinos 102-92 after leading 12-2 early and 32-24, 52-43 and 74-63 at the quarters. The Dinos drew with four in the final frame but Ja’Qualyn Gilbreath scored seven unanswered points to quell the rally. Spartan Mason Bourcier notched a triple-double and was all but unstoppable. “Some people are just wired a little bit differently, and I’m one of those guys,” Bourcier said. Asked if he was motivated by the fact that he wasn’t selected to the Canada West all-star team, Bourcier said “when I saw that it was almost a good thing. At the end of the day accolades don’t matter.” Dinos coach Dan Vanhooren said “we have a lot of freshman and sophomores and they got a lot of experience this year and that will help us in the future. Between Covid and injuries with all of our bigs, it was difficult. You could see that guys just weren’t in good enough physical shape after being out for as long as they’ve been out and it shows defensively in moments.” Mason Bourcier paced the Spartans with 41 on 14-19 from the floor, 7-10 from the arc, 6-6 from the line, 12 boards, 13 assists and 2 steals. Ja’Qualyn Gilbreath added 19 on 7-20 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 5 boards, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 3 steals. Isaiah Reimer notched 12 on 4-7 from the floor and 4-6 from the arc. Andrew Goertzen scored 12 on 6-11 from the floor, 0-1 from the line and 10 boards. Connor Platz added 10 on 3-7 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 blocks. Tre Fillmore scored 4 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Vlad Mihaila added 4 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. While Daniel Lybbert, Mitch Morgan, Jacob Fortune and Sam Dyck were scoreless. The Spartans hit 36-70 (.514) from the floor, 16-31 (.516) from the arc and 14-17 (.824) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 16 fouls, 18 assists, 17 turnovers, 4 blocks and 6 steals. Ezeoha Santiago paced the Dinos with 20 on 8-19 from the floor, 28 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Aidan Smith added 16 on 6-12 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 2 blocks. Mason Foreman notched 16 on 7-15 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc and 12 boards. Jeffrey Tezo scored 15 on 6-12 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 5 assists and 2 steals. Noah Wharton added 15 on 4-12 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 3 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Manyang Tong scored 6 on 3-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 6 boards. Jackson Bayles notched 2 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 3 boards and 3 assists. Javier Ramos-Yzquier scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor, while Aingar William, Carter Kuchinka, Tobi Adelodun and Parker Johnstone were scoreless. The Dinos hit 36-81 (.444) from the floor, 13-40 (.325) from the arc and 7-8 (.875) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 17 assists, 14 turnovers, 5 blocks and 8 steals. The Dinos (coach Dan Vanhooren, assistant Kyle Landry, assistant Phil Barndt, assistant Cooper Hamaliuk, assistant Blaine Miciak, athletic development Rich Hesketh, student therapist Miguel Klassen, student therapist Jason Oliemans) also included Jake Nielson, Sasha Pojuzina, Simon Kutzschmar and Marcus Foreman. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Lethbridge Pronghorns dispatched the 17th-seeded U.B.C. Okanagan Heat 91-81. The Pronghorns led 21-19 after one quarter. The Heat opened the second frame with a 10-2 run and led 42-37 at the half. The Pronghorns rallied to knot the score at 52 but the Heat rebuilt a 62-61 after lead three quarters. Deng Dak then took command, notching a trio from beyond the arc in the opening three minutes of the final frame. Angelo Mbituyama later ignited a late 5-2 run as the Pronghorns pulled out the win. Dak said “it was really all about adjusting on the court and we just handled business. It was scrappy but, in the end, we got the win. We have a lot of guys that can score – [positions] one through five we can all score above twenty. We just really put in the work. I was in the gym working hard every morning this week at six AM on the shooting machine.” Heat coach Clayton Pottinger said “we executed our game plan, and we were doing just what we wanted in the first three quarters. The turning point was when Deng hit the three three-pointers in a row. We never quite recovered the momentum after that point.” Deng Dak paced the Pronghorns with 24 on 7-11 from the floor, 5-9 from the arc, 5-6 from the line and 4 boards. Angelo Mbituyimana added 23 on 9-17 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 5 boards. Jeff Rodehutskors notched 19 on 7-11 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 9 boards and 2 blocks. De’Andrae Pierre scored 9 on 3-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 assists. Chad Oviatt added 8 on 4-9 from the floor and 3 boards. Avery Hutcheson scored 6 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 6 boards and 3 assists. Shae Gibb added 4 on 0-5 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 2 boards and 4 assists, while Zachary Coleman-Bock and Alec Hillman were scoreless. The Pronghorns hit 32-61 (.525) from the floor, 8-22 (.364) from the arc and 19-24 (.792) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 28 fouls, 12 assists, 14 turnovers, 3 blocks and 4 steals. Kevin Hamlet paced the Heat with 20 on 5-14 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 9-9 from the line, 7 boards and 4 assists. Hafith Moallin added 13 on 5-9 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Keaton Souster notched 11 on 3-7 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 7 boards and 3 assists. B.B. Chuks-Mady scored 10 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 5-7 from the line and 4 boards. Liban Yousef added 10 on 5-7 from the floor and 4 boards. Gus Goerzen scored 8 on 3-9 from the floor and 2-8 from the arc. Elan Kimpton-Cuellar notched 7 on 3-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. Jalen Shirley scored 2 on 1-7 from the floor and 0-3 from the arc, while Gavin Ashworth was scoreless. The Heat hit 27-65 (.415) from the floor, 6-25 (.240) from the arc and 21-24 (.875) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 11 assists, 16 turnovers, 2 blocks and 4 steals. The Heat (coach Clayton Pottinger, assistant Mitch Goodwin, assistant Kevin Kishor, director of recruiting Dikran Zabunyan, strength & conditioning Stephen Kooistra, student trainer Isley Goma, student trainer Hailey Bunting, therapist Jeff Thorburn, therapist/strength & conditioning Kevin Phillips, athletic director Tom Huisman) also included Jesse Vogel, Jonathan Haughton, Courage Enoma-Ogbeide, Imoudu Ibrahim and Dallas Hancox.

        In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Alberta Golden Bears blasted the 9th-seeded Winnipeg Wesmen 103-59 after leading 29-10, 50-15 and 78-29 at the quarters. A 13-0 run late in the first half buried Wesmen hopes of manner of comeback. Golden Bears coach Barnaby Craddock said Winnipeg “had such a tough-fought win last night. We were a little fresher and we used that energy to our advantage. Our guys played really well, so I’m happy with the outcome. … We hit the ground running and made some shots.” Wesmen coach Mike Raimbault said “I think Alberta’s the best team in the country. They guard, they were really tough defensively, they gave us a lot of problems, you know, they made a lot of shots. They’re a well-rounded team, they’re great. They’re well-coached.” Geoffrey James paced the Golden Bears with 21 on 8-14 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 12 boards and 2 steals. Max Russell added 15 on 6-8 from the floor, 3-4 from the arc, 2 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Bryce Solis notched 12 on 4-7 from the floor and 4-6 from the arc. Adam Paige scored 11 on 4-13 from the floor, 1-8 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 7 boards. Brandon Meiklejohn added 9 on 3-11 from the floor, 1-9 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 6 boards. Tyus Jefferson scored 9 on 4-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 4 assists and 2 steals. Daniel McLaren notched 8 on 3-5 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 3 boards and 4 assists. Cole Knudsen added 8 on 4-6 from the floor and 9 boards. Abdullah Shittu scored 6 on 3-6 from the floor and 4 boards. Ethan Egert added 4 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 0-1 from the line and 2 boards, while Colton Gibb and Lars Ishimwe were scoreless. Gibb nabbed 4 boards and dished 3 assists. Ishimwe nabbed 3 boards. The Golden Bears hit 41-87 (.471) from the floor, 14-45 (.311) from the arc and 7-9 (.778) from the line, while garnering 60 boards, including 21 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 21 assists, 14 turnovers, 1 block and 7 steals. Spas Nikolov paced the Wesmen with 13 on 6-10 from the floor, 1-1 from the line and 4 boards. Don Dayrit added 12 on 4-13 from the floor, 2-10 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 assists and 4 steals. Donald Stewart notched 6 on 2-3 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Mikhail Mikhailov scored 6 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. James Rae added 6 on 2-3 from the arc. Eric Racine notched 5 on 2-11 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 steals. Malachi Alexander added 4 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 4 boards. Emmanuel Thomas scored 3 on 1-6 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 0-2 from the line and 4 boards. Donte Makazu added 2 on 1-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 0-2 from the line and 5 boards. Jamon Campbell scored 2 on 0-2 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards, while Shawn Maranan and Joshua Gandier were scoreless. Gandier nabbed 3 boards. Maranan dished 4 assists. The Wesmen hit 22-70 (.314) from the floor, 8-31 (.258) from the arc and 7-11 (.636) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 13 fouls, 7 assists, 17 turnovers, 4 blocks and 9 steals. The Wesmen (coach Mike Raimbault, assistant Kyle Vince, assistant Nate Johnson, therapist Jeff Billeck) also included Romel McCalla, Daniel Kilmartin, Donte Makazu, Jamon Campbell, Charles Goossen. 

        The 2nd-seeded Victoria Vikes dusted the 7th-seeded Lethbridge Pronghorns 79-55. The score was knotted at 19 after one quarter. The Vikes led 42-33 at the half and 63-39 after three quarters. The Vikes began dominating the paint as they took command in the second quarter by getting their transition game on track and pushing the tempo in the romp. Vike Scott Kellum said “a big part of it was focusing on ourselves. It did not matter who was on the other side of the court. It was just playing how we know how to play and focusing on ourselves.” Pronghorns coach Jermaine Small said “our group is resilient and gritty, lots to be proud of. … It’s was tough tonight, missing a couple guys due to injury but that is the best team we have seen this season, credit to Victoria. We fought to the end.” Scott Kellum paced the Vikes with 16 on 5-10 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 8 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Matthew Ellis added 15 on 7-11 from the floor, 1-5 from the line, 5 boards, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Diego Maffia notched 15 on 5-11 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 6 boards. Elias Ralph scored 12 on 5-10 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards. Ethan Boag added 10 on 4-7 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Dominick Oliveri scored 9 on 4-5 from the floor, 1-5 from the line, 7 boards and 3 assists. Aaron Tesfagiorgis added 2 on 1-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2 assists and 2 steals, while Jason Scully, Justin McChesney, Sergio Pereira, Jaden Touchie and Trent Monkman were scoreless. The Vikes hit 31-60 (.517) from the floor, 6-16 (.375) from the arc and 11-24 (.458) from the line, while garnering 48 boards, including 13 fouls, 11 assists, 13 turnovers, 3 blocks and 5 steals. Shae Gibb paced the Pronghorns with 12 on 4-10 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Jeff Rodehutskors added 11 on 3-10 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 5-6 from the line and 6 boards. Deng Dak notched 9 on 3-13 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc, 3 boards and 2 steals. Angelo Mbituyimana scored 7 on 2-9 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 6 boards and 2 assists. Avery Hutcheson added 6 on 3-6 from the floor, 0-4 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Chad Oviatt notched 6 on 3-11 from the floor, 10 boards, 2 assists and 3 blocks. Zachary Coleman added 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 4 boards. De’Andrea Pierre scored 2 on 1-4 from the floor, 2 boards and 3 assists, while Moreau Darlington, Karter Fry, Alec Hillman and Paul Asebiode were scoreless. The Pronghorns hit 20-67 (.299) from the floor, 7-24 (.292) from the arc and 8-14 (.571) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 13 assists, 12 turnovers, 6 blocks and 7 steals. The Pronghorns (coach Jermaine Small, assistant Mike Pierzchala, assistant Kenny Otieno, assistant Pat Troy) also included Brett Warren, Junior Mercy, Shae Gibb and Jerome Rex.

        The 3rd-seeded Regina Cougars torched the 11th-seeded Trinity Western Spartans 105-81 after leading 10-2 early and 31-14, 55-31 and 81-51 at the quarters. Cougar post Majok Madol dominated the paint, scoring easily inside against either a 1-3-1 zone or a man-to-man defence. “Luckily for me I was able to find my sweet spot and just attack it,” said Madol. “Credit to everybody for getting me the ball and impacting the game.” Benjamin Hillis added 20 on 7-14 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 4-8 from the line, 10 boards, 3 assists and 4 steals. Josiah Thomas notched 17 on 7-11 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 assists. Brayden Kuski scored 14 on 4-12 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 8 boards, 9 assists and 2 steals. Matt Barnard added 13 on 4-8 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 5-8 from the line and 7 boards. Arinze Emeka-Anyakwo notched 10 on 4-8 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 3 boards. Carter Millar added 6 on 3-10 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 7 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Nick Barnard scored 5 on 2-5 from the floor and 1-4 from the arc, while Dakota McBride-Marean, Logan Neumann and Nigel Warden were scoreless. The Cougars hit 40-82 (.488) from the floor, 10-25 (.400) from the arc and 15-24 (.625) from the line, while garnering 52 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 21 assists, 11 turnovers, 4 blocks and 10 steals. Mason Bourcier paced the Spartans with 19 on 7-17 from the floor, 4-10 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 12 boards, 10 assists and 2 steals. Tre Fillmore added 15 on 6-14 from the floor and 3-11 from the arc. Ja’Qualyn Gilbreath notched 14 on 5-18 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 2-5 from the line, 8 boards and 3 assists. Andrew Goertzen scored 14 on 4-8 from the floor, 6-6 from the line and 8 boards. Isaiah Reimer added 6 on 2-5 from the arc and 3 boards. Vlad Mihaila notched 4 on 1-4 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 5 boards. Connor Platz scored 4 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 4 blocks. Daniel Lybbert added 3 on 1-4 from the floor and 1-3 from the arc. Sam Dyck scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor, while Mitch Morgan and Jacob Fortune were scoreless. The Spartans hit 28-75 (.373) from the floor, 13-41 (.317) from the arc and 12-16 from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 16 assists, 18 turnovers, 6 blocks and 4 steals. The Spartans (coach Trevor Pridie, assistant Joel Ashbee, assistant Hugh Lynn, assistant Josiah Meppelink, assistant Aly Nuruddin) also included Riley Braich, Daniel Adediran, Daniel Stead, Leif Skelding and Josh Jean.

        In the last quarterfinal, the 4th-seeded Saskatchewan Huskies edged the 5th-seeded U.B.C. Thunderbirds 88-87. The Thunderbirds led 18-14 after one quarter. The Huskies led 47-41 at the half. The Thunderbirds led 70-68 after three quarters. The Huskies drilled three treys to take a 79-74 lead but the Thunderbirds answered with the treys from Sukhman Sandhu and James Woods as they took an 82-81 lead. Alex. Alexander Dewar then drilled a trey for Saskatchewan but Brian Wallack drove for a layup to knot the score at 84. A goaltending call gave U.B.C. an 87-86 lead but the Huskies answered with a pair from the line. A last-ditch Thunderbirds drive, and several attempted tip-ins, failed to yield a dividend as the Huskies hung for the win. Huskies guard Marquavian Stephens said “we knew whoever we played it was going to be a tough matchup. We knew UBC was a good team, but we knew if we stick to our game plan we could get the win. … I just wanted to bring whatever I could to my team. I knew my team was going to rely on me. I came in with a mindset that I just wanted to focus on my shots. I just wanted to do the best I could. … (Associate) coach Chad (Jacobson) did amazing to be able to step in. He took in the moment, and he just hit every scout and his game plan was perfect and we are so proud to have him coaching and leading.” Thunderbirds assistant Sean Shook said “it was a great matchup between two top ten teams. They jumped on us and I thought our guys battled back. This was a game between two really good teams and unfortunately one team had to go home. Kudos to Saskatchewan – we had to make a lot of adjustments and I thought our guys did a really good job stepping up. It is pretty difficult to know in 40 minutes you are either moving on to the final four or your season is over. Kudos to our kids for staying strong.” Marquavian Stephens paced the Huskies with 20 on 7-22 from the floor, 5-13 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 4 boards, 6 assists and 4 steals. Chan De Ciman added 19 on 6-10 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 3 boards and 3 assists. Tyrese Potoma notched 14 on 4-8 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Alexander Dewar scored 13 on 3-6 from the floor, 3-4 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 4 boards. Nervens Demosthene added 8 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 3-5 from the line, 3 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals. Maxwell Amoafo notched 5 on 1-4 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 7 boards. Kessler Bishop added 5 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-1 from the line and 2 boards. Emmanuel Akintunde scored 4 on 1-5 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists, while Ryker Wuttke and Fisayo Moibi were scoreless. Wuttke nabbed 2 boards. The Huskies hit 26-65 (.400) from the floor, 16-34 (.471) from the arc and 20-24 (.833) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 22 assists, 9 turnovers, 1 block and 10 steals. James Woods paced the Thunderbirds with 27 on 9-15 from the floor, 6-8 from the arc, 3-3 from the line and 3 boards. Sukhman Sandhu added 19 on 5-7 from the floor, 4-4 from the arc, 5-6 from the line and 4 boards. Grant Audu notched 7 on 4-8 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 3 boards and 2 assists. Tobi Akinkunmi scored 8 on 3-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 6 boards. Triston Matthews added 7 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 6 boards. Brian Wallack notched 6 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 5 boards. Jack Cruz-Dumont added 5 on 2-2 from the floor and 1-1 from the arc. Lincoln Rosebush scored 4 on 1-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 5 boards. Kyle Foreman added 2 on 1-7 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 2 boards and 8 assists. The Thunderbirds hit 29-58 (.500) from the floor, 13-24 (.542) from the arc and 16-19 (.842) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 15 assists, 18 turnovers, 3 blocks and 3 steals. The Thunderbirds (coach Kevin Hanson, assistant Sean Shook, assistant Dany Charlery, assistant Pat Simon, trainer Saeed Habib, trainer Olivia Austin, dietitian Emma McCrudden) also included Esaie Maurancy, Alex Nwoye, Jamesley Jerome, Nikola Guzina, Triston Matthews, Toni Maric, Kashie Ugoji and Oliver Munt.

        In the semis, the top-seeded University of Alberta Golden Bears spanked the 4th-seeded Saskatchewan Huskies 90-74 after leading 20-16, 42-32 and 66-59 at the quarters. The Golden Bears hit 4 of their first 7 from the arc, including a pair by Adam Paige. Alberta notched a 13-0 run in the first quarter, while the Huskies ripped off a 6-0 run. Alberta repeatedly capitalized on Huskie turnovers while building the 10-point lead at the half. The Bears took command in the final frame as Canada West player of the year Tyus Jefferson re-ignited the offence. Adam Paige paced the Golden Bears with 28 on 11-15 from the floor, 6-9 from the arc, 6 boards, 3 assists and 2 assists. Tyus Jefferson added 13 on 5-11 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 9 boards, 8 assists and 3 steals. Abdullah Shittu notched 13 on 5-6 from the floor, 3-3 from the line and 5 boards. Geoffrey James scored 12 on 5-14 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 5 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals. Brandon Meiklejohn added 11 on 3-6 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 3-3 from the line and 2 assists. Cole Knudsen scored 8 on 4-4 from the floor, 5 boards and 3 assists. Colton Gibb added 5 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 2 boards, while Lars Ishimwe, Daniel McLaren, Max Russell and Ethan Egert were scoreless. Ishimwe nabbed 2 boards. The Golden Bears hit 35-68 (.515) from the floor, 12-30 (.400) from the arc and 8-8 from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 1 4fouls, 23 assists, 14 turnovers, 1 block and 13 steals. Marquavian Stephens paced the Huskies with 20 on 7-14 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 4 boards. Tyrese Potoma added 17 on 6-9 from the floor, 3-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Alexander Dewar notched 14 on 6-14 from the floor, 1-8 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Emmanuel Akintunde scored 6 on 3-5 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 6 boards. Maxwell Amoafo added 6 on 3-3 from the floor and 2 boards. Nervens Demosthene notched 3 on 1-1 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 7 assists and 2 steals. Chan De Ciman scored 3 on 1-4 from the arc, 4 boards and 2 assists. Kessler Bishop added 3 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 2 boards. Fisayo Moibi scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor, while Noah Nickel, Ryker Wuttke and Griffin Sharkey were scoreless. The Huskies hit 29-53 (.547) from the floor, 10-26 (.385) from the arc and 6-12 from the line, while garnering 24 boards, including 4 on the offensive glass, 16 fouls, 16 assists, 19 turnovers, 1 block and 7 steals.

        In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Victoria Vikes earned a berth at the national championships by dispatching the 3rd-seeded Regina Cougars 74-62 after leading 16-9, 34-25, after closing out the first half with three treys in a 9-0 run, and 51-42 at the quarters. The Vikes pressure and perimeter defence was instrumental in the win, while player of the game Diego Maffia provided the necessary offensive spark. The Vikes led by as many as 15. Scott Kellum said “it was a good battle, back-and-forth and very defensive. We have a great team, and everyone came out and contributed tonight. Our defence is something we can always rely on. Offence is going to come and go, and today it wasn’t always there for us. We had to keep grinding it out.” Scott Kellum paced the Vikes with 22 on 8-13 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 6 boards and 3 assists. Diego Maffia added 20 on 7-14 from the floor, 5-10 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 6 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Dominick Oliveri notched 11 on 5-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 14 boards. Matthew Ellis scored 11 on 5-13 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 8 boards and 3 assists. Elias Ralph added 4 on 2-6 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 5 boards and 2 steals. Aaron Tesfagiorgis scored 3 on 1-7 from the arc and 2 boards. Trent Monkman added 2 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 6 boards. Ethan Boag scored 1 on 0-6 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc and 1-2 from the line, while Jason Scully, Justin McChesney, Sergio Pereira and Jaden Touchie were scoreless. Pereira nabbed 4 boards and McChesney 2. The Vikes hit 29-69 (.420) from the floor, 9-30 (.300) from the arc and 7-12 (.583) from the line, while garnering 55 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 12 assists, 21 turnovers, 2 blocks and 6 steals. Carter Millar paced the Cougars with 17 on 7-17 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 8 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Brayden Kuski added 12 on 3-13 from the floor, 3-11 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Josiah Thomas notched 9 on 4-11 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Majok Madol scored 8 on 2-8 from the floor, 4-4 from the line and 8 boards. Benjamin Hillis added 8 on 2-11 from the floor, 0-6 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 4 boards. Nick Bernard scored 4 on 0-3 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 3 steals. Matt Barnard scored 2 on 1-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 3 boards. Arinze Emeka-Anyakwo scored 2 on 2-2 from the floor and 6 boards, while Dakota McBride-Marean, Logan Neumann and Nigel Warden were scoreless. The Cougars hit 19-69 (.275) from the floor, 6-29 (.207) from the arc and 18-22 (.818) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 6 assists, 17 turnovers, 2 blocks and 8 steals.

        In the bronze match for Canada West’s second berth (Alberta having already qualified as hosts) at nationals, the Saskatchewan Huskies edged the Regina Cougars 97-93 in overtime. The Cougars led 24-15, 43-34 and 64-58 at the quarters. The score was knotted at 81 after regulation after Marquavian Stephens drove the court and hit a fadewaway trey with one second on the clock. “It’s just all my teammates and my coaches. They kept me going, and that was one thing that kept me positive in my mind and that led up to [the three],” Stephens said. “The thing about us is we just never give up. We have had our ups and downs, like this game shows, but we kept fighting and things went our way.” The Huskies had rallied from a 15-point third quarter but the Cougars appeared in command when Carter Millar hit two free throws to give Regina an 81-76 lead in the final minute. But Chan De Ciman notched a jumper with 14 seconds to play and then the Huskies stole the ball with 7 seconds to play, leading to Stephens’ miracle trey. Millar hit a critical bucket to make it 93-91 for the Huskies with 26 seconds to play in the extra session while Stephens nailed 5 free throws as Saskatchewan pulled out the win. Marquavian Stephens paced the Huskies with 29 on 7-19 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 13-14 from the line and 4 boards. Alexander Dewar added 17 on 7-12 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 2 boards. Chan De Ciman notched 13 on 5-10 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 7 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Nervens Demosthene scored 12 on 2-8 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 8-9 from the line, 9 boards and 4 assists. Tyrese Potoma added 10 on 4-10 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc and 4 boards. Emmanuel Akintunde scored 9 on 4-7 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 9 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Maxwell Amoafo added 3 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 3 steals. Kessler Bishop scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor. Noah Nickel added 2 on 1-1 from the floor, while Fisayo Moibi was scoreless. The Huskies hit 32-71 (.451) from the floor, 8-26 (.308) from the arc and 25-31 (.806) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 14 assists, 18 turnovers and 13 steals. Carter Millar paced the Cougars with 30 on 9-16 from the floor, 5-8 from the arc, 7-9 from the line, 11 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Brayden Kuski added 20 on 7-12 from the floor, 5-10 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 2 assists and 2 steals. Benjamin Hillis noted 15 on 4-14 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 7 boards and 4 assists. Josiah Thomas scored 14 on 5-15 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 9 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals. Matt Barnard added 7 on 3-3 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 2 boards. Nick Barnard scored 4 on 1-1 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Majok Madol added 3 on 1-1 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 2 boards, while Arinze Emeka-Anyakwo and Nigel Warden were scoreless. The Cougars hit 30-68 (.441) from the floor, 13-32 (.406) from the arc and 20-24 (.833) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 24 fouls, 16 assists, 23 turnovers, 1 block and 10 steals. The Cougars (coach Steve Burrows, assistant Wade Hackl, assistant Joel Hunter, assistant Jordan Greenly, assistant Jamal Williams) also included Mina Ogot, Asher Ndah, Dakota McBride-Allen, Cade Mather, Kaz Dornstauder, Hayden Collier, Drayden Hornoi, Ater Magok and Logan Neumann.

        In the final, the 2nd-seeded Victoria Vikes stunned the top-seeded host Alberta Golden Bears 70-64. The Vikes led 18-15 after one quarter after closing out the frame with an 8-0 run. The Golden Bears led 28-26 at the half on a late trey and a dunk from Geoffrey James. The Vikes led 52-44 after three quarters on a pair of treys from Scott Kellum. The momentum turned in the Vikes favour down the stretch when Aaron Tesfagiorgis took a charge on a Golden Bears drive into the paint. Vike Scott Kellum called it a defensive victory. “All the work we put in during the offseason built the trust we have in each other. We knew a couple of shots weren’t going to fall, but we knew we were going to get our stops on defence until the shots would fall in.” Teammate Matthew Ellis said “this game is something we look forward to all year. Alberta was undefeated, and we were looking to come in here and shake things up. Our group is just so special, one through 15. We just grinded together, and this is what it is all about- having fun and enjoying what we do. We have so much depth on this team. I know every night I don’t have to do anything special, just follow what my team does and it’ll lead to victory.” Scott Kellum paced the Vikes with 20 on 7-19 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 5 boards. Matthew Ellis added 14 on 6-13 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 7 boards and 2 blocks. Diego Maffia notched 12 on 4-18 from the floor, 0-10 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 2 boards and 3 assists. Dominick Oliveri scored 8 on 4-9 from the floor. Elias Ralph added 8 on 3-7 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Sergio Pereira scored 6 on 3-3 from the floor an d4 boards. Aaron Tesfagiorgis added 2 on 1-7 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 7 boards and 4 assists, while Trent Monkman and Ethan Boag were scoreless. Monkman nabbed 4 boards and Boag 4. The Vikes hit 28-78 (.359) from the floor, 3-24 (.125) from the arc and 11-15 (.733) from the line, while garnering 56 boards, including 21 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 10 assists, 14 turnovers, 3 blocks and 6 steals. Adam Paige paced the Golden Bears with 13 on 5-18 from the floor, 2-11 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 11 boards and 4 assists. Tyus Jefferson added 13 on 6-10 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards and 4 assists. Cole Knudsen notched 11 on 5-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 9 boards. Geoffrey James scored 10 on 3-11 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 2 boards. Brandon Meiklejohn added 10 on 3-8 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Abdullah Shittu scored 4 on 1-4 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Lars Ishimwe added 3 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 assists, while Colton Gibb and Daniel McLaren were scoreless. Gibb nabbed 5 boards. The Golden Bears hit 24-68 (.353) from the floor, 6-26 (.231) from the arc and 10-15 from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 13 assists, 17 turnovers, 2 blocks and 7 steals.

During the playoffs, Saskatchewan coach Barry Rawlyk resigned suddenly, ostensibly for playing music during practice that players found offensive. No further details were provided. The University said in a statement that “equity, diversity and inclusion are priorities at the university and we will continue our work to ensure that our campus environments are safe for all members of the campus community.” Rawlyk assumed the Huskies helm on an interim basis in 2010-11 and was named the permanent coach the following year. In turn, he and assistant Chad Jacobson (who coached the Huskies in their final few playoff games) were replaced by Ontario Basketball technical director Jaime Campbell (with Jacobson retaining his position as an assistant). Campbell, son of legendary coach Peter Campbell and brother of University of Toronto coach John Campbell, was an assistant coach with Carleton in 2019 and 2020, and an assistant for the Ottawa BlackJacks (Canadian Elite Basketball League) in 2020. The Waterloo, ON product was also previously an assistant with Wilfrid Laurier University from 2012-18. “I am honoured to have been selected by the search committee to join this successful Huskie Athletics program,” said Campbell, who off the court is an integral member for Athletes Combating Racism. “I am looking forward to the opportunity to work with dedicated student athletes in the pursuit of the ultimate goal of a national championship.”

The bronze medalist Saskatchewan Huskies: Noah Nickel; Chan De Ciman; Benjamin Rose; Cameron Wright; Emmanuel Akintunde; Tyrese Potoma; Alexander Dewar; Nervens Demosthene; Marquavian Stephens; Arminas Ilciukas; Fisayo Moibi; Ryker Wuttke; Griffin Sharkey; Kessler Bishop; Seth Jones; Maxwell Amoafo; Dylan Boughen; Agamveer Singh; Coach Barry Rawlyk; assistant Chad Jacobson; assistant Dan Dewar; assistant Brian Carduner

The silver medalist Alberta Golden Bears: Logan Powell; Lars Ishimwe; Tyus Jefferson; Bryce Solis; Geoffrey James; Brandon Meiklejohn; Jack MacPharson; Owen Weaver; Daniel McLaren; Cole Knudsen; Abdullah Shittu; Ethan Egert; Adam Paige; Max Russell; Colton Gibb; Ephraim Humilde; Fahad Yusuf; coach Barnaby Craddock; assistant Kent Johnson; assistant Ryan Bhalla; assistant Jay Tomlinson; assistant Brandon Brock; strength & conditioning Alex Hague; video coordinator Steve Constantine; therapist Brennan Mahon; student therapist Nicholas Toth; student therapist Ethan West; student therapist Jeremy Pynn; student therapist Tanner Kowal

The gold medalist Victoria Vikes: Dominick Oliveri; Aaron Tesfagiorgis; Matthew Ellis; Scott Kellum; Jaden Touchie; Levi Timmermans; Diego Maffia; Trent Monkman; Jason Scully; Justin McChesney; Christoffer Heggelund; Ethan Boag; Sergio Pereira; Jakob Neufeld; coach Craig Beaucamp; assistant Josh Mullen; assistant Ian Hyde-Lay; assistant Tara Beaucamp; strength & conditioning Gary Peden