| (1) | Carleton | 66 | ||||||
| (8) | Alberta | 57 | Carleton | 80 | ||||
| (4) | Laval | 77 | Acadia | 82 | Acadia | 61 | ||
| (5) | Acadia | 85 | ||||||
| —–BROCK | ||||||||
| (2) | U.B.C. | 78 | ||||||
| (7) | Brock | 83 | Brock | 85 | Brock | 64 | ||
| (3) | St. Mary’s | 70 | Western | 75 | ||||
| (6) | Western | 75 |
In the quarterfinals, held at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, the 7th-seeded Brock Badgers stunned the 2nd-seeded U.B.C. 83-78, the fifth consecutive nationals visit in which the Thunderbirds were dispatched to the consolation draw by a lower seed. Experience trumped boardwork in one of the most physical and entertaining quarterfinals in CIS history as Brock pulled off its upset. Despite being badly out-rebounded, the Badgers took a 38-30 lead at the half on good ball distribution from point guard Brad Rootes, solid three-point shooting and early Thunderbird confusion in handling a zone. The Badgers began getting sloppy, though, and a giveaway by Mike Kemp ignited an 11-0 Thunderbird run early in the second half. Rootes and Scott Murray answered with treys as Brock regained the lead but Brent Malish kept pounding away in the blocks and the team kept trading the lead until the final minutes. Brock’s experience and decision-making proved the difference down the stretch. Murray drilled a trey and then Owen White hit a trio of tough buckets, including an unbelievable spinning layup as Brock took a 72-64 lead and then iced the win on slashing layup by Rootes and a trey by Kemp. White said the Badgers work ethic proved the difference. “They out-rebounded us and they were a little bit more physical but when it came down to it, we got the loose balls that we need to get at the right time.” Rootes added the squad’s cohesion was equally instrumental. “We trust each other. We feel we know how to win and if we have a lead down the stretch, we’re not going to give it up. We knew we could play with anybody. People have been calling us overrated all season long but I like to think of it as underachieving.” Coach Ken Murray was elated by the Badgers poise. “We made very few mistakes and when they made a mistake, we tried to capitalize on it. … Coming in, I thought Carleton was the favourite and that from No. 2 to No. 8, all the teams were pretty balanced. This is one of the most balanced field I’ve seen in years at Nationals. I’m just happy for our fifth-year guys, Brad (Rootes), Scott (Murray), Rohan (Steen), they all had solid games. They’re the ones who stepped up for us. We let them (UBC) back in the game a couple of times but we remained poised. Our experience was key.” Thunderbirds coach Kevin Hanson was “dumbfounded” and disconsolate over the fifth consecutive national’s loss to a lower-seeded unit, particularly after re-tooling his squad to make it more physical and defensive this season. “It doesn’t make you love your job when it continues to happen,” Hanson said, surmising his troops were hurt by a two-week layoff after the Canada West playoffs. “The first four times it happens, you look at yourself, you look at what you’re doing right and doing wrong. And now it happens again. As a coach, you certainly take responsibility. Maybe the week off we get after the Canada West Final Four doesn’t do us any favours. I don’t know. I give them (Brock) full credit. They’re a veteran team. They made the big shots when they had to.” Malish said that “I don’t know what to say. It’s hard to explain. It’s just very tough right now.” White was chosen player of the game for Brock, while Malish earned the laurels for U.B.C. Brock led 19-18, 38-30 and 52-50 at the quarters. Owen White paced Brock with 22 on 9-14 from the floor, 4-5 from the line and 9 boards. Scott Murray notched 18 on 5-9 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 5-6 from the line and 4 assists. Brad Rootes scored 16 on 4-10 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 6-7 from the line, 6 boards and 7 assists. Mike Kemp scored 12 on 5-15 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc and 4 boards. Rohan Steen notched 9 on 2-8 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 4 assists. Dusty Bianchin scored 6 on 2-8 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 5 boards. Sam Brefo and Mike Muir were scoreless. The Badgers shot 27-66 (.409) from the floor, 9-26 (.346) from the arc and 20-24 (.833) from the line, while garnering 28 boards, including 5 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 17 assists, 10 turnovers, 3 blocks and 9 steals. Brent Malish paced U.B.C. with 18 on 8-17 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 9 boards and 3 assists. Chris Dyck scored 16 on 7-18 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 6 boards and 4 assists. Bryson Kool scored 13 on 6-10 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 8 boards. Matt Rachar notched 10 on 3-6 from the floor, 4-5 from the line and 8 boards. Alex Murphy scored 9 on 2-7 from the floor, 5-5 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Blain LaBranche scored 7 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Kyle Watson scored 5 on 2-3 from the floor and 3 boards. Brett Leversage was scoreless. The Thunderbirds shot 30-66 (.455) from the floor, 3-17 (.176) from the arc and 15-19 (.789) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 12 assists, 16 turnovers, 1 block and 6 steals. The Thunderbirds (coached by Hanson, assisted by Randy Nohr, Les Brown, Vern Knopp and Jordan Yu) also included Nathan Yu, Graham Bath, Balraj Bains and Sean Maxwell.
The 6th-seeded University of Western Ontario Mustangs stunned 3rd-seeded Atlantic champ St. Mary’s 75-70. The Mustangs rode a mix of balanced scoring, exceptional game management by point guard Matt Curtis, flawless post defence from Colin LaForme and an unexpected 15-point outburst from freshman Ryan Barbeau of Belleville to their upset win. Curtis set the tone quickly as he nailed several tough jumpers and delivered a series of perfect feeds to set teammates for uncontested buckets as Western built a 36-23 lead at the half, while capitalizing on St. Mary’s lackadaisical defence and offensive inertia. Shane Morrison, though, kept scrapping and attacking the hoop as St. Mary’s rallied to within 71-70 with a minute to play. But Curtis and Barbeau had the answers from the free throw line. Curtis and LaForme said the Mustangs attitude was instrumental in the upset. “We just played loose and free. There’s no pressure on us. Nobody expected us to be here,” said Curtis. LaForme added that “we’re confident in our team right now. We got something good going and we’re going to roll with it,” added LaForme. Coach Brad Campbell said Curtis’ leadership was critical in helping his troops shake their nationals’ jitters. “He hit that big three early and the guys suddenly relaxed and realized, we can play with these guys. This is a huge win for our program. This team has battled all year, and we kept on battling today. We didn’t panic when they started closing in. We battled until the end.” Curtis said “we’re an up-tempo team, that’s our style, we wanted to come out fast. We did the same thing against them (Saint Mary’s) at the UNB tournament early in the season, we built a big lead and let them come back. We knew we could hold off the charge.” Morrison said the Huskies simply “came out flat” and dug themselves too big a hole to crawl out of. Huskies coach Ross Quackenbush lamented his troop’s selfish play. “We had too many guys trying to do too much by themselves. We didn’t have good ball movement. We had a lot of guys go one-on-one.” Curtis was chosen player of the game for Western, while Shane Morrison earned the laurels for St. Mary’s. Western led 14-9, 36-23 and 56-53 at the quarters. Matthew Curtis led the Mustangs with 15 on 5-13 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 4 boards and 8 assists. Bradley Smith scored 15 on 6-19 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards. Ryan Barbeau scored 15 on 5-6 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 4 assists. Jason Milliquet scored 11 on 4-12 from the floor, 3-10 from the arc and 4 boards. Colin LaForme added 10 on 5-9 from the floor and 8 boards. Andrew Wedemire added 4 on 4-4 from the line and 8 boards. Alex Mrzozowicz notched 3 on 1-4 from the arc and 3 boards. Adam Ruickbie scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor and 5 boards, while Alan Paron was scoreless. The Mustangs shot 27-71 (.380) from the floor, 9-28 (.321) from the arc and 12-14 (.857) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 15 assists, 11 turnovers, 4 blocks and 2 steals. Shane Morrison paced Saint Mary’s with 27 on 11-17 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 4-8 from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals. Mark McLaughlin added 18 on 7-13 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 2 steals. Ikeobi Uchegbu notched 12 on 6-19 from the floor and 5 boards. Aaron Duncan scored 7 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-1 from the line, 2-6 from the line, 16 boards and 3 assists. Mark Ross scored 4 on 2-3 from the floor and 8 assists. Derrick Coleman scored 2 on 1-7 from the floor and 4 boards. Jack Gallinaugh and Luke Reynolds were scoreless. The Huskies shot 29-65 (.446) from the floor, 3-8 (.375) from the arc and 9-20 (.450) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 14 fouls, 13 assists, 12 turnovers, 3 blocks and 8 steals. The Huskies (coached by Quackenbush, assisted by Jonah Taussig and Augy Jones) also included Peter Gilfoy, Jazzmen Cain, Mike Poole, Zach Wallace, Iain Robertson and Brandon Mullins.
The 5th-seeded Acadia Axemen nearly squandered a 19-point lead but survived the fourth-seeded Laval Rouge et Or 85-77. It’s hard to imagine better evidence of the value of offensive boardwork than that witnessed in Acadia’s spanking of Laval. Laval took an early 20-11 lead as Acadia dozed defensively but the Axemen began to crash the offensive glass and exploded for 17 unanswered points including a trio of silky-smooth buckets in the low post by Ottawa product Leonel Saintil. The shell-shocked Rouge et Or began to completely neglect their defensive box-outs, allowing the Axemen to play ping-pong on the offensive glass and collect a raft of putback rebounds to extend their lead to 39-28 at the half. Laval continued to stand around and watch as Acadia expanded its lead to 19 before awakening from their slumber and rallying within two down the stretch on the perimeter shooting of Jean-Francois Beaulieu-Maheux. Shawn Berry notched a putback rebound and Saintil pilfered the ball for a transition layup as Acadia withstood the late challenge and iced it at the line. Saintil said the Axemen were determined to show better than in last year’s 46-point quarterfinal blowout loss to Carleton. “Rebounding and defence. That was our focus. And we don’t think of this result as an upset.” Acadia coach Les Berry said his Axemen “forced (Laval) into some tough shots, which gave us an opportunity to get some rebounds. … A year ago, we were humbled in the quarterfinal by Carleton, but this year we fought through the nerves after a slow start, made good adjustments and got into a grove in the second quarter. Leonel showed the crowd tonight why he was named MVP of our conference as they took control of the glass in the second quarter and carried us to the win as he has done so often this year.” Laval coach Jacques Paiement said Acadia “exposed our biggest weakness. We just got killed on the boards. That hasn’t been our forte all season. We’re not very physical. … Rebounds are like bonus possessions. Not only did we give a good team like Acadia a second chance to score, we didn’t give our team a chance to set up on offence.” Saintil was chosen player of the game for Acadia, while Beaulieu-Maheux earned the laurels for Laval. Acadia led 39-38 at the half. Laval led 63-62 after three quarters. Leonel Saintil paced Acadia with 27 on 11-18 from the floor, 5-9 from the line, 10 boards and 2 steals. Shawn Berry notched 25 on 8-15 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 8-9 from the line and 6 boards. Andrew Kraus scored 12 on 4-6 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards and 4 assists. Achuil Lual added 6 on 3-6 from the floor and 8 boards. Peter Leighton scored 4, Paulo Santana 4, Alex Traikov 4, Patrick McIver 2 and Luckern Dieu 1. The Axemen shot 31-61 (.508) from the floor, 4-13 (.308) from the arc and 19-26 (.731) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 14 fouls, 9 assists, 18 turnovers, 2 blocks and 9 steals. Jean-Francois Beaulieu Maheux paced Laval with 28 on 11-20 from the floor, 4-10 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 steals. Jean-Philippe Morin added 15 on 7-16 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Xavier Baribeau added 10 on 3-8 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc and 4 assists. Jerome Turcotte-Routhier notched 10 on 4-9 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 6 boards. Francois-Olivier Gagnon-Hebert scored 7 on 3-5 from the floor. Marc-Andre Cote scored 5 on 1-1 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Marc-Andre Lefebvre added 3, while Etienne Wilsey and Maxime Cloutier were scoreless. The Rouge et Or hit 30-63 (.476) from the floor, 9-24 (.375) from the arc and 8-12 from the line, while garnering 20 boards, including 5 on the offensive glass, 22 fouls, 13 assists, 18 turnovers, 1 block and 12 steals. The Rouge et Or (coached by Paiement, assisted by Jacques Paiement Jr. and Samuel Audet-Sow) also included Jean-Sebastien Allaire, Kevin Crevant, Yves-Andre Levasseur and Martin Verreault.
In the last quarterfinal,
the host Carleton Ravens took advantage of the comfort of home to clock the
University of Alberta Golden Bears 66-57. The Ravens rode a familiar
environment, friendly rims, enthusiastic supporters hell-bent on helping the
cause by intimidating the foes with a measure, albeit small, of ear-splitting
din, to their 18th-consecutive tournament win, tying the record set by the University
of Victoria Vikings from 1980-86. It also marked the first time in 25 years, a
non-Atlantic squad had the home-court edge in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport
men’s basketball championships. Yet the Ravens often looked anything but the
juggernaut that heading into the championships, had rolled over 31 consecutive Canadian
foes. Their offence was often tentative but their defence was generally solid
while pulling out the win before a relatively sparse crowd. The announced
attendance was 31,632, indicating organizers plan only to reveal the running
total of tickets sold for the three-day event. Carleton won it, essentially, at
the line, hitting 19-of-32 free throws, while the Golden Bears were 11-of-16 as
four of their starters fouled out. The Ravens got off to one of their
archetypal quick starts. Rob Saunders fed a perfect low post entry pass to
Jean-Emmanuel Jean-Marie for a layup. Aaron Doornekamp posted up for a fallaway
six-foot jumper. Left wide open as the Golden Bears double-teamed Doornekamp in
the blocks, Jean-Marie drained a 10-footer. Andrew Parker countered with a
15-foot jump shot for Alberta but Saunders nailed a trey, Stuart Turnbull
knifed into the paint for a layup, while Doornekamp and Kevin McCleery hammered
15-footers as Carleton extended its lead to double digits. The Ravens, though,
became uncharacteristically sloppy in their ballhandling and committed a series
of unforced turnovers, while forcing several bad shots, as Alberta rallied to
within 18-16 on an aggressive penetration layup and a three-pointer by Neb Aleksic.
Mike Kenny plowed down a trey, Turnbull added a putback rebound and Doornekamp a
pull-up 17-footer, as well as a transition finger roll layup as Carleton responded
with nine unanswered points. Turnovers and a curious unwillingness to take the
open perimeter jumper continued to plague the Ravens, allowing the Golden Bears
to claw within hailing distance, at 29-21, before Doornekamp hit four free
throws and Ryan Bell a pair from the line to give Carleton a 35-23 lead heading
into the lockers at half-time. The game continued to be played at a snail’s
pace early in the second half and the Ravens began bouncing balls off the rims as
Alberta maintained their discipline and patience to inch within 40-36 on a trio
of six-foot runners by Harvey Bradford. Kenny finally got Carleton back on track
with a three-pointer after being left alone on the perimeter. Fredericton-born
freshman Elliott Thompson added a pair of free throws, Doornekamp a 10-foot leaner,
and Turnbull a driving layup as Carleton ripped off a 9-0 run to regain a
double-digit lead. Aleksic, though, wouldn’t quit and promptly pounded down a
pair of treys. But the Ravens remained stoic on defence, though, which allowed
them to maintain a workable 9-11-point cushion for most of the final quarter. Kenny
and Doornekamp both drew charges and Jean-Marie made a critical steal as Carleton
withstood a final Bears rally and hung on for the win. “We got the W. That’s what
matters,” said Jean-Emmanuelle Jean-Marie. “We knew they were going to bring it
and that they were going to be physical. We didn’t back down but I don’t think
we did a really good job on defence. We still have some tightening to do.” CIS
player of the year Aaron Doornekamp called it an “extremely sloppy” win. “If we
do that again, we’re not winning.” Guard Stuart Turnbull, though, called it a “classic,
ugly nationals win. We’ll take three of those it means another title.” Ravens
coach Dave Smart said his troops “defended pretty well. Obviously, there’s some
holes and we played a little tight. A lot of guys played tight offensively but
we got it done with defence and rebounding. Like it has been all year long, our
defence came through for us when we couldn’t make a shot and we were able to
score just enough points to win,” said Ravens head coach Dave Smart.
Alberta coach Don Horwood said his troops were out-quicked. “They’re tough defensively
and they’re tough on the boards. That’s the stuff that beats you. It’s just the
grinding. They just grind it out. They just beat you to the boards and they beat
you to the rebounds. We had a lot of chances to win this game tonight but were
beaten to the loose balls. We were out rebounded 18-4 on the offensive glass
and when you give a team like the Ravens a second chance, you’re going to get yourselves
in trouble.” Doornekamp was chosen player of the game for the Ravens, while
Aleksic earned the laurels for Alberta. Aaron Doornekamp paced the Ravens with
22 on 8-14 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 5-11 from the line and 5 boards.
Stuart Turnbull notched 13 on 5-17 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc, 3-5 from
the line, 9 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Mike Kenny scored 8 on 2-5 from the
arc and 2-4 from the line. Jean-Emmanuelle Jean-Marie scored 8 on 3-9 from the
floor, 2-3 from the line and 6 boards. Rob Saunders scored 6 on 2-4 from the
arc and 5 boards. Ryan Bell scored 5 on 0-6 from the arc and 5-7 from the line.
Elliott Thompson notched 2 and Kevin McCleery 2, along with 5 boards. Cole Hobin,
Daron Leonard, Neal Dawson and Aaron Chapman were scoreless. The Ravens shot 21-62
(.339) from the floor, 5-22 (.227) from the arc and 19-32 (.594) from the line,
while garnering 37 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 9 assists,
14 turnovers, 1 block and 8 steals. Neb Aleksic paced Alberta with 15 on 5-7
from the floor, 3-4 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Alex Steele added 13 on
4-8 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 5 boards. Harvey
Bradford scored 8 on 4-6 from the floor and 5 boards. Andrew Parker scored 7 on
2-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 2-4 from the line. C.G. Morrison added
6 on 2-9 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Richard Bates scored 4 on 2-5 from
the floor and 5 boards. Justin VanLoo added 2, Scott Leigh 1 and James Suderman
1, while Patrick Unger and Braydon Janzen were scoreless. Alberta shot 20-48
(.417) from the floor, 6-12 from the arc and 11-16 (.688) from the line, while
garnering 24 boards, including 4 on the offensive glass, 32 fouls, 6 assists,
14 turnovers and 7 steals. The Golden Bears (coached by Horwood, assisted by
Cliff Rowein, Murray Scambler, Ryan Dunkley and Clayton Pottinger) also
included Eric Casey, Patrick Maloney, Matthew Clark and Jeff Stork.
The first semi was an all-Ontario University Athletics affair, although the company line had in that the division was a weak link among the nation’s five basketball conferences this season, featuring a number of solid units but none with the special flair distinguishing a contender. It turned out, though, that the conference was flying under the radar screen as teams beat each other up during the regular season and exchanged losses that took some of the luster off their records. In a reprise of their postseason conference final (which Western won 79-62), the 7th-seeded Badgers avenged the loss by tripping the sixth-seeded Mustangs 85-75 on a career-high 25 points and 14 rebounds by post Owen White, who said Brock was eager for a rematch. “We had revenge on our mind. They (Western) took away our chance to win the Wilson Cup (OUA championship) two weeks ago so we wanted to get back at them by preventing them from winning the national championship.” Playmaker Brad Rootes added that “this was the team we wanted to play. They stopped our chances of getting the OUA title and we wanted revenge.” Forward Brad Smith finally flashed the form that led to his selection as a second–team OUA West all-star as the Mustangs took the early lead. Smith scored Western’s first 11 points and then punctuated the start with a slam dunk in transition and a 15-foot jumper to give Western a 20-16 edge. But Rootes kept threading perfect feeds to White in the low post as the Badgers rallied to knot the score at 27, with White scoring nine consecutive. Brock took its first lead on a 15-foot jumper by Dusty Bianchin. Rootes promptly found Rohan Steen on a cut. White notched a putback rebound and then added two free throws to cap a 12-2 run to close out the half as the Badgers took a 35-29 lead into the lockers. Remarkably, White almost had a double-double on the half, scoring 19 and ripping down 9 boards. The second half was a game of runs, individual and otherwise. Jason Milliquet nailed a trey to ignite a 7-0 Western run. Rootes answered with a trio of free throws that triggered an 11-3 Brock run. Andrew Wedemire came off the bench and began attacking with the penetration dribble, exploding for 11 consecutive Western points to rally the Mustangs within 51-50. Steen notched five straight as Brock and Rootes buried a trey against an expiring shot clock as Brock exploded with an 11-2 run. Steen embedded a three-point dagger to give Brock a 15-point lead and although Western delivered a last gasp 9-1 run, the Badgers iced it at the line. Brock coach Ken Murray said White was phenomenal. “I’ve never seen Owen so aggressive out there. I was a little concerned entering the tournament about his lack of experience on the national stage, but he proved he belonged by pulling down seven offensive rebounds tonight. … The fifth-year guys really stepped up. We’re where we wanted to be, where we expected to be, with one game to go.” Western coach Brad Campbell said his troops were simply outmuscled. “They beat us up inside and they were more physical than we were. The free throw total was 43-13 (shots for Brock over Western). That’s kind of a sign of teams getting to the rim on you and controlling the rebounds. They won the battle inside. … I have never seen Owen (White) play a game like that. They beat us up inside this evening. They beat us in the paint and on the boards and that was reflected in the fact that they went to the line 43 times compared to 13 for us.” Owen White was chosen player of the game for Brock, while Andrew Wedemire earned the laurels for Western. Western led 20-18 after one quarter. Brock led 35-29 at the half and 59-54 after three quarters. Owen White paced Brock with 25 on 8-17 from the floor, 9-16 from the line, 14 boards and 4 assists. Brad Rootes added 17 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 12-13 from the line, 4 boards and 5 assists. Rohan Steen notched 14 on 4-12 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 3 boards and 3 assists. Mike Kemp scored 12 on 4-12 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 7 boards. Dusty Bianchin scored 11 on 5-9 from the floor, 1-3 from the line and 2 boards. Mike Muir scored 5 on 2-4 from the floor and 3 boards. Scott Murray added 1 on 1-4 from the floor and 7 boards. Sam Brefo was scoreless. The Badgers shot 256-2 (.403) from the floor, 5-21 (.238) from the arc and 30-43 (.698) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 15 assists, 11 turnovers, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Bradley Smith paced Western with 24 on 11-21 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 0-4 from the line and 5 boards. Andrew Wedemire scored 15 on 7-10 from the floor, 1-3 from the line and 4 boards. Jason Milliquet scored 12 on 4-7 from the arc and 4 boards. Adam Ruickbie scored 10 on 4-6 from the floor and 2-4 from the line. Matthew Curtis scored 7 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 5 boards and 6 assists. Colin LaForme scored 5 on 2-7 from the floor and 6 boards. Alex Brzozowicz added 2, while Brett Lawrence, Ryan Barbeau, Jordan Smith, Garrett Olexiuk and Alan Paron were scoreless. The Mustangs shot 32-70 (.457) from the floor, 7-19 (.368) from the arc and 4-13 (.308) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 29 fouls, 16 assists, 12 turnovers, 2 blocks and 6 steals.
The epicenter of the earthquake was Scotiabank Place. In the rubble lay the Carleton Ravens’ erstwhile dreams of collecting a sixth consecutive Canadian Interuniversity Sport men’s basketball championship. In what, without question, will go down in history as the most incredible semi-final in Canadian Interuniversity Sports hoops history, a double-overtime affair before 9,316 rabid fans, the Acadia Axemen ended the Carleton Ravens’ dreams of a sixth consecutive crown with an 82-80 win in double-overtime to avenge a 48-point loss in the 2007 quarterfinals. “I’ve never been involved in anything like this,” said Acadia centre Leonel Saintil. “I’ll never be able to explain this. This is the kind of game I’m going to talk about to my grandchildren for the rest of my life and I’ll still never be able to explain it.” With Aaron Doornekamp struggling to find his touch, the Ravens post defence seeming unable to contain Leonel Saintil in the blocks and Carleton passing up open looks, the Ravens fell behind 19-15 after one quarter after shooting a dreary 4-of-17 from the field. Peter Leighton drilled a trey and Luckern Dieu drove for a layup as Acadia extended its lead to nine before Ryan Bell fed Doornekamp for a bucket to end a prolonged six-minute Carleton scoring drought. The Axemen, though, weren’t able to deliver any kind of knockout punch while the Ravens maintained their discipline and poise despite undertaking their best imitation of bricklayers. Eventually, Stuart Turnbull drilled five free throws, while Mike Kenny nailed his second trey of the half, before Turnbull drove the baseline for a layup to rally Carleton within 28-27 at the half. Carleton opened the second half with a pair of defensive stops, while Jean-Emmanuelle Jean-Marie nailed a baseline jumper and Turnbull drove for a layup as Carleton took the lead. Doornekamp nailed an 18-footer and Rob Saunders knifed into the paint for a layup as the Ravens extended their margin to 35-30. Kenny and Saunders each added treys as Carleton carved a bit of breathing space at 41-33. but Saintil posted-up for a pair of buckets, Leighton nailed a 17-footer and drove the baseline for a reverse layup, before Paolo Santana hit a 10-foot jumper and then pilfered the ball and raced for a transition layup as Acadia responded with an 14-0 run to regain the lead at 47-41. Neil Dawson finally stemmed the bleeding with a baby hook but Leighton drained another trey, Santana streaked for another layup and Andrew Kraus hit a bomb from 30-feet at the third-quarter buzzer as Acadia extended its lead to 54-45. The Ravens, though, kept scrapping. Saunders drilled another trey, Doornekamp a free throw on an unsportsmanlike foul. Kenny drilled his fourth trey of the night and then Doornekamp drained one from beyond the arc as Carleton cut the margin to 56-55 with six minutes to play. Leighton answered with a pair of 18-footers to rebuild the Acadia lead to five. Bell countered with a trey and a 15-footer and Jean-Marie drilled a 15-foot baseline jumper to give Carleton a 62-61 lead with 1:53 to play. Acadia scrapped back with a Kraus jumper and a Saintil bucket in the blocks to take a 65-64 lead with 55 seconds to play. Turnbull, though, stripped the ball from Santana for a layup to give Carleton a 66-65 with 16 seconds to play. Santana knotted the score at 66 on a free throw with 7.8 seconds to play before Turnbull missed a chance to win it in regulation by pulling the string on a 6-foot jumper. Bell hit a pair of free throws, a trey and a 10-foot pull-up jumper as Carleton took a 74-71 lead with under a minute to play but Leighton nailed a trey from the corner with 22.7 seconds to play to knot the score before the Ravens again fumbled away an opportunity to win it, forcing a second overtime. Saintil posted up for a bucket, Leighton hit a 10-foot runner and Berry a putback rebound as Acadia took an 80-74 lead. Turnbull answered with a trey and Bell tipped in a rebound. Berry appeared to ice for the Axemen on a putback rebound but the table officials declared that there’d been a shot clock violation and the bucket was taken off the scoreboard with 21.4 seconds to play. Doornekamp missed the first of two free throws with 10 seconds to play and then a bomb at the buzzer that would have won it or forced a third extra session. Acadia coach Les Berry said his Axemen had last year’s quarterfinal loss on their minds. “The guys knew how we lost last year. It was a very humbling experience on our home court. It was just a really good, really good team effort for us tonight. … That’s karma. Twenty years ago, our assistant coach Kevin Veinot ended Victoria’s streak of 18 straight wins at Nationals in the semifinal round of the Final 8 so we had a feeling coming into tonight’s game that we too could do something special.” Stuart Turnbull said the Ravens simply couldn’t find their offensive rhythm. “Luckily, we played some defence so it kind of kept us in the game and we made a nice run in the third quarter but the offensive well kind of ran dry for us and that really hurt us. It felt like we were fighting from behind ever since we fell behind in that third quarter. Aaron Doornekamp noted that “I probably went 0-for-30. You’re not going to win the game when your best players don’t make a shot. (Lual) didn’t do anything. I got every shot I wanted. I just didn’t make any shots. … I’ve seen every matchup. I’ve played four years. I’ve seen every matchup. He didn’t do anything. I just missed shots.” Les Berry said that Lual’s defence on Doornekamp was exceptional. “He’s long, he challenges shots and he competes. He has more intensity than anyone in this whole building and he gave another great effort on the player of the year.” Carleton assistant coach Dean Petridis said “credit Acadia. They came out hard for the full 50 minutes. Every time they got up and we clawed back, they kept fighting, fighting and fighting. We fought back and they just kept fighting.” Turnbull notes that “broadly speaking, we didn’t really, for a lot of the time, hit shots that we should have or, another part of the time, we didn’t get quality shots for ourselves. That was a real problem. We stopped them how we wanted to pretty much on defence, and rebounded well, but consistently hitting quality shots was a big problem.” Turnbull added that Acadia also presented some unique challenges, particularly the athleticism and long arms of a couple of Ottawa products, post players Leonel Saintil and Achuil Lual. “Definitely, between Achuil and Leo, they were maybe bigger and stronger in the post than a lot of teams we’ve seen.” While Petridis agreed that Acadia’s front line was athletic, it was more a case of the Axemen’s collective “motivation” level, that undid the Ravens, who had handed Saturday’s opponents a 48-point loss in a first-round game last year in Halifax. “In a national semifinal, you have got to make tough shots, and unfortunately, we didn’t,” Petridis said. “To win, you need some breaks, and, (Saturday night), when we needed one, we couldn’t get one.” Petridis said the pressure of playing before family and friends at home in Ottawa made have had an impact, too. “At some point, I think the guys were a little tight and afraid to miss a shot, but I don’t think to the point where it caused the loss.” Peter Leighton was chosen player of the game for Acadia, while Ryan Bell earned the laurels for Carleton. Acadia led 19-15 after one quarter, 28-27 at the half and 54-45 after three quarters. The score was knotted at 66 in regulation play. Peter Leighton paced Acadia with 23 on 9-15 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. Leonel Saintil scored 22 on 9-14 from the floor, 4-10 from the line and 9 boards. Paulo Santana scored 15 on 6-14 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 7 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Andrew Kraus scored 9 on 4-8 from the line, 1-4 from the arc, 7 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Luckern Dieu scored 4 on 2-3 from the floor. Shawn Berry scored 5 on 1-4 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 6 boards. Achuil Lual scored 3 on 1-3 from the floor and 3 boards. Patrick McIver scored 2, while Alex Traikov was scoreless. The Axemen shot 33-66 from the floor, 7-19 (.368) from the arc and 9-22 (.409) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 11 assists, 21 turnovers, 1 block and 5 steals. Ryan Bell paced the Ravens with 18 on 6-14 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Stuart Turnbull added 18 on 4-15 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 9-13 from the line, 7 boards, 5 assists and 4 steals. Aaron Doornekamp scored 14 on 4-23 from the floor, 2-14 from the arc, 4-8 from the line, 11 boards and 5 assists. Mike Kenny scored 12 on 4-6 from the arc. Rob Saunders notched 10 on 4-7 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 3 boards and 3 steals. Jean-Emmanuel Jean-Marie scored 6 on 2-8 from the floor. Neal Dawson added 2, while Elliott Thompson and Kevin McCleery were scoreless. Carleton shot 26-79 (.329) from the floor, 12-38 (.316) from the arc and 16-24 from the line, while garnering 33 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 24 fouls, 16 assists, 12 turnovers, 2 blocks and 10 steals.
In the final, the Brock Badgers edged the Acadia Axemen 64-61. Their hoops histories and lives were so inextricably linked that it’s a wonder they still had individual identities. In various combinations, the Brock Badgers had played basketball together on club teams, high school teams, provincial team and pick-up games in the neighbourhood since they were 12 years of age and in some cases, even younger. That familiarity with one another, and their resulting faith in each, proved the difference as the seventh-seeded Badgers rallied from a 10-point deficit to nip the fifth-seeded Acadia Axemen 64-61. “We’ll probably have a few drinks to celebrate but whatever we do, we’ll do it together because that’s how we won it, together,” said guard Scott Murray, son of coach Ken Murray, who also coached Brock to its first title, in 1992. “We didn’t panic,” said forward Dusty Bianchin, who hit the winning pair of 15-foot jumpers in the final two minutes as the Badgers completed the improbable rally from a 31-21 halftime deficit. “We were down 10 but we weren’t shooting the ball well and we knew that we could get back on them. The team cohesion we have is unbelievable and we all trust that each other can get the job done, particularly on defence.” Tournament MVP Owen White noted that “we’re a veteran team. If we were younger, we might have lost our poise, but we didn’t. We didn’t give up. Even when things weren’t working well, we stayed positive and we kept working on them.” Point guard Brad Rootes said “we believed in each other. We’ve believed in each since we met each other as kids, when we were playing in high school together against the big Toronto schools.” Rohan Steen noted that “we just kept at it. All year, we’ve been up and down in our shooting but coach always tells us to keep shooting. We know we’re good shooters, so we just kept shooting. Whether it falls or not, we’re gonna shot and when it falls, we win. There was never a doubt in my mind that we would win this. Check what I told the local papers (in St. Catharines). I guaranteed this win.” Steen added that the national title will cement a lifelong friendship. “We get on each other’s nerves every now and then but we’re friends forever now.” Coach Ken Murray was left beaming like the father of a tribe. “I’ve been watching these kids play together since they were 12 years old and I told them with 10 minutes to play, you can be the best in the country. I’m really, really proud of them. I’ve watched them grow as individuals. What a fitting way for them to end their careers.” It certainly looked grim in the first half as the Badgers fell behind after shooting a brutal 8-of-23 (23 per cent) from the floor, including 3-of-18 from the three-point arc, and produced their lowest scoring total for a half on the season. They clawed back to within two in the second half as Rootes began to attack the Acadia defence for layups and then knotted the score at 43 on a White post-up. With the score tied at 50 heading into the final quarter, Paolo Santana again began using his quickness to rebuild Acadia’s lead on driving layups and a banked three-pointer. The veteran Badgers, though, maintained their poise. Steen hit a trey, Mike Kemp a trey and Bianchin a 15-footer off a feed from a Rootes penetrate-and-pitch with 1:45 to play to give Brock a 62-60 lead. Shawn Berry hit a free throw with 56.1 seconds remaining to halve the margin and in a mad scramble for the rebound after Berry missed the second charity toss, Acadia got the ball in a tie-up. Steen, though, stepped into a passing lane to pilfer the ball, which led to another 15-footer by Bianchin with 11.4 seconds to play that iced the win Acadia star Leonel Saintil speculated the Axemen had a bit of a letdown after their 82-80 double-overtime upset of the top-seeded, five-time defending CIS champ Carleton Ravens in the semi-finals. “But no excuses. They outplayed us. They were the better team. They came out with more energy in the second half and we couldn’t match that. They came out and wanted it more, I guess.” Acadia coach Les Berry said his troops were badly out-rebounded. “They were really aggressive. They rebounded well and we got lost in transition a couple of times. And they hit some big three-point shots. That’s what they do well.” Rootes that “everyone except us thought we didn’t have a chance. When we put this team together and brought everybody back from whatever the heck they were doing, we knew we had a great shot. This makes all the sacrifices, all the work, all the injuries, worth it. … We just said we had two options. We could come out with intensity, or do what we did when we were down 10 to Western (in the OUA West) final and get beat on our home court and just expect to make shots. Our goal was to be tied going into the fourth quarter and we got that (with the score tied 50-50). … It makes every sacrifice, every practice and the time we spent together worthwhile. And to do it with some of our best friends is incredible – it’s the best way you could ever go out. There’s no way it could get any better than this for our team. This is what we worked for five years. I only wish every player I’ve ever played with could be part of it.” Owen White said of his MVP award: “It feels good. I just wanted to do whatever I needed to do for the team to win.” White added that “Acadia was quicker than us. They were a little harder to box out – but we managed.” Mike Muir noted that “this is what I came back for. It hasn’t sunk in yet; maybe on the ride home.” Ken Murray said that “Owen struggled a little bit early today, but they really tried to put the clamps on him. He hung tough. He did some real neat stuff defensively and really rebounded well for us. Sometimes, you can’t do all the scoring, but can do the other things out there. What he did was some of the other things. He still did some scoring, but did some really good things from rebounding to defending to blocking shots. He’s most deserving of the MVP.” Murray added that “we thought, initially, if the score was close going into the fourth quarter, we were going to win. We thought they were going to be a little tired from (Saturday) night and sure enough, they made a couple of mistakes and we took advantage. … This was the ultimate. I’ve been watching these kids play since they were 12 years old. They’re the best in the country; I’m really, really proud of them. What a fitting way to end their careers.” Mike Kemp said “We are a veteran team. We grew up playing together, but we don’t care (who leads us). Different guys step up and that’s what a true team is. We don’t care who gets that big shot, who gets two assists or who gets 15 rebounds, just get that W. … It doesn’t seem real right now. To do it with your best friends is a dream come true. I honestly feel like I’m going to wake up soon and this hasn’t happened.” Scott Murray added that “we knew we had it in the last few minutes. We have talented players and there was never a doubt in my mind we were going to win the game.” Rohan Steen was elated that he decided to return to Brock for a fifth season. “It’s amazing, the best decision I ever made was to come back to Brock. It’s everything I thought it would be. I had faith in the team and we did it.” Acadia’s Leonel Saintil was frustrated. “The goal is always the same. The goal is to win a national championship. Whether you go through No. 1 or not, it doesn’t mean very much if you don’t reach the goal. … We controlled the play in the second quarter but we just didn’t keep that going after the half.” Achuil Lual added that “They played hard, they fought, they hit a shot with one second left on the shot clock. That’s basketball.” Acadia coach Les Barry noted that rebounding proved the difference. “We couldn’t stay with them. We struggled to clean it off the glass.” The scene near the Brock bench moments after the final horn of the 2008 CIS championship game was touching. Badger guard Scott Murray, after a very brief initial celebration with his teammates, sprinted directly into the arms of his father, Brock coach Ken Murray. The enveloping embrace lasted for almost a minute and evoked tears from more than just the father and son combination that had waited a lifetime to share a special championship moment. Son Scott, maligned by some earlier in his career as a player only on the roster because of who his father was, proved the critics wrong time and time again throughout his five-year career culminating in a solid effort in the final. The elder Murray wiped away the tears after the long hug and was later still beaming that he could share such a special moment with his boy, “What can you say? This is the way we dreamed it would end and I’m as happy for all the guys as I am for Scott. But winning a championship with my son is something we both will remember for life.” The younger Murray said “I have been dreaming of this day since I was five years old and Dad won his last championship. He was the first person I thought of when the buzzer went and I turned to him and just wanted to hug him.” Mike Kemp was chosen player of the game for Brock, while Paolo Santana earned the laurels for Acadia. Brock led 14-7 after one quarter. Acadia led 31-21 at the half. The score was knotted at 50 after three quarters. Mike Kemp led the Badgers with 23 on 8-21 from the floor, 6-13 from the arc and 1-1 from the line and 5 boards. Owen White added 12 on 4-10 from the floor, 4-7 from the line, 9 boards and 2 blocks. Brad Rootes scored 8 on 3-11 from the floor, 0-7 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 8 boards and 6 assists. Scott Murray scored 8 on 3-10 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc and 3 boards. Dusty Bianchin notched 7 on 3-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 5 boards. Rohan Steen notched 6 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc and 1-2 from the line, while garnering 6 boards. Andrew Ferguson, Sam Brefo, Joe Kendrick, David Swinden and Jordan Johnson were scoreless. The Badgers shot 23-64 (.359) from the floor, 9-32 (.281) from the arc and 9-15 (.600) from the line, while garnering 53 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 19 fouls, 12 turnovers, 3 blocks and 4 steals. Paulo Santana paced Acadia with 18 on 7-10 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Shawn Berry added 14 on 4-10 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 5-7 from the line and 5 boards. Leonel Saintil scored 12 on 4-10 from the floor, 4-7 from the line, 7 boards and 2 blocks. Andrew Kraus scored 5 on 2-4 from the floor and 1-3 from the line. Achuil Lual scored 5 on 2-10 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 5 boards. Peter Leighton scored 5 on 2-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 3 boards. Luckern Dieu added 2, while Patrick McIver, Alex Traikov, J.D. Howlett, Joel Boudreaux and James Burke were scoreless. The Axemen shot 22-59 (.373) from the floor, 4-10 from the arc and 13-22 (.591) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 21 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 17 fouls, 7 turnovers, 3 blocks and 7 steals.
The all-tournament team featured: MVP Owen White (Brock); Mike Kemp (Brock); Leonel Saintil (Acadia); Achuil Lual (Acadia); Jean-François Beaulieu-Maheux (Laval)
The co-bronze medalist Carleton Ravens: Aaron Doornekamp; Stuart Turnbull; Rob Saunders; Jean-Emmanuelle Jean-Marie; Ryan Bell; Kevin McCleery; Mike Kenny; Elliott Thompson; Aaron Chapman; Cole Hobin; Daron Leonard; Luke Chapman; Neal Dawson; Derek McConnery; Will Donkoh; coach Dave Smart; assistant Rob Smart; assistant Dean Petridis; assistant Mark McMahon; assistant Jafeth Maseruka; manager Aaron Blakeley; therapist Bruce Marshall; manager Kyle Vezzaro; athletic director Jennifer Brenning; SID David Kent
The co-bronze medalist University of Western Ontario Mustangs: Matt Curtis; Bradley Smith; Colin LaForme; Jason Milliquet; Andrew Wedemire; Ryan Barbeau; Alex Brzozowicz; Adam Ruickbie; Brett Lawrence; Alain Paron; Keenan Jeppesen; Garret Olexiuk; Daren Redguard; Danny Jeon; Jordan Smith; coach Brad Campbell; assistant Matt Tweedie; assistant John Curcio; trainer Andrew Frank; trainer Joshua Shewell; strength and conditioning coach Jeff Watson; athletic director Chuck Mathies; SID Andy Watson
The silver medalist Acadia Axemen: Achuil Lual; Shawn Berry; Leonel Saintil; Andrew Kraus; Peter Leighton; Patrick McIver; Luckern Dieu; Paulo Santana; James Burke; Joel Boudreaux; Kevin Duffie; J.D. Howlett; Alex Traikov; coach Les Berry; assistant Steve Baur; assistant Kevin Veinot; graduate assistant Mike Lawton; manager Chris Randall; therapist Dr. Jim MacLeod; student therapist Josh Loveys; SID Eric Cederberg
The gold medalist Brock Badgers: Dusty Bianchin; Mike Kemp; Owen White; Rohan Steen; Mike Muir; Scott Murray; Brad Rootes; Sam Brefo; Andrew Ferguson; Jay Fleming; Jordan Johnson; Joe Kendrick; Nico Loureiro; Bryan Mcdonald; David Swinden; Tim Svidnytskiy; coach Ken Murray; assistant Steve Atkin; assistant Brian Mulligan; assistant Bill Rootes; therapist Joe Kenny; student therapist Lorenzo Love; student therapist Brianna Holmes