2001-02 Halifax – uSports men

(1)	Western	71
(8)	Victoria	65	Western	79
(4)	Laval	74	Laval	64	Western	71
(5)	St. F.X.	56
(2)	Alberta	68					—–ALBERTA
(7)	St. Mary’s	58	Alberta	66	Alberta	76
(3)	Brandon	77	York	59
(6)	York	81

In the quarterfinals, the 2nd-seed Alberta Golden Bears defeated the 7th-seed St. Mary’s Huskies 68-58 in a see-saw battle. Each team dominated the game for short stretches. From the opening tip-off it was all Alberta as the Canada West wild card team burst out to a 9-0 lead. SMU coach Ross Quackenbush called a timeout to settle his squad and the results were dramatic. Spurred on by the boisterous crowd, the Huskies came to life and the Bears went into hibernation. By the time Alberta woke up, SMU had gone on an 8-0 run of their own and all of the sudden the game was tied at 13. Gabe Goree scored six straight points to pull the Huskies back in the game. Saint Mary’s wasn’t done however. Tight defence limited the Golden Bears to just eight more points over the remaining 13 minutes as they shot 22% for the half and SMU exploded for another 9-0 run. By half-time, the hometown team was in command 30-21. Veteran Bears coach Don Horwood must have said just the right things at intermission as his star and the entire team began to play with the same zeal that launched them to a nine-point cushion to open the game. Less than three minutes into the half the SMU lead was down to one point as Robbie Valpreda came to life. A three-pointer for the corner restored the 6’9” forwards confidence and there would be much more to come. The second half was all Valpreda as he kept hitting from downtown, connecting on five of eight attempts from three-point range. Saint Mary’s did not give away the lead easily and increased their advantage to eight as Goree added five points in a short stretch to make it 43-35. That was when Valpreda took over. First it was a three-pointer from the right side to cut the score to 43-38. Seconds later Stephen Parker drained another trey and the SMU lead was down to four.  Minutes later, consecutive Valpreda triples put Alberta ahead for the first time since the first half and the momentum had noticeably shifted in the Bears favour. After trading baskets over the next few minutes, Valpreda hit another three breaking the deadlock at 56. As time was running down it was Valpreda again, launching another bomb from the far-left corner. A foul was called, leaving the Saint Mary’s bench livid.  The Huskies never regained their composure after that and Alberta iced it at the line. SMU coach Ross Quackenbush later said about the foul, “what can you do? Sometimes these things happen.” Alberta made eight straight free throws in the final 30 seconds to ice the win. All-Canadian Robbie Valpreda said “I was fortunate to get the ball to fall. In the first half, I couldn’t catch a pass inside in the paint. But (in the second), I just felt it, so I put it up and fortunately it went in. … We got a good jump and I thought we could put it in cruise control, but soon after I knew I was wrong. … We all came together. Stephen Parker hit his free throws. Phil Scherer stepped up and Reuben Hall pulled down a huge rebound with 30 seconds left. We just didn’t have that mental lapse that we did against Victoria. We were down in the second half but we didn’t hang our heads. We knew we had to chip away.” Horwood said that his half-time talk was stern. “I appealed to their manhood and they sucked it up and got the job done. How’d you like to be in those players shoes? Their season was on the line, looking down the barrel of a gun and the great year they had could come crashing down around their ears. But they showed a lot of character in the second half.” Stephen Parker led Alberta with 23 points on 7-19 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc and 6-7 from the line. Robbie Valpreda added 17 on 5-14 from the line, 5-9 from the arc and 2-5 from the line while grabbing 11 boards. Reuben Hall scored 12 on 5-8 from the floor and 9 boards. Phil Scherer notched 9 on 3-13 from the floor and Ryan Baldry 2. Todd McClenaghan and Chris Trydal each scored 2 off the bench, while Mike Melnychuk added 1. Phil Sudol, Gavin Fedorak, Paul Marr and Brandon Park were scoreless. Alberta shot 22-66 (.333) from the floor, 9-31 (.290) from the arc and 15-22 (.682) from the line, while collecting 41 boards, 20 fouls, 15 assists, 13 turnovers, 1 block and 13 steals, led by Parker’s 7. Nathan Anderson paced St. Mary’s with 18 points on 7-16 from the floor. Colin Allum added 15 on 6-10 from the floor, Gabe Goree 13 before fouling out, Atnas Maeko 5, along with 11 boards, Damon Parachnowitz 2. Ben McCarthy added 3 off the bench and Damon Cole 2, while Jon Thibault, Ibraheim Muhammad, Austin O’Reilly, Shawn Smith and Matt Brooks were scoreless. St. Mary’s shot 19-46 (.413) from the floor, 4-14 from the arc (.286) and 16-28 (.571) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, 18 fouls, 7 assists, 20 turnovers, 2 blocks and 8 steals.

        The 4th-seed Laval Rouge et Or knocked-off two-time defending champ 5th-seed St. Francis Xavier 74-56. The Rouge et Or took an early 21-point lead and cruised to their first win in the history of the tournament. Laval shot the lights out in the first half, sparked by the hot hand of third year forward Samuel Audet-Sow. Laval limited all-Canadian Dennis Oliver to two points. Down by thirteen points at the intermission, “X” looked to ride the fan support to the improbable comeback as the crowd roared with every St. FX score. “The crowd was really loud” remarked Audet-Sow. “It was hard to concentrate with the big lead. We knew we had to block it out and just execute”. The second half saw Laval regain control and maintain their cushion throughout the half with St FX never able to mount a charge.  Five minutes in, Laval was up 49-32. “They seemed like they were a little hungrier than we were,” said Jordan Croucher. “They wanted it more than we did.” Coach Jacques Paiement said previous experience at the nationals was helpful in that the Rouge et Or were far less nervous. “What happened last year was normal. This year, we had a helluva season and we were confident. We’re happy with the way we played because that’s the way we know we can play.” Samuel Audet-Sow led Laval with 16 points on 8-11 from the floor and 9-10 from the line, while grabbing 7 boards and 2 steals. Marc-Antoine Horth added 15 on 6-11 from the floor and 6 boards. Dominique Soucy and David Brownrigg each scored 11, while Charles Fortier notched 5. David Ruel, Remi Cambron and Yannick Boileau each scored 2 off the bench, while David K-Dumont, Philippe Cote-Jacques, Alene Jean-Charles and Donald Lamousnery were scoreless. The Rouge et Or shot 25-49 (.510) from the floor, 5-11 (.455) from the arc, and 19-26 (.731) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, 12 fouls, 12 assists, 17 turnovers, 3 blocks and 12 steals. Jordan Croucher led St. FX with 20 points on 7-18 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Will Jernigan added 10, Dennie Oliver 6 on 3-12 from the floor and 9 boards, E.L. Adams 4 and Jason Kerswill 2. Alex Stephen added 9 off the bench, while John Bustin scored 3, Dion Williams 2, while Mike Budreski, Paul Ricketts, Edwin Reynolds and Mike Baxter were scoreless. St. FX shot 24-67 (.358) from the floor, 5-14 (.357) from the arc and 3-6 (.500) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, 20 fouls, 12 assists, 18 turnovers, 5 blocks and 11 steals.

        The 6th-seed York Yeomen stunned the 3rd-seed Brandon Bobcats 81-77 to reward coach Bob Bain for returning to the nationals for the first time in 20 years. The first half was a close affair that exposed the inexperience on both clubs. York managed nine takeaways, but turned the ball over fourteen times accounting for 19 of Brandon’s 36 first half points. Brandon, which included eight freshmen, held control early leading by seven with five minutes remaining in the half at 30-23. But York rattled off an 11-0 run over the next two minutes to grab the lead at 34-30. Brandon then scored the last six point of the half. But York began to demonstrate the confidence that allowed them to know off the Carleton Ravens in the OUA East Final. “This is our last chance for us fifth year guys” noted Labayen, the 1998 CIS Rookie of the Year, after the game. “We’ve beaten the best teams in the country in Western and Carleton. I don’t know why people are calling us a Cinderella team”. The second half began with a Romas put-back that evened the score at 36 and from there the teams traded shot-for-shot until the final seconds. Brandon took their biggest lead of the half after Josh Masters hit a three-point shot to move the ‘Cats ahead by six, 48-42. But York’s Tom Machesney answered right back with a three of his own, and York began to believe. Second year guard Chaka Harris hit back-to-back baskets that tied the game at 52, and then gave York the lead. Harris scored eight of his fifteen points in the final ten minutes of the game. Brandon’s player of the game Joe Prue from Marysville, Wisconsin tried to keep the Bobcats in it, temporarily restoring the Brandon lead with consecutive buckets to make the score 63-61, but York would not be denied as they dominated the boards and looked controlled, moving ahead by as many as six a couple of times. Down the stretch some horrid free throw shooting by York kept Brandon in the game, but the Yeomen held on by hitting 13-20 free throws down the stretch. Bain, in his 28th year at York, made 14 trips to nations in 70s and 80s before the current dry spell. “I can’t comment on coach Bain’s previous successes. I was too young for that. But I think being here is special for him. He might not show it but it’s special,” said Labayen. Labayen scored 16 for York on 4-7 from the floor and 7-8 from the line, while making 5 steals. Tom Romas added 16 on 7-12 from the floor, Chaka Harris 15 on 5-13 from the floor and 5-11 from the line. Ryan French scored 14 on 6-10 from the floor and Tom McChesney 6. Michael George added 14 off the bench, while Maria Jerome, Scott McLeod, Adam Miller, Ammer Askary, Branislav Misovic and Ryan Miller were scoreless. York shot 26-59 (.441) from the floor, 2-11 from the arc and 27-41 from the line, while garnering 48 boards, including 11 apiece by French, Romas and Harris. York had 22 fouls, 8 assists, 24 turnovers, 3 blocks and 11 steals. Joe Prue led Brandon with 15 points on 6-14 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc and 11-12 from the line, while grabbing 6 boards. Sean Thistle added 9 on 3-10 from the floor, Dido Bunema 9, Josh Masters 7 and Tyrone Smith 2. Nik Quick scored 16 off the bench, Gordon O’Neil 4, Joe Smith 4, Gil Cheung 1, Eric Davis 0, Kwasi Osae-Danso 0 and Charles Jacoway 0. Brandon shot 25-63 (.397) from the floor, 5-20 (.250) from the arc and 22-31 (.710) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, led by Thistle’s 7. The Bobcats had 26 fouls, with Bunema, Tyrone Smith and Master fouling out. They had 8 assists, 19 turnovers, 1 block and 16 steals, led by Quick’s 7.

        In the other quarterfinal, the top-seed Western Mustangs dumped 8th-seed Victoria 71-65 in a rematch of a 2001 quarterfinal. Both teams were tentative early as they shook the jitters but they quickly settled down and traded runs. With the score tied at fourteen half way through the opening frame, Victoria broke out for a 9-0 run to go ahead 23-14. But veteran Western coach Craig Boydell calmly called a timeout and the Mustangs countered with a 11-2 run of their own to knot the score at 25 with six minutes remaining. The teams traded baskets the rest of the way until Adam Peaker hit a short bank shot as time expired to give Western a 37-36 lead at the break. The second half started with Victoria taking charge early as Saxon Player of the Game Sandy Bisaro began to find his outside touch. A Bisaro three-pointer put Victoria ahead 42-39 but Western’s Jimmy Grozelle replied immediately with a trey of his own. The teams would trade three’s again minutes later as Bisaro added three more of his game high 23 but Western’s Peaker had the immediate rebuke. With Victoria enjoying their largest lead of the half at 49-45, CIS MVP Andy Kwiatkowski, who was limited to 29 minutes because of foul trouble, began to take control of the game and led a Western 12-3 run from which the Vikes would never recover from. UVIC managed to cut the score 65-62 with four minutes to go, but the Mustangs defence was nearly perfect the rest of the way holding the Vikes to a Keith Bustard desperation three pointer with just 34 seconds remaining. “The ‘D’ had to come up big at the end and it did,” said Kwiatkowski. “We were pretty scared for a while but our experience showed through in the end. … It was pretty scary (the team’s early struggles). It’s a good thing we fought back. In the second half, we picked up the defence, got a bunch of stops and a bunch of scores and that pretty much decided getting the game.” Mustang Chedo Ndur said he picked up his game in the second half. “I had a terrible first half and I shouldered a lot of blame at halftime in the locker room. I felt like I really let my team down and I just wanted to come out in the second half and do what I do best, which is play defence.” Kwiatkowski led Western with 16 points on 5-11 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc and 4-5 from the line. Chris Brown added 12 on 5-11 from the floor and 9 boards. Ndur scored 12 on 6-15 from the line and 7 boards. Adam Peaker notched 9, Jim Grozelle 8. Scott Seeley scored 12 off the bench, while Sagar Desai notched 2 and Kelsey Green, Mark Nielsen, Tim Shanks, Sean Byrne and Kurt Weiland were scoreless. The Mustangs shot 28-63 (.444) from the floor, 9-21 (.429) from the arc and 6-9 (.667) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, 12 fouls, 21 assists, (led by Grozelle’s 6), 13 turnovers, 5 blocks and 9 steals, led by Ndur’s 4. Sandy Bisaro led Victoria with 23 points on 9-20 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 3-6 from the line while grabbing 6 boards. Keith Bustard scored 13 on 5-12 from the floor, Jason Crawford 10, Shane Doherty 10 and Eric Rushton 3. Jason Tiffin added 5 points and 8 boards off the bench. Nathan Ashmead scored 1, while Reagan Daly, Orlando Fergusson, Trevor Thomas and Chris Spoort were scoreless. The Vikings shot 27-59 (.458) from the floor, 5-12 (.417) from the arc and 6-10 from the line, while garnering 36 boards, 11 fouls, 13 assists, 17 turnovers, 1 block and 7 steals, led by Rushton’s 3.

        In the semis, Alberta defeated York 66-59 after opening the second half with a 13-2 run and holding on for the win. The first half was a battle, with the teams tied four times. But York never trailed in the half as they pulled out to 4-0 lead and countered every attack by the Golden Bears the rest of the way and inched to a 37-31 lead at the break on a Michael George three-pointer as the buzzer sounded. The Bears then exploded with the 13-2 run led by all-Canadian Robbie Valpreda and Stephen Parker. By the time York woke up, their six-point lead had become a five-point deficit at 44-39. A couple of Ryan French putbacks restored the one-point York lead, but Alberta ripped it right back on their next possession, building up a four-point cushion entering the thrilling last three minutes of play. York thought they had drawn to within one point with under two minutes remaining, but a Dean Labayen basket that was originally called a three-pointer was changed to a two. Alberta’s Reuben Hall made it a three-point game again shortly thereafter and after that it was all free-throws. Parker proved the difference as he scored 24 and grabbed 8 boards in the win. “I was saving it up, I guess,” laughed Parker. “This is my fifth and final year and I came in with the attitude that I had to play top notch. I knew I had to perform and now there’s just one game left.” The M.E. Lazerte grad flushed a rebound jam in the first half to ignite the Bears. “The basket is looking Hula-hoop sized these days and I hope it increase even more,” he said. Horwood said Parker’s athleticism is phenomenal. “These last two nights he’s put on a show mostly because he’s brought a lot of energy to the gym. He’s done it defensively, on the boards and in his scoring. And now he’s got one game left. … We’ve been great down the stretch. This was another great effort. It was another tough situation and they dealt with it really well. And I still think we can play better. We’ve still got a best game in us.” All Canadian Robbie Valpreda struggled in the first half but found his range in the second. “I think I’m going to stay a second half player,” said Valpreda. “The first half – I don’t know what’s with me.” Parker finished with 24 points on 10-15 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 3-4 from the line, while grabbing 8 boards. Robbie Valpreda added 12 on, 4-9 from the floor and 10 boards. Phil Scherer scored 12 on 3-12 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc and 5-6 from the line. Reuben Hall notched 6 and grabbed 9 boards, while Ryan Baldry was scoreless. Michael Melnychuk added 7 off the bench and Phil Sudol 5. Chris Trydal, Gavin Fedorak, Paul Marr, Todd McClenaghan and Brandon Park were scoreless. Alberta shot 21-49 (.429) from the floor, 3-15 (.200) from the arc and 21-32 (.656) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, 16 fouls, 5 assists, 17 turnovers, 4 blocks and 8 steals. Ryan French led York with 16 points on 8-12 from the floor and 8 boards. Chaka Harris added 12 on 5-12 from the floor and 12 boards. Dean Labayen scored 10, Tom McChesney 3 and Tom Romas 0. Michael George added 9 off the bench, Branislav Misovic 5, Scott McLeod 2, Adam Miller 2, Ryan Miller 0, Ammer Askary 0 and Maria Jerome 0. The Yeomen shot 25-60 (.417) from the floor, 2-6 (.333) from the arc, and 7-12 (.583) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, 23 fouls (with French and Romas fouling out), 17 assists, (led by McChesney’s 9), 18 turnovers, 3 blocks and 10 steals.

        In the other semi, Western spanked Laval 79-64, avenging a mid-season loss. The game was a classic, with the teams deadlocked eight times. Early on it looked like it would be the Andy Kwiatkowski vs. Charles Fortier show as they traded threes. Kwiatkowski launched a bomb to cut the Laval lead to 8-7 only to have Fortier answer right back. Moments later it was Fortier with another three to put Laval ahead 14-9, but Kwiatkowski replied by hitting back-to-back deuces, followed by a free-throw to knot the score at 14. And so it went for much of the first half. Western wrestled away the lead at the break as they hit the locker room ahead 39-36. The back-and-forth struggle continued into the second frame but it was now the turn of others to shine. Fifth year senior David Brownrigg began the fireworks with a three off the first possession but Kwiatkowski was there again for the immediate three in response. Brownrigg then hit a deuce and then another three to tie the score at 44. The final stretch would see the Mustangs role players take charge as Londoners Chris Brown poured in ten and Sagar Desai added seven, including six in a row, to help Western distance themselves from Laval. Refusing to give up, Laval fouled the Mustangs all the way down the stretch attempting to stay in the game, but it was in vain as Western made most of their free-throws for the 15-point victory. The Rouge et Or led by four early in the first half but were held to just one field goal in the final 10 minutes of play. “We just buckled down and part of it was we figured out their game plan,” said Kwiatkowski, who helped hold Audet-Sow to seven points. “At the end we knew what they were doing. Coach had us fine-tuned and it showed. We got a lot of stops in the last few minutes and that was massive. We weren’t spectacular on offence but we got it done on defence.” Grozelle added that the Mustangs knew Laval was “one of the best in the country and we would have to play a full 40 minutes to beat this team and we did that. Andy showed that he’s not only the best offensive player in the country but, in my opinion, he’s one of the best defensive players as well and he did a great job.” Andy Kwiatkowski led Western with 18 points on 7-13 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc and 2-3 from the line while grabbing 11 boards and making 5 steals and 3 assists. Chris Brown added 18 points on 7-16 from the floor and 4-7 from the line, while grabbing 10 boards. Chedo Ndur scored 13 on 4-6 from the floor, Jimmy Grozelle 12 on 4-9 from the floor and 4-7 from the line while handing out 10 assists and making 3 steals. Adam Peaker scored 3 on 1-7 from the floor. Sagar Desai added 11 off the bench and Kelsey Green 4, while Tim Shanks, Mark Nielsen, Scott Seeley, Sean Byrne and Kurt Weiland were scoreless. The Mustangs shot 28-57 (.491) from the floor, 5-12 (.417) from the arc and 18-28 (.643) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, 16 fouls, 21 assists, 14 turnovers, 4 blocks and 14 steals. David Brownrigg led Laval with 21 points on 5-14 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc and 8-9 from the line. Charles Fortier added 19 on 7-14 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc and 2-3 from the line. Marc-Antoine Horth added 10 on 3-8 from the floor and 8 boards. Samuel Audet-Sow scored 7 and Dominique Soucy 3. David Ruel added 5 off the bench, Remi Cambron 1, Yannick Boileau 1 and Donald Lamousnery 1, while David K-Dumont, Philippe Cote-Jacques and Alene Jean-Charles were scoreless. The Rouge et Or shot 21-51 (.412) from the floor, 8-16 (.500) from the arc and 14-20 (.700) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, 25 fouls (with Horth and Ruel fouling out), 13 assists, 22 turnovers, 2 blocks and 8 steals.

        In the final between the tourney’s two top seeds, the Golden Bears captured their third title by nipping Western 76-71. The Metro Centre’s 6,671 fans were treated to a classic as the teams exchanged leads several times and were tied on nine separate occasions. Western broke out to an early 9-2 lead sparked by a three from Adam Peaker. Tournament MVP Stephen Parker, a fifth-year guard, took control after that scoring the next six points for Alberta and all of their first eight points for the Bears.  With eight minutes to go in the half, Alberta finally drew even on a Parker bomb at 20-20. The score would be tied six more times in the frame until the Bears’ Phil Sudol scored consecutive baskets to give the Golden Bears the lead which they took to the locker room. Tournament all-star Jimmy Grozelle sank a pair of free throws to end the half and keep Western within a point at 38-37. Western shot a sizzling 53.6% from the field in the first half. London native Chris Brown evened the score on the first possession of the second with a free throw but Alberta’s Reuben Hall restored the Alberta lead that the Bears would cling to the rest of the way. The lead would bulge to eight points at 58-50, but Western would not go away. Spurred by the three-point shooting of Kwiatkowski the Mustangs clawed to within four with seven minutes to go and cut it to two when Brown converted a rebound and then a free throw with under three minutes to go. But the story in this game was Stephen Parker, who in his last ever CIS game, would not be denied a championship. With 1:04 on the clock Parker drove the lane and sank an unbelievable, Jordanesque-circus shot to restore the four-point Alberta lead. Kwiatkowski replied with two free-throws to set up the tense final minute. Within two points and 18 ticks on the clock, Kwiatkowski circled to the left but with no clear shot, attempted a pass to the top of the arc. Crushing the Mustangs hopes for their second title was Parker who intercepted the pass and went the length of the floor for the most sensational dunk of the tournament, putting the perfect exclamation on his university career. His acrobatic, on-the-edge-of-out-control reverse layups gave Alberta a 71-67 lead with 1:20 TO play. After a pair of Kwiatkowski free throws cut the lead to two, Parker’s steal of a Kwiatkowski pass and breakaway layup punctuated the win. The two steals and the dunk “couldn’t have come at a better time and they seemed a little demoralized after that,” said Parker. “They were right in the game the whole time and it’s unfortunate that one of these teams had to lose. I’m just happy it wasn’t us. (As for the circus layup,) this is where you have to pull out all the stops. What can I say? I aimed it at the basket and it went in.” Horwood said Parker “was awesome. … last week, Stephen had two tough games in our playoffs. I don’t think he scored a point in the first one. But I could see it as soon as we walked into this building this week. He just seemed to lock in. He hasn’t played three games like this all season.” Horwood added Melnychuk was outstanding in scoring 17 off the bench. “We played badly (Saturday) but we knew we had to go back to him and (today) he was outstanding.” Valpreda said that Parker “is the most athletic guy in Canada. That reverse layup was unbelievable. We’ve never seen him do that before.” Kwiatkowski concurred. “Everyone knows he’s an athlete, but in that first half, when he hit that three (a step-back three when the game was tied at 20), that was impressive to me. His reputation is just as a superior athlete but he hit some shots too.” Valpreda continued his second-half heroics. “Three days in a row I played better in the second half and getting a shot at the end of the half, my head was hanging pretty low and I was frustrated in the locker room,” he said. “Coach came over and gave me a pat on the back and said, ‘you’re too good a player. Those shots will start to fall.’ All the guys gave me a pat and I decided that I had to dig deep for the last 20 minutes.” Horwood said that at the start of the year, “I had a sense that we had a good team that had a chance to win. I knew we had enough horses, enough firepower, that we had outside shooting and an inside game. I knew we had all the pieces. It was just a matter of how quickly it would come together.” The Bears may also have had a bit of kharma playing on St. Patrick’s Day, he added. “We wore green uniforms, so we figured we had the luck of the Irish.” Mike Melnychuk said that losing to Victoria in the Canada West finals also played a factor. “We realized we had a second chance and that we weren’t invincible. I think we grew off that we learned against Simon Fraser how to win a tight game. It was evident today that we had total confidence in each other. It was a great awakening. … We couldn’t have asked for a better day. I went to bed dreaming that this would be the end result. I’m never going to forget this.” Western coach Craig Boydell said that “our defence was outstanding, absolutely outstanding. But we can’t defend them at the fall line. …We ran enough offence to score but they obviously beat us at the foul line. They had 35 foul shots and we had 17. That’s a big discrepancy – more than enough for a five-point spread. It’s too bad. We worked hard for this and we certainly played well enough to win against an outstanding team. Sometimes there’s things you can’t control and that’s what takes you out. … We have a tremendous defensive team. But we can’t defend them at the free throw line. We’re not allowed to do that. It’s a simple fact. There was a tremendous discrepancy.” Kwiatkowski called the outcome disappointing. “I thought we were a better team and could have beaten them by 10 or 15 points if we played loose and played our game. I think it was pure nerves and it showed at both ends. We were like a deer in the headlights.” Parker celebrated. “You can’t feel much better than this. We knew from the beginning of the year that we were the best team and we just had to come out and prove it. … We knew we were the number one team in the country. Our goal was to make it to nationals, make it to the championship game and win it. Our goals have been fulfilled.” Stephen Parker paced Alberta with 17 points on 7-14 from the floor, 4 boards and 3 steals. Reuben Hall added 14 on 3-7 from the floor, 8-8 from the line and 7 boards. Robbie Valpreda scored 12 on 3-12 from the floor, 6-9 from the line and 8 boards. Phil Scherer scored 9 on 1-4 from the floor, 7-10 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Ryan Baldry was scoreless while grabbing 2 boards. Mike Melnychuk scored 17 off the bench on 6-10 from the floor, 3-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Phil Sudol notched 7 on 2-3 from the floor, while Chris Trydal, Gavin Fedorak, Paul Marr, Todd McClenaghan and Brandon Park were scoreless. The Golden Bears shot 22-51 (.431) from the floor, 4-11 (.364) from the arc and 28-35 (.800) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 7 assists, 15 turnovers, 2 blocks and 7 steals. Andy Kwiatkowski paced the Mustangs with 25 points on 9-19 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 7 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Chris Brown scored 9 on 4-11 from the floor and 6 boards. Jim Grozelle scored 9 on 2-6 from the floor. Chedo Ndur scored 8 on 4-8 from the floor, while Adam Peaker scored 5 on 2-5 from the floor and 6 boards. Kelsey Green added 13 off the bench on 5-6 from the floor and 5 boards. Sagar Desai scored 2, while Tim Shanks, Scott Seeley, Sean Byrne, Mark Nielsen and Kurt Weiland were scoreless. The Mustangs shot 27-58 (.466) from the floor, 5-14 (.357) from the arc and 12-17 (.706) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 23 fouls, 14 assists, 17 turnovers, 2 blocks and 6 steals. Alberta finished (35-3) on the season.

        The all-tourney team featured: MVP Stephen Parker (Alberta); Dean Labayen (York); David Brownrigg (Laval); Andy Kwiatkowski (Western); Jimmy Grozelle (Western); Robbie Valpreda (Alberta)

        The co-bronze medalist Laval Rouge et Or: Samuel Audet-Sow, Marc-Antoine Horth; Dominique Soucy; David Brownrigg; Charles Fortier; David Ruel; Remi Cambron; David Kirouac-Dumont; Yannick Boileau; Philippe Cote-Jacques; Alene Jean-Charles; Donald Lamousnery; coach Jacques Paiement

        The co-bronze medalist York Lions: Danny Amponsah; Ryan French; Mike George; Dean Labayen; Tom McChesney; Branislav Misovic; Tom Romas; Ammer Askary; Chaka Harris; Scott McLeod; Ryan Millar; Adam Miller; Jerome Sta. Maria; coach Bob Bain; athletic director Patricia Murray

        The silver medalist Western Mustangs: Andy Kwiatkowski, Chris Brown, Chedo Ndur, Jimmy Grozelle, Adam Peaker, Scott Seeley, Kelsey Green, Sagar Desai, Tim Shanks, Kurt Weiland, Mark Nielsen, Sean Byrne, Nick Salomans; Ryan O’Neill; Mark Porte; coach Craig Boydell, assistant Pete Schmidt; assistant Brad Campbell; assistant Maria Mountain; physiotherapist Steve Diacca; trainer John Thompson; SID Brian Snelgrove; athletic director Dan Smith

        The champion Alberta Golden Bears: Stephen Parker; Reuben Hall; Robbie Valpreda; Phil Scherer; Michael Melnychuk; Chris Trydal; Ryan Baldry; Phil Sudol; Gavin Fedorak; Paul Marr; Todd McClenaghan; Kevin Petterson;

Brandon Park; coach Don Horwood; athletic director Kim Gordon; assistant Scott Martell; assistant Murray Scambler; assistant Cliff Rowein; assistant Tim Maloney; trainer Dawn Caldwell; trainer Lesley Lush; administrative assistant Tania McQueen; SID Bob Stauffer