| U.B.C. | 74 | |||||||
| St. Mary’s | 55 | U.B.C. | 107 | |||||
| Laurentian | 78 | U.B.C. | 96 | —–BRITISH COLUMBIA | ||||
| McMaster | 102 | McMaster | 75 | |||||
| Loyola | 92 |
U.B.C. captured the West’s first crown in its first year of CIAU competition. The Thunderbirds, who’d been toiling in the NCAA Division II ranks Northwest Conference, had joined the 9-team CWIAA. Coached by Peter Mullins, they finished 20-0 in the regular season play and entering the national draw with a 25-4 record. Host McMaster entered the tourney 15-6 and was coached by Bill Fowler, in his eighth year at the helm. Loyola entered with a 23-7 record and was coached by Doug Daigneault. They were almost entirely comprised on American players. Laurentian entered the draw with a 12-9 record.
In the opening round, held in Hamilton, UBC crushed St. Mary’s 74-55. The Thunderbirds went on a 17-0 run in the third quarter to take a 53-39 lead. The Thunderbirds had played a dismal first half but controlled the second. Bob Molinski scored 19, Derek Sankey 17, Ron Thorsen 16, Terry MacKay 8 and 12 boards, Alex Brayden 8, Jack Hoy 4 and John Mills 2, while John Hawkins, Rod Matheson and Joe Kainer were scoreless. The T’Birds out-rebounded St. Mary’s 53-30. U.B.C. hit 10-14from the line, while St. Maryu’s was 5-9. Al Brown, a 6-6 post, paced the Huskies with 14. Phil Carrey added 14, Dennis Reardon 11, Bill Thomas 9, Mike Chambers 4, Dave Harris 2 and John Whetstone 1, while Roy Venema, Luddy Bartkus and David MacPherson were scoreless. The Huskies (coached by Les Goodwin, assisted by Dick MacLean), also included Bill Bellingham, Don Carroll, Phil Carney and Dave MacPherson.
In the semis, McMaster defeated Loyola 102-92, after Noble shot 8-14 from floor before fouling out with 14 seconds to go. Rookie John Dignan was 8-8 from the line and 9-18 from the floor but complained that the ball was slippery. The game, which was held at McMaster, was a freewheeling, run and gun affair. McMaster led 22-18 at quarter, 35-23 in second when Loyola went into a pressing many for man and got untracked. Cut lead to 50-47 at half. Loyola took the lead in the third quarter and the game was close, with the teams trading the lead back and forth, until Jim Noble put McMaster ahead on a layup 70-69. Loyola countered with a jumper to take the lead but then Dignan scored six straight points and Walt Szpilewski added 2 to give McMaster an 82-77 lead. Loyola closed to within four but Dignan hit 10 more points in the final minutes, including four three throws, to seal the Marauder victory. Fowler later noted “Johnny gave us the inspiration.” McMaster was led by Paul Mazza’s 27, Dignan’s 17, Jim Noble 19, Walt Szpilewski’s 12, Jeff Daw 8, Steve Skarlak 7 and Frank Nagy 3, while Martino, Hamilton and Quinlan were scoreless. Noble told the Hamilton Spectator that “I didn’t think we were going to do it.” Fowler said “I thought we weren’t the game defensively. Mind you, a 1-3-1 offence is always difficult for our match-up zone. The zone was our salvation and we went to it at the right time.” McMaster shot .436 from the floor while Loyola shot .462. McMaster won the rebounding contest 34-26. Jim Ivy led the Warriors with 18. Tom Profenno added 17, Gene Lawrence 16, John McAuliffe 16, Earl Lewis 13, Jack Contos 7 and Greg Gill 5, while O’Keefe, Jerry Walsh and Jim Fahey were scoreless. Marauders coach Bill Fowler told the Montreal Gazette “they were a better ball club than we anticipated and they got a lot of mileage out of the six or seven guys they used.”
In the other semi, UBC thrashed Laurentian 107-78 by easily penetrating whatever zone or man to man defence threw up in desperation. The Thunderbirds drove the ball well in the route. Coach Peter Mullins noted “we ran well, We got some nice moves but we still didn’t do as well as in past games.” UBC shot 37% from floor and 29-35 from line. Laurentian shot 9-18 from line. UBC opened on a 10-1 run, led 19-5 and then 31-14 after one quarter and 56-34 at half. The Thunderbirds were paced by Ron Thorsen’s 28 points. Bob Molinski added 25 and 21 rebounds, Derek Sankey 19, Alex Brayden 11, Jack Hoy 11 and Terry MacKay8, along with 14 rebounds, Joe Kainer 2, John Mills 2 and Rod Matheson 1, while John Hawkins was scoreless. U.B.C. coach Peter Mullins told Canadian Press that “we ran well. We got some nice moves and baskets but we dind’t hit as well as in past games.” Ray Owens paced Laurentian with 24, while 29-year-old freshman John McKibbon notched 20 on 8-26 from the floor and 16 rebounds. Jim Hill added 12, Don Lavigeur 8, Les Kennedy 6, Gord Verge 4, Eric Pandke 2 and Bill Kuntz 2, while Claudius Kuncevicius and Ugo Capisciotti were scoreless.
In the bronze medal qualifier, Loyola thumped St. Mary’s 84-50 after leading 41-32 at the half. Jim Ivy paced the Warriors with 22. Earl Lewis added 14, Gene Lawrence 14, John McAuliffe 11, Tom Profenno 8, Greg Gill 7, Jack Contos 4 and Jim Fahey 4, while Harvey Kessler and Jerry Walsh were scoreless. Midway through the game, St. Mary’s coach Les Goodwin proclaimed that “this refereeing is ridiculous. I’ve never seen anything like it.” Warrior Tom Profenno told the Montreal Gazette that “we began to run about the end of the first half and they just couldn’t keep up.” Mike Chambers paced St. Mary’s with 14. Phil Carney added 9, Luddy Bertkus 8, Bill Thomas 7, Dennis Reardon 6, Al Brown 6 and Dave MacPherson 3, while John Whetstone and Ray Venema were scoreless.
In the bronze medal match, Laurentian clipped Loyola 88-82 after leading 38-35 at the half. The Warriors led 61-60 when Earl Lewis fouled out, after which, they essentially folded their tents. John McKibbon paced the Voyageurs with 34. Don Lavigeur added 15, Verge 9, Kennedy 8, Ray Owens 8, Jim Hill 6, Ugo Capisciotto 4, Eric Pandke 2 and Klaudius Kuncevicius 2, while Bill Kuntz was scoreless. The Voyageurs hit 34-74 from the floor. Lewis led the Warriors with 20. Tom Profenno added 16, Jim Ivy 15, Gene Lawrence 13, Earl Lewis 10, Greg Gill 9, Brian O’Keefe 5 and John McAuliffe 4, while Harvey Kessler, Jack Contos and Jim Fahey were scoreless. The Warriors (coached by Doug Daigneault, assisted by Alex Sidorenko) also included Jim McCarthy, Jerry Walsh and Dave Burke.
In the final, UBC stomped McMaster 96-75. McMaster took an early lead U.B.C. rallied to a 45-44 lead at the break and appeared to be indifferent to the outcome. But they shifted gears in the second half, seized control of the boards and took a 69-53 at the three-quarter mark. U.B.C. was paced by Derek Sankey 30, Ron Thorsen 19, Bob Molinski 15, Terry MacKay 13, Alex Brayden 6, John Mills 5 and Rod Matheson 2, while John Hawkins and Joe Kainer were scoreless. The Thunderbirds hit 20-27 from the line. U.B.C. coach Peter Mullins told Canadian Press that “this is a classy team. They never panicked. They kept their poise. It’s been like that all season.” The Marauders were led by Jim Noble 25, Paul Mazza 19 and John Dignan 14. Jeff Daw added 7, Walt Szpilewski 4, Steve Skerlak r and Joe Martino 2, while Peter Hamilton, Frank Nagy and John Quinlan were scoreless. Marauders coach Bill Fowler told the Hamilton Spectator that U.B.C. is a “poised, mature ball club. Their man-to-man defence was as tough as we have seen all season. We didn’t have enough talent to stay with them man-to-man and when we got behind, we had stay in our man-toman. I couldn’t try anything.” Mazza said “we couldn’t do anything when we came out. We were sluggish, I don’t know why.” Mullins said “McMaster played well in the first half. They shot well and rebounded well. But we stayed in the game. That was the turning point. … We just threw the ball around, looked for the deep man and got th easy layup.” U.B.C. finished (28-4) on the season and (24-0) against Canadian competition.
The all-tourney team featured: MVP Ron Thorsen (U.B.C.); Derek Sankey (U.B.C.); Jim Noble (McMaster); Paul Mazza (McMaster); and John Dignan (McMaster)
On March 21-70, Health minister John Munro announces that grants-in-aid of up to $2,000 will be made available for athletes. They will not be tied to a school but will be awarded to an individual.
The bronze medalist Laurentian Voyageurs: John McKibbon; Don Lavigeur; Jim Hill; Ray Owens; Les Kennedy; Gord Verge; Eric Pandke; Billy Kuntz; Klaudijus Kuncevicius; Donny Edward; Ugo Capisciotti; coach Dr. John Dewar; manager Joel Pearson; manager Ron Linton
The runner-up McMaster Marauders: Jeff Daw; Jim Noble; Walt Szpilewski; John Dignan; Paul Mazza; Frank Nagy; Mark Waugh; Joe Martino; Peter Hamilton; Steve Skerlau; Frank Nagy; John Quinlan; Larry Szpirglas; Art Thornton; coach Bill Fowler; assistant Bob Knuckle; manager Mike Moore
The champion University of British Columbia Thunderbirds: Alex Brayden; Terry MacKay; Derek Sankey; Bob Molinski; Jack Hoy; John Mills; Joe Kainer; Ron Thorsen; Stan Callegari; Rod Matheson; John Hawkins; coach Dr. Peter Mullins; manager Bruce Jagger; assistant manager Derek Swain