| (1) | Thompson Rivers | 81 | ||||||
| (8) | N.A.I.T. | 55 | Thompson Rivers | 89 | ||||
| (4) | Vanier | 89 | Vanier | 58 | Thompson Rivers | 83 | ||
| (5) | Centennial | 81 | ||||||
| —–THOMPSON RIVERS | ||||||||
| (2) | Humber | 79 | ||||||
| (7) | Malaspina | 63 | Humber | 54 | Grant MacEwan | 76 | ||
| (3) | Grant MacEwan | 91 | Grant MacEwan | 58 | ||||
| (6) | U of King’s College | 50 |
In the quarterfinals, held at NAIT in Edmonton, the 4th-seeded Vanier Cheetahs defeated the 5th-seeded Centennial Colts 89-81 in a fast-paced affair. Centennial took an early 7-point lead and maintained an edge until the final seven minutes of the first half before suffering a series of mental lapses that allowed Vanier to take a 42-36 lead at the break on the shooting of Adrian Sapp. Vanier led by as many as 11 in the second half but their defence eroded when forward Oliver Borenstein fouled out with about seven minutes to play, allowing Centennial to rally within two with four minutes to go before the Cheetahs took control down the stretch. Adrian Sapp paced the Cheetahs with 24 points on 3-9 from the floor and 16-16 from the line. Greg Pagev notched 16 on 7-14 from the floor and 5 boards. James Lee scored 12 on 3-9 from the floor. Colson Senat scored 11 on 2-7 from the floor and 5 boards. Nathan Grant scored 10 on 3-5 from the floor and 4 assists. Mark D’Agostino scored 8, Mathieu Lord 5 and Lerry Williams 3, while Ashley Oziegbe, Oliver Borenstein and Olivier Dupiton were scoreless. Vanier hit 22-55 (.400) from the floor, 8-17 (.353) from the arc and 17-37 (.884) from the line, while garnering 20 boards, 19 fouls, 13 assists, 1 turnover, 4 blocks and 9 steals. Aunde Rose paced Centennial with 23 points on 9-13 from the floor, 5-6 from the arc and 9 boards. Milton Laidley added 14 on 7-10 from the floor and 10 boards. Aaron Antrobus notched 11 on 4-7 from the floor. Jerome Stephenson scored 9 on 3-10 from the floor and 5 boards. Robert Ragoo scored 8 and dished 4 assists. Randal Jno-Baptiste scored 5, Ahmed Bulaleh 4, Serge Kasende 3, Dayne Pilgrim 2 and Ben Mills 2, while Oreine Davis was scoreless. The Colts shot 30-58 (.517) from the floor, 6-13 (.462) from the arc and 15-23 (.652) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, 28 fouls, 17 assists, 4 turnovers, 3 blocks and 6 steals. Adrian Sapp’s trey with three minutes to play was critical, said Vanier coach Andy Hertzog. “That was huge, the play of the game.” Centennial had pulled to within three when Sapp drilled the three-pointer.
The 2nd-seeded Humber Hawks defeated the 7th-seed Malaspina Mariners 79-63 despite trailing by 46-30 at the half. Malaspina hit everything in sight as they rocked to a 46-30 lead at the break. But Humber’s defence awoke from its extended slumber in the second half and took command. Shane Dennie paced Humber with 20 points on 7-19 from the floor, 5-10 from the arc and 4 boards. Samson Downey notched 16 on 4-6 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc and 6-7 from the line. Jason Walcott scored 14 on 6-10 from the floor and 7 boards. Aron Bariagiabre scored 8 on 3-7 from the floor. Roger Scott scored 8 on 3-4 from the floor and J.R. Bailey 8 on 4-7 from the floor, 9 boards and 5 assists. Morris Spence scored 3 and Sean Bookalv 2, while Jake Keller and Jon Joseph were scoreless. The Hawks hit 29-59 (.492) from the floor, 10-25 (.400) from the arc and 11-14 (.786) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, 14 fouls, 17 assists and 3 turnovers. Richard Boyland and Graham Giske each scored 14 to pace Malaspina. Boyland hit 6-7 from the floor, dished 6 assists and grabbed 5 boards. Giske hit 4-8 from the arc. Jason Hubbs scored 13 on 5-16 from the floor, while Jordan Kinakin scored 10 on 4-7 from the floor and 6 boards. Henry Bui scored 9 on 4-7 from the floor. Kalvin Buerlein scored 3, while Colin Novak and Mark Darbyshire were scoreless. The Mariners hit 25-52 (.481) from the floor, 7-16 (.438) from the arc and 6-11 (.545) from the line, while garnering 21 boards, 16 fouls, 16 assists and 3 turnovers. “They shot incredibly well in the first half,” said Humber coach Darrell Glenn. “And our offence was very impatient, didn’t establish our inside game at all and we need to do that. In the second half, we were able to clamp down, as we have done all year. And we got our inside game established.”
The 3rd-seed Grant MacEwan Griffins thrashed 6th-seeded University of Kings College Blue Devils 91-50. The Griffins took command early and romped, while holding the Blue Devils to a tournament low of 50. Robbie Valpreda paced Grant MacEwan with 17 points on 7-13 from the floor and 18 boards. Anthony Lange added 14 points on 7-14 from the floor and 10 boards. Alex Steel scored 13 on 6-11 from the floor and 6 assists. Ni Ayi Ayi scored 10 on 5-5 from the floor, while Jeff Stork scored 10 on 4-7 from the floor and 3 assists. Mike Gardiner scored 8 on 3-6 from the floor and 5 boards. Cameron Smith scored 6, Brendan Bjarnson 6, Alex Conrad 3, Jordan Fownes 2 and Doug Bennet 2, while Thomas Butlin, Matt Kallio and Juma Ajala were scoreless. The Griffins hit 39-74 (.527) from the floor, 5-11 (.455) from the arc and 8-12 from the line, while garnering 52 boards, 16 fouls, 19 assists and 3 turnovers. Matt Jones paced Kings with 16 points on 7-14 from the floor. Tim Adams added 14 on 5-14 from the floor and 6 boards. Lucas Adekola scored 8 on 2-5 from the floor. Adam Hardiman scored 4, R.J. Izzard 3, Brandon Burke 3 and Aaron Carpenter 2, while Matt Hermdorf was scoreless. The Blue Devils hit 19-58 (.328) from the floor, 3-9 from the arc and 9-16 (.563) from the line, while garnering 18 boards, 11 fouls, 9 assists and 1 steal. MacEwan’s Robbie Valpreda dominated the paint. “It was the size difference,” said King’s coach Jeff Paris. “Plus, they play a different kind of basketball out here.” MacEwan took an early 12-3 lead and extended it to 51-24 at the half on eight points apiece by Jeff Stork and Mike Gardner. “I think maybe we caught them a little off guard,” said MacEwan coach Darryl Cleave. “We got a little anxious at times with our shooting but generally speaking, we did a good job of clearing the boards.” Valpreda’s versatility stymied King’s College. He stepped out and shot threes if they packed the paint and posted up, when they didn’t.
The top-seeded Thompson Rivers (then the Cariboo Sun Demons) bombed the host 8th-seeded NAIT Ooks 81-55. The Ooks kept it close for about 10 minutes but then collapsed. Thompson Rivers took a 40-25 lead at the half and pulled away down the stretch. “We played very well. We played really well on defence,” Sun Demons coach Nevin Gleddie told Kamloops This Week. “I don’t know if we played as well as we can yet. I don’t think we have totally peaked yet, but I think we’re coming closer. … We showed some nerves early. We missed some layups and missed some free throws early. Once we settled in and let the defence do the work for us, it really was a defensive battle.” Brad Van Dolah paced Cariboo with 21 points on 8-15 from the floor, 4-8 from the arc and 5 boards. Brent Traxel added 13 on 6-9 from the floor and 7 boards. Jeff Friesen scored 11 on 5-12 from the floor. Sean Garvey scored 10 on 3-7 from the floor and 2-4 from the arc. Robert Haugland scored 10 on 3-8 from the floor and 4-5 from the line. Brian Smith and John Turner scored 5, Gregory Stewart 4 and Josh Lovestone 2, while Rob Bergen, Steven Waring and Braden Jones were scoreless. The Sun Demons hit 30-65 (.462) from the floor, 8-17 (.471) from the arc and 13-19 (.684) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, 15 fouls, 17 assists and 2 blocks. Ashley Grewal paced NAIT with 18 points on 6-11 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 4-4 from the line. John Pilz added 12 on 6-13 from the floor and 5 boards. Ossie Hinds scored 8 on 4-7 from the floor and 6 boards. Shane Leman scored 8 on 2-10 from the floor. Simon Mahary scored 4, Cory Allen 3 and Keenan Fisher 2, while Mark Dorado and Daniel Lypian were scoreless. The Ooks hit 22-65 (.338) from the floor, 4-13 (.308) from the arc and 7-11 (.636) from the line, while garnering 28 boards, 18 fouls, 14 assists and 2 turnovers. The Sun Demons dominated the boards and built a 21- point lead at the half. “The difference was experience,” said NAIT coach Chuma Nwobosi. “They have seven or eight guys who have been to this game before. Their experience really showed. They were poised offensively and defensively. We took about 20 minutes to find our stride and by then it was too late.”
In the bronze quarterfinals, the 7th-seeded Malaspina Mariners whipped the 6th-seeded University of King’s College Blue Devils 86-64.
In the other bronze quarterfinal, the 5th-seeded Centennial Colts clipped the 8th-seeded NAIT Ookpiks 78-66.
In the semis, the 3rd-seeded Grant MacEwan Griffins defeated the 2nd-seeded Humber Hawks 58-54. The Hawks led by as many as 8 in the first half before Griffins guard Jeff Stork, who gave Humber fits, rallied Grant MacEwan. Still, Shane Dennie hit a trey at the buzzer to give Humber a 32-29 lead at the break. Dennie hit another trey to open the second half before Robbie Valpreda took control of the paint and rallied Grant MacEwan, which took the lead on a Brendan Bjarnson trey and then maintained a slim edge until the final buzzer. Alex Steel paced Grant MacEwan with 19 points on 6-12 from the floor and 6-7 from the line. Rob Valpreda scored 15 on 5-11 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 3-7 from the line and 9 boards. Jeff Stork scored 11 on 5-8 from the floor. Brendan Bjarnson scored 7 on 3-6 from the floor. Anthony Lange scored 4 and Mike Gardiner 2, while Jordan Fownes and Cameron Smith were scoreless. The Griffins hit 22-52 (.423) from the floor, 5-16 (.313) from the arc and 9-14 (.643) from the line, while garnering 27 boards, 16 fouls, 13 assists and 5 turnovers. Shane Dennie paced Humber with 15 points on 6-17 from the floor, 3-10 from the arc and 4 boards. J.R. Bailey scored 11 on 5-11 from the floor and 5 assists. Jason Walcott scored 11 on 3-13 from the floor, 4-9 from the line and 8 boards. Samson Downey scored 6, Roger Scott 5, Sean Bookal 3 and Aron Bariagiabre 2, while Jon Joseph was scoreless. The Hawks hit 20-65 (.308) from the floor, 8-24 from the arc and 6-16 (.375) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, 18 fouls, 15 assists and 3 turnovers. Point guard Michael Gardner made two critical inside feeds in the final 50 seconds to set up buckets by Valpreda and Anthony Lange as Grant MacEwan pulled out the win. “I just see the open man,” said Gardiner. “This is absolutely amazing. This has been a long time coming. I’ve been at MacEwan three years and every year we’ve been getting better and better. We deserve to be in the national championship.” MacEwan and Humber battled from the start. The biggest lead either team had was eight, 29-21 for Humber in the first half. There were eight lead changes and 9 ties. Coach Darrel Cleave said his troops never lost their composure or purpose. “We’ve had a lot of playoff style games in the second half (of the season) and that helped us tonight.” Valpreda broke free for two critical buckets down the stretch, including the go-ahead bucket at 55-54 and a free throw with seconds to play. MacEwan coach Darrell Cleave said “our guys really battled tonight. We didn’t have a great first half. We struggled a bit but we showed great character in the second half. We didn’t make many adjustments in the second half. We just came out with the attitude that we had to keep them off the glass and rebound defensively.”
In the other semi, top-seeded Thompson Rivers whipped the 4th-seeded Vanier Cheetahs 89-58. The Sun Demons opened with a 7-0 run and dominated throughout. They led 52-39 at the half and coasted to the easy win. Sun Demons coach Nevin Gleddie told Kamloops This Week that “I’m extremely proud. This is the first time … that this men’s basketball team has been in a national final. So, I’m very, very proud of these guys regardless of what happens. We made history.” Vanier coach Andy Hertzog told Canadian Press that “I’m very proud of the effort of my players. It was a little disappointing. But we had a great season.” Brent Traxel paced Cariboo with 17 points on 7-15 from the floor and 5 boards. Jeff Friesen scored 16 on 6-10 from the floor and 10 boards. Brad Van Dolah notched 15 on 5-17 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc and 4 boards. John Turner scored 12 on 3-5 from the floor. Robert Haugland scored 7, Sean Garvey 7, along with 11 assists, Brian Smith 6, Gregory Stewart 4, Josh Lovestone 3 and Braden Jones 1, while Rob Bergen and Lee Johnson were scoreless. The Sun Demons shot 29-68 (.426) from the floor, 6-18 from the arc and 18-24 (.735) from the line, while garnering 45 boards, 24 fouls, 17 assists and 5 turnovers. Greg Page paced Vanier with 18 points on 5-10 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 6-8 from the line. Adrian Sapp scored 12 on 5-11 from the floor. Oliver Borenstein scored 7 on 3-6 from the floor and 8 boards. Mathieu Lord scored 7 on 2-9 from the floor. Olivier Dupiton notched 6 and Colson Senat 4, while nabbing 6 boards. Mark D’Agostino and Lerry Williams each scored 2, while Ashley Oziegbe, Germaine Young, Nathan Grant and James Lee were scoreless. The Cheetahs hit 19-66 (.288) from the floor, 4-18 (.222) from the arc and 16-28 (.571) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, 18 fouls, 13 assists and 4 turnovers.
In the bronze semis, the 2nd-seeded Humber Hawks clocked the 5th-seeded Centennial Colts 83-63 as Shane Dennie scored 33. The Hawks shot .485 from the floor, while the Colts were .340. Humber hit .480 from the arc. Robert Ragoo led the Colts with 18 points and 12 boards.
In the other bronze semi, the 7th-seeded Malaspina Mariners clipped the 4th-seeded Vanier Cheetahs 92-83.
In the bronze medal match, the 7th-seeded Malaspina Mariners avenged a quarterfinal loss to 2nd-seeded Humber by defeating the Hawks 69-61. Humber had defeated Centennial in the bronze medal qualifier. Jason Hubbs led Malaspina with 25 points. Jordan Kinakin added 13, Graham Giske 9, Richard Boyland 6, Henry Bui 6, Carson Williams 6, Sean McMann 2 and Mark Darbyshire 2, while Colin Novak and Kalvin Beuerlein were scoreless. The Mariners shot 22-52 (.423) from the floor, 5-12 (.417) from the arc and 20-29 (.690) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, 14 fouls, 12 assists and 1 turnover. Roger Scott and Aron Bariagiabre each scored 13 to lead Humber. Shane Dennie added 9, J.R. Bailey 8, Jon Joseph 7, Jason Walcott 6, Samson Downey 3 and Sean Bookal 2. The Hawks shot 25-68 (.368) from the floor, 4-23 (.174) from the arc and 7-10 from the line, while garnering 36 boards, 21 fouls, 16 assists and 4 turnovers.
In the final, top-seeded Thompson Rivers defeated the 3rd-seeded Grant MacEwan Griffins 83-76. Tournament MVP Sean Garvey paced the Sun Demons with 25 points on 6-15 from the floor, 13-16 from the line, 8 boards and 9 assists. Brent Traxel scored 21 on 9-15 from the floor. John Turner scored 17 on 7-8 from the floor and 7 boards. Brad Van Dolah notched 8 on 2-7 from the arc. Jeff Friesen, Josh Lovestone and Robert Haugland each scored 4, while Brian Smith was scoreless. Cariboo shot 30-62 (.484) from the floor, 6-20 (.300) from the arc and 17-23 (.739) from the line, while garnering 28 boards, 16 fouls, 13 assists and 3 turnovers. Robbie Valpreda paced Grant MacEwan with 26 points on 10-14 from the line, 1-4 from the arc, 5-7 from the line and 28 boards. Alex Steel scored 16 on 5-15 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 3-3 from the line and 4 assists. Mike Gardiner scored 10 on 4-9 from the floor, 5 assists and 4 boards. Brendan Bjarnson scored 7 on 3-9 from the floor. Anthony Lange scored 6 on 3-4 from the floor. Cameron Smith scored 5, Jeff Stork 3 and Jordan Fownes 3, while dishing 5 assists. The Griffins shot 29-63 (.460) from the floor, 9-32 (.281) from the arc and 9-14 (.643) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, 20 fouls, 19 assists and 4 turnovers. The Sun Demons multi-pronged inside-outside offense and tough defence proved the difference, although Grant MacEwan’s Robbie Valpreda dominated early. “I couldn’t wait for this,” said player of game Sean Garvey. “I spent one year sitting out and three years playing. This is a dream come true. The Griffins took an early 10-4 lead by pounding the ball inside to Robbie Valpreda and Jeff Stork. But they trailed 45-40 at the break, despite Valpreda’s 18 points and 11 boards as they were plagued by fouls and ballhandling miscues. Although they were held scoreless for the first four minutes of the second half, Grant MacEwan rallied to within one point with five minutes to play. But Brad Van Dolah hit a trey while being fouled. He added the free throw, converting a four-point play. Cariboo built its lead to eight with two minutes to play before MacEwan rallied to within three in the final minute but were unable to get a clear shot on their final two possessions, while Garvey hit a series of free throws to ice it. “We just couldn’t get it,” said Valpreda. “We fought and fought. It was so close and yet so far away. It was right there. But unfortunately, we just couldn’t get it.” Garvey said the key was shutting down Valpreda in the second half. “He was killing us. We wanted to double him at the start but I don’t know if our heads weren’t into it because we didn’t get out there to double him quick enough. In the second half, we really concentrated on getting our double there and making other guys hurt us. Alex Steel hurt us. He just played a great game. We’re just lucky to get a win. They pushed us to the wire, challenged us in ways other teams haven’t.” Valpreda said the Griffins hoped to be more dominant in the paint. “In the second half, it looked like they picked up a little more intensity. That’s why they’re the No. 1 team in the country.” Gleddie was pleased with his troops poise, “especially down the stretch. We lost our composure a couple of times – for 30 seconds at a time – but we were able to regain it. We showed a lot of maturity.” Valpreda closed out his career with a medal. “For me, I couldn’t have ended my career on a better note. We’re at a national final. We won silver. Where I started, I got to finish, so this is a great experience for me.” Gleddie told Kamloops This Week that “I thought we were extremely focused. That has been the difference in this team. When we went in there, they carried the attitude — and I think it may have rubbed off on the other teams — that ‘You know what? If somebody wants (the national title) they’re going to have to really take it from us.’ Teams looked nervous before playing us.” He also said that at the start of the season that if they won the national title, “I will dance for you at a night club.” Hours after the game, Gleddie “showed off his moves — on a speaker no less — at Cowboys, a nightspot in Alberta’s capital. “That deal was made early last summer,” said Sean Garvey. “He said, ‘You get me a national title, I’ll go to the bar with you’‚ which definitely isn’t his style. And he danced on the speakers. I thought it would be one song and he would be out. But he danced the whole night. We all circled around him and he did his thing. It was horrible dancing; don’t kid yourself.” Gleddie was known for singing in the choir at the local Baptist church to which he belonged. “It’s easier to dance on a speaker — I think — when you’re drunk than when you’re sober, and I’ve never been drunk in my life and nor was (Saturday) night,” Gleddie said. “So, it was a sacrifice for me, let me tell you.” After the season, the Sun Demons moved to the CIS ranks.
The all-tourney team featured: MVP Sean Garvey (Cariboo); Shane Dennie (Humber); Jason Hubbs (Malaspina); Alexander Steel (Grant MacEwan); Robbie Valpreda (Grant MacEwan); and Brent Traxel (Cariboo)
The second team featured: Adrian Sapp (Vanier); Jerome Stephenson (Centennial); Jason Walcott (Humber); Richard Boyland (Malaspina); and Jon Turner (Cariboo)
The bronze medalist Malaspina Mariners: Richard Boyland; Graham Giske; Jason Hubbs; Jordan Kinakin; Henry Bui; Kalvin Buerlein; Colin Novak; Mark Darbyshire; Carson Williams; Sean McMann;
The silver medalist Grant MacEwan Griffins: Robbie Valpreda; Alexander Steele; Anthony Lange; Jeff Stork; Jordan Fownes; Brendan Bjarnason; Alex Conrad; Nii Ayi Ayi; Cam Smith; Mike Gardiner; Douglas Bennett; Mathew Kallio; Thomas Butlin; Juma Ajala; Kurt Walford; J Babur; coach Darrell Cleave, assistant Mike Lecavalier; assistant Matthew Bogda; assistant Don Phillips
The gold medalist Thompson Rivers Sun Demons: Brad Van Dolah; Brent Traxel; Jeff Friesen; Sean Garvey; Robert Haugland; Brian Smith; Jon Turner; Gregory Stewart; Josh Lovestone; Rob Bergen; Steven Waring; Braden Jones; Lee Johnson; Anthony Gauer; coach Nevin Gleddie; assistant Ryan Porter; assistant Will Blair; assistant Scott Marr; trainer Kristy Menzel; trainer Bree-Ann Mailloux