| (1) | Northern BC | 76 | ||||||
| (8) | Fanshawe | 71 | Northern BC | 80 | ||||
| (4) | Sainte-Foy | 48 | Mt. St. Vincent | 58 | Northern BC | 96 | ||
| (5) | Mt. St. Vincent | 54 | ||||||
| —–NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA | ||||||||
| (3) | N.A.I.T. | 63 | ||||||
| (6) | Champlain-St. Lambert | 69 | Champlain-St. Lambert | 67 | S.A.I.T. | 63 | ||
| (2) | Humber | 68 | S.A.I.T. | 69 | ||||
| (7) | S.A.I.T. | 75 |
In the quarterfinals, held in Calgary, the top-seeded University of Northern British Columbia Northern Timberwolves, who trailed by as many as 17 points early in the second half, rallied for a 76-71 victory over the 8th-seeded wildcard Fanshawe Falcons. UNBC head coach Mike Raimbault said his squad was lucky to survive. “To be honest, we feel like we escaped,” said the CCAA coach of the year. “Fanshawe played a hell of a game, they gave us everything we could handle, and they were the better team for a large portion of that game. Unfortunately, we’ve sort of made a bad habit of (playing from behind). We’ve been in a lot of games where we’ve had to do that. Thankfully, at this point, we have some experience being in those types of situations, and that experience definitely helped. We didn’t panic.” Trailing 40-24 at the break, UNBC finally moved back to within shouting distance with about five minutes left in the game. The T-Wolves finally took the lead, 68-67, on a three-pointer by Jose Araujo with 1:46 left. The final 100 seconds saw four more lead changes, with Fanshawe’s Pat Wright sinking a pair of critical inside baskets, but Kevin Madsen put UNBC ahead for good at 72-71 in the final minute. “I’m proud of my guys. I wouldn’t change anything,” said veteran Fanshawe head coach Glenn Johnston. “We played solidly, and we didn’t make a lot of mistakes. We were seeded No. 8, but you can’t tell me we can’t play with any of these guys.” Falcon Pat Wright said “we don’t feel like an eighth-seed team. We made our college proud and represented them well. We definitely aren’t going to roll over for any of these teams.” The T-Wolves, who are British Columbia Colleges Athletic Association champions for the first time, extended their year-long record to 20-1. “The story of our season this year,” Gill said of his squad’s penchant for late comebacks. “That’s way too many, and we don’t want it like that anymore. These are the best eight teams (in Canada) . . . we didn’t bring our best in the first three quarters, and that’s what happens – you’re down 17.” Spokane, Washington-product Inderbir Gill paced UNBC with 17 on 5-17 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 7-7 from the line, 8 boards and 13 assists. Jose Araujo added 16 on 5-12 from the floor, 4-11 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Francis Rowe scored 16 on 6-12 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 3 assists. Sam Raphael notched 10 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 6-6 from the line and 2 boards. Kevan Madsen added 8 on 4-8 from the floor and 5 boards. Dennis Stark notched 5 on 1-5 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 9 boards. Jesse Smith added 4 on 2-4 from the floor and 4 boards, while Sebastian Louis, Joel Rybachuk; Abdu Benrabah, Kenny Carnes and Matt Mills were scoreless. The Timberwolves hit 25-70 (.357) from the floor, 6-27 (.222) from the arc and 20-21 (.952) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 21 assists, 16 steals, 11 turnovers, 2 blocks and 19 fouls. Pat Wright paced Fanshawe with 21 on 10-21 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 10 boards and 6 assists. Will Bradbury notched 17 on 5-12 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 5-9 from the line and 4 boards. Bryan Kamerman scored 14 on 7-11 from the floor and 9 boards. Manny Campbell added 7 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 4 boards and 8 assists. Alex Brkljac scored 5 on 1-3 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 2 boards. Andy Campbell added 4 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 6 boards and 5 assists. Cody O’Brien added 3, while Rob Hamilton, Brandon Cato, Andrew Smith, Darcy Young, Brad Smith and Raf Palomeque were scoreless. The Falcons hit 29-65 (.446) from the floor, 4-19 (.210) from the arc and 9-16 (.562) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 22 assists, 10 steals, 17 turnovers, 2 blocks and 19 fouls.
The 6th-seeded wildcard Champlain-St. Lambert Cavaliers stunned the 3rd-seeded Northern Alberta Institute of Technology Ooks 69-63. The Cavaliers said they played with anger, having lost 85-79 to Sainte-Foy in the Quebec finals. “We knew, when we beat (Montreal’s) Dawson (College) in the (FQSE) semis, that there was a really strong chance we were going to get a (CCAA) wild-card berth, considering our record over last year and this year,” offered 13th-year coach John Dangelas. “So, we felt like, in that provincial championship game, we didn’t really play with the same sense of urgency that we needed – the kind we played with today.” The Cavaliers maintained a consistent seven-point cushion throughout almost the entire game – except for the final three minutes, when NAIT began chipping away. The Albertans made it 64-63 with 59.4 seconds remaining, but in the end were thwarted by cold shooting. The Ooks missed four makeable baskets in the final 90 seconds, and six in total, and were unable to take the lead. At the other end, the Cavaliers were five-of-six from the free-throw line to gain some breathing room. “We lost the rebounding game. We gave up 14 offensive rebounds — and to work that hard on defence, only to give up an offensive rebound, is tiring,” said NAIT coach Don Phillips. “I also thought . . . that they shot a lot of free throws (28 to NAIT’s 13). I’d prefer a little more consistency on some of those calls. At the same time, that doesn’t do anything about the two missed layups that would have put us up one. You’ve got to learn from it. At the end of the day, we’re a young team, and it’s too bad to learn a harsh lesson at this point in the season. But winning a national championship is tough, and you’ve got to be able to play defence and grab rebounds.” Adam Chmielewski said the Cavaliers “played to our strengths. We tried to play inside-out. We know we can shoot, but it’s important for us to go inside. That’s why Appiah came up big, and that helped our shooting game.” Adam Chmielewski paced Champlain-St. Lambert with 23 on 7-17 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 8-10 from the line, 5 boards and 4 assists. Simon Bibeau added 15 on 5-16 from the floor, 2-11 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 6 boards and 3 assists. Bjorn Michaelsen added 12 on 5-7 from the floor, 2-6 from the line, 10 boards and 5 assists. Ibrahim Appiah notched 10 on 4-4 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 11 boards and 5 assists. Youssef Ouahrig scored 6 on 2-5 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Ted Greffin added 1, while Shawn McAlpine, Earvin-Ace Lacsamana, Omar Brown-Clarke, Azaria Estifanos, Yann Charles, Kenny Jean-Louis and Gabriel Riche were scoreless. The Cavaliers shot 23-52 (.442) from the line, 3-17 (.176) from the arc and 18-26 (.692) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 21 assists, 10 steals, 20 turnovers, 2 blocks and 16 fouls. Shane Reece paced NAIT with 20 on 8-11 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 7 boards and 2 assists. Shane Cox added 15 on 5-15 from the floor, 4-10 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 1 assist. Gerard Mozwa notched 11 on 4-9 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 3 boards and 4 assists. Rodel Grenaway notched 7 on 2-11 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 8 assists. Cyril Unsworth added 4 on 2-5 from the floor, 3 boards and 2 assists. Ryan Sherman added 2, Chris Neptune 2 and Daniel Perepeluk 2, while Evan Eaer, Nicholas Zutz, Kevin Dia, Mitchell Troock, Jesse Denscombe and Klaus Figueiredo were scoreless. The Ooks hit 24-63 (.381) from the floor, 8-27 (.296) from the arc and 7-13 (.538) from the line, while garnering 23 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 23 assists, 19 steals, 11 turnovers, 5 blocks and 21 fouls.
The 5th-seeded Mount Saint Vincent Mystics defeated the 4th-seeded Sainte-Foy Dynamiques 54-48. The Mystics were making their fifth consecutive nationals’ appearance and the Dynamiques their first. That experience was evident, said Sainte-Foy coach Eric Segal. “We don’t have enough experience at this level to make an impact on a game like that. It’s all about experience. We have enough of it in our league (the Federation Quebecoise du Sport Etudiant), but not at this level. Our offense was stagnant, and we couldn’t control our emotions right.” Mystics coach Rick Plato said “it wasn’t pretty offensively. I know we can play a heck of a lot better. But sometimes the experience and the surroundings are kind of overwhelming when you get to nationals. I know we’ve had years where we’ve been here for the first time with a group of young guys; you try to avoid it, but it’s almost like you’re just glad to be here. But we took nothing for granted against that (Dynamiques) team. They’re a solid team, a long, athletic team, and a well-coached team.” The Mystics contained fourth-year Ste-Foy guard Robinson Odoch Opong, a Kenyan who was named MVP of the FQSE championship. “That was probably one of the ugliest games we played all year, me included,” said Mystic Adam Jewkes. “But a win’s a win, I guess. They don’t get judged on style points.” The score was tied 26-26 at the half, and neither team led by more than three points down the stretch until MSVU started sinking free throws in the final two minutes. Todd Williams’ breakaway layup at the buzzer represented the only points in that entire time span that didn’t come off the foul stripe. “The longer you can keep the ball in your hands, and out of their hands, means fewer possessions for them,” said Plato of his team’s tendency to use up the entire 24-second clock. “Down the stretch, it was our defence and our free-throw shooting that was the difference. To keep a team like Ste-Foy under 50, I think that says a lot about our commitment to defence. That’s been our bread and butter all year.” Adam Jewkes paced Mount Saint Vincent with 14 on 3-13 from the floor, 0-7 from the arc, 8-12 from the line and 3 boards. Stephen Morris added 12 on 2-7 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 8-8 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Carl Wickstrom notched 9 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 8 boards. Anthony Zinn added 6 on 3-9 from the floor and 2 boards. Jeremy Skidmore scored 4 on 2-2 from the floor and 2 boards. Todd Williams notched 4 on 2-2 from the floor, 8 boards and 4 assists. Sean Boulay scored 2 on 1-10 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 3 boards. John Caulfield scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 2 boars and 2 assists. Luke Reynolds added 1, while Kenneth Reardon, Mac Ellis, Derico Symonds, Brandon Doyle, Jay Kelly and Alex Howlett were scoreless. The Mystics shot 18-55 (.327) from the floor, 0-13 from the arc and 18-24 (.750) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 18 steals, 17 turnovers and 20 fouls. Philippe Tamba paced Sainte-Foy with 14 on 5-11 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 4-7 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Boris Hadzimuratovic added 10 on 4-7 from the floor, 2-6 from the line and 6 boards. Robinson Odoch Opong notched 9 on 3-16 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 8 boards. Antoine Cote-Caouette added 9 on 4-8 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 3 boards and 2 assists. Gabriel Barriault added 4 on 1-2 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. David Guay-Watson notched 2 on 1-1 from the floor and 4 assists, while Olivier Lefebvre, David Trahan; Edouard Langis; Karl Demers-Belanger and Simon Canac-Marquis were scoreless. The Dynamiques hit 18-50 (.360) from the floor, 2-16 (.125) from the arc and 10-17 (.588) from the line, while garnering 33 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 14 steals, 21 turnovers, 4 blocks and 23 fouls.
In the last quarterfinal, the 7th-seeded Southern Alberta Institute of Technology Trojans stunned the 2nd-seeded Humber Hawks 75-68. Emmanuel Chiek led SAIT with 31 on 9-14 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc, 9-9 from the line and 18 boards. Keenan Milburn added 16 on 5-13 from the floor, 4-10 from the arc and 2-3 from the line. Brett Pekar notched 10 on 4-8 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 assists. Stephen Olivier-Job scored 7 on 2-7 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 4 assists. Caleb Dowdy added 5 on 1-3 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 6 boards. Josh Whyte added 2 on 1-3 from the floor and 3 assists. Fabian Warner added 2 on 1-5 from the floor, 2 boards and 2 assists. Gabe Diggs added 2 on 1-3 from the floor and 2 boards. Jared Laird, Jamil Pierre, Lanny McHugh, Branden Stewart, Daniel Kabeya, Scott Peris, John Lasa and Logan Armstrong were scoreless. The Trojans hit 24-58 (.413) from the floor, 10-23 (.434) from the arc and 17-20 (.850) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 15 steals, 17 turnovers, 1 block and 12 fouls. J.R. Bailey paced Humber with 22 on 10-16 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 10 boards and 6 assists. Michael Acheampong added 14 on 5-13 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 3-5 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Chris Thompson scored 9 on 3-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 10 boards and 2 assists. Quinlan Veira notched 8 on 4-11 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc and 1 board. Kern Lewis scored 4 on 2-8 from the floor and 3 assists. Milan Tosic scored 4 on 2-2 from the floor and 2 boards. Ron Gabay added 4 on 2-5 from the floor and 3 boards. Adrian Tucker added 2, while Darnell Garrick, Mike Dvorak, Jevon Francis, Robert Clarke, Jadwey Hemmings, Mac James, Daviau Rodney and Jeremy Alleyne were scoreless. The Hawks hit 29-66 (.439) from the floor, 2-15 (.133) from the arc and 8-11 (.727) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 21 assists, 17 steals, 15 turnovers, 1 block and 19 fouls.
In the bronze quarterfinals, the 8th-seeded Fanshawe Falcons clubbed the 4th-seeded Sainte-Foy Dynamiques 88-64. Coach Glenn Johnston said he told his troops there was still something at stake despite losing in the championship quarterfinals. “Are you playing for something? Yeah, you’re playing for your teammates. Your teammates are more important the school, the coach, a medal, whatever. There’s a bond. You’re going to war. And if you don’t want to be a part of it, then it’s up to me to get you off and get someone out there who’s going to work hard. We came to play. When you’re seeded No. 8, you like to do OK,” said Johnston. “I’m proud of them all. I was proud of them yesterday, and I’m proud of them today. They’re a great group of kids. We worked hard today. Nobody can say we didn’t give it an effort.” Will Bradbury said “our bench played a significant role. If we go to the bronze, we’re going to need our bench more than ever.” The Falcons led 48-36 at the break, but really broke it open in the third quarter, outscoring the Dynamiques 21-6. Dynamiques coach Eric Segal said “it was hard to get going early. I think we had three points in the six minutes. We did get it going, but it was not enough for us to make a run at the end of the second quarter. In the second half, we tried for three minutes to really get back into the game . . . and after that, it was working for next year.” Uganda-born Robinson Odoch Opong said “we didn’t come out as strong as we wanted to. We need to keep the rhythm, and listen more to our coach.” Will Bradbury paced Fanshawe with 20 on 7-17 from the floor, 4-9 from the arc, 2-5 from the line, 2 boards and 3 assists. Pat Wright added 19 on 8-8 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 6 boards 7 assists and 5 steals. Cody O’Brien notched 15 on 6-11 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 3 boards and 6 assists. Brandon Cato scored 11 on 5-7 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 3 boards. Bryan Kamerman scored 8 on 3-10 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals. Darcy Young added 8 on 4-7 from the floor, 4 boards and 3 steals. Alex Brkljac scored 6 on 2-8 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 3 boards. Andrew Smith added 1, while Andy Campbell, Manny Campbell, Brad Smith and Rob Hamilton were scoreless. The Falcons hit 35-73 (.479) from the floor, 9-21 (.429) from the arc and 9-18 from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 24 fouls, 28 assists, 6 turnovers, 2 blocks and 19 steals. Robinson Odoch Opong paced Sainte-Foy with 19 on 7-15 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 14 boards and 3 assists. Boris Hadzimuratovic added 14 on 5-9 from the floor, 4-10 from the line and 8 boards. David Trahan notched 9 on 4-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 2 assists. David Guay Watson scored 7 on 3-4 from the floor and 2 assists. Phillipe Tamba added 5 on 1-6 from the floor, 3-6 from the line and 5 boards. Gabriel Barriault notched 5 on 2-3 from the floor and1-1 from the line. Olivier Lefebvre added 3 and Edouard Langis 2, while Antoine Cote-Caouette, Karl Demers-Belanger and Simon Canac-Marquis were scoreless. The Dynamiques hit 23-53 (.434) from the floor, 3-15 (.200) from the arc and 15-28 (.536) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 5 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 17 assists, 20 turnovers, 1 block and 6 steals.
In the other bronze quarterfinal, 6-9 J.R. Bailey connected on a fade-away basket in the paint with just two seconds remaining to give the 2nd-seeded Humber Hawks to a 65-63 victory over the 3rd-seeded NAIT Ooks. “I thought I had a good matchup. I just tried to get a good shot off,” said the 5th-year post. Because I’m a bit taller, it’s a little bit easier for me to get a decent shot, so that’s why I wanted it. I took it, and luckily, it went in.” Bailey returned to Humber this season after a four-year absence, which included two years on the hardcourt with the Guelph Gryphons. With Bailey leading the way, the Hawks won their fourth Ontario Colleges Athletic Association title in six years. At 27, the self-proclaimed “old man of the OCAA” represents the heartbeat of the Hawks’ offence, averaging 13.22 points a game. “We’ve counted on him a lot down the stretch. He’s been a key player for us offensively all season long,” said sixth-year Humber coach Darrell Glenn. “J.R. and I go way back. We’ve done provincial-team stuff together, and I know him from club basketball as well. I’ve always regarded him very highly as an offensive player, especially in the low post. He’s very skilled. A great passer. A great finisher. He can shoot the mid-range jumper and the three, which we don’t allow him to do. He’s a very multi-faceted player. He really allows us to do other things, and creates opportunities for other players.” Gerard Mozwa hit a critical trey with 34.5 ticks remaining for NAIT. “It was a tough game to get up for, but at the end of the day, we didn’t do what it took to win the game,” said second-year NAIT coach Don Phillips. “Yet again, rebounding killed us. They had 45 total rebounds; we had 27. And 17 of their 45 were offensive. We’re a decent rebounding team. But for our height, we could rebound better. That’s something I’ve got to address in the off-season – get some players in here who have some rebounding mentality.” The Hawks were forced to rally after the Ooks’ strong third quarter left the Torontonians trailing 50-48 entering the fourth quarter. “They really came after us. It was a very physical game,” said Glenn. “They went up on us in the second half, and we were able to settle down offensively, get the ball moving from side to side and inside to J.R. They were really, really tough defensively, and I was impressed with our guys’ ability to deal with that and push forward.” J.R. Bailey paced Humber with 14 on 4-10 from the floor, 6-8 from the line, 10 boards and 5 assists. Quinlan Veira added 14 on 4-12 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 4-7 from the line and 3 assists. Chris Thompson notched 13 on 4-12 from the floor, 4-6 from the line, 14 boards and 2 assists. Mike Dvorak scored 7 on 2-6 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Kern Lewis scored 6 on 2-7 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 4 assists. Milan Tosic scored 6 on 3-3 from the floor and 2 boards. Rob Gabay added 4, Jevon Francis 2 and Michael Acheampong 1, while Damell Garrick, Robert Clarke and Adrian Tucker were scoreless. The Hawks hit 22-63 (.349) from the floor, 3-17 (.176) from the arc and 18-29 (.621) from the line, while garnering 45 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 25 fouls, 18 assists, 20 turnovers, 4 blocks and 13 steals. Shane Cox paced NAIT with 14 on 4-9 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 5-8 from the line, 2 boards and 2 steals. Gerard Mozwa added 14 on 4-10 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 5-8 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. Rodel Grenaway scored 10 on 3-11 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc 2-2 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Ryan Sherman scored 8 on 4-6 from the floor and 3 boards. Chris Neptune added 7 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-6 from the line, 10 boards and 2 assists. Shane Reece added 2, Cyril Ashworth 2, Mitchell Troock 2, Klaus Figueiredo 2 and Daniel Perpeluk 2, while Evan Eaer and Nicholas Zutz were scoreless. The Ooks hit 21-55 (.382) from the floor, 4-14 (.286) from the arc and 17-29 (.586) from the line, while garnering 27 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 25 fouls, 12 assists, 16 turnovers and 18 steals.
In the semis, the top-seeded University of Northern British Columbia Timberwolves clocked the 5th-seeded Mount Saint Vincent Mystics 80-58. The Mystics tried to make a game of it in the latter stages but the halftime score said it all – UNBC 50-23. “That first half . . . was really hard to come back from,” muttered Mystic forward Carl Wickstrom. “We did outscore them in the second half, but that first was a killer.” The Timberwolves, who only began play in the British Columbia Colleges Athletic Association (BCCAA) during the 1999-2000 season, advanced to their first gold-medal final thanks to a quick transition game and lights-out shooting from forward Jose Araujo, who nailed seven of his eight three-point baskets in the first half. “We talked about wanting to play a full 40 minutes. It’s something we’ve had our battles with the last little while. Defensively, we were ready to go, and we got off to a good start from there,” said second-year UNBC coach Mike Raimbault. “I don’t know if I ever felt satisfied – the point being, MSVU is a very good basketball team, and a team you really can’t relax on. We knew at some point they were going to make a run. We just wanted to continue to work at the things that were helping us have some success.” The Timberwolves stretched their lead to as much as 39 points before coasting home in the fourth quarter. El Salvador product Araugo said “my teammates were finding me, and I was just knocking it down. It feels real good. Again, I’ve got to give credit to my teammates. It all started through defence.” Mystic forward Carl Wickstrom said “we were just off, really. Usually our defence is so much better than that. I’m not going to lie. They’re a great shooting team, and they hit a lot of shots down the stretch. We just couldn’t convert all our defensive steals, and turnovers, and all that, and we just couldn’t execute on offence.” Jose Araujo paced UNBC with 24 on 8-15 from the floor, 8-14 from the arc and 3 boards. Dennis Stark added 13 on 5-7 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Inderbir Gill scored 12 on 3-6 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc and 8 assists. Matt Mills scored 9 on 3-8 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc and 2 boards. Sam Raphael scored 8 on 4-7 from the floor, 6 boards and 2 steals. Kevin Madsen added 5 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 6 boards and 2 steals. Francis Rowe scored 5 on 2-2 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 4 assists. Jess Smith added 2, while Kenny Carnes, Abdu Benrabah, Sebastian Louis and Joel Rybachuk were scoreless. The Timberwolves hit 28-58 (.483) from the floor, 12-27 (.444) from the arc and 10-12 (.833) from the line, while garnering 26 boards, including 5 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 24 assists, 18 turnovers, 3 blocks and 11 steals. Sean Boulay paced Mount Saint Vincent with 10 on 5-11 from the floor, 2 boards and 2 steals. Carl Wickstrom added 9 on 3-3 from the floor, 3-3 from the line and 4 boards. Luke Reynolds scored 9 on 4-5 from the floor, 1-1 from the line and 2 steals. Jeremy Skidmore notched 8 on 3-5 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 2 steals. Adam Jewkes added 5 on 2-8 from the floor and 1-3 from the arc. Stephen Morris scored 4 on 1-5 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 2 boards. Mac Ellis added 4 on 2-6 from the floor and 3 boards. Derico Symonds added 4 on 1-2 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Anthony Zinn notched 3 on 3-6 from the line, 3 assists and 2 steals. Kenneth Reardon scored 2 and John Caulfield 2, along with 5 boards, while Todd Williams was scoreless. The Mystics hit 23-56 (.411) from the floor, 1-11 (.091) from the arc and 13-22 (.591) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 13 fouls, 19 assists, 19 turnovers, 3 blocks and 14 steals.
In the other semi, the 7th-seeded SAIT Trojans nipped the 6th-seeded Champlain-St. Lambert Cavaliers 69-67 to earn their first berth in the finals in 14 years. They were carried to the big game on the slender shoulders of an unassuming, five-foot-11 guard from Royston, B.C. by the name of Keenan Milburn. The third-year SAIT co-captain sank nine of his 18 points in the fourth quarter as the host Trojans rallied from a nine-point deficit. “Before this tournament, I told Keenan: ‘Your moment, it’s been two-and-a-half years in the making, and now we’re going to try to ride you all the way to the championship’,” said third-year SAIT coach Mike Stevens. In 28 minutes of floor time Friday, Milburn went six-of-15 from the floor, including three-of-nine from beyond the arc, and three-of-six from the foul line. That rather unimpressive stats line, though, doesn’t capture Milburn’s relentlessness down the stretch, when he made one critical bucket after another to help SAIT build a six-point lead and hold on to victory. “It’s been a three-year program for me here – working on my game, working on shooting. I’ve been in the gym every day, almost, getting bigger and stronger and faster, to complete my game basically for this tournament,” said Milburn. “Mike was the only one who recruited me out of high school. He saw something in me, stuck with me, and . . . look at us now. We’re in the final of the CCAA national championship.” The Trojans trailed 51-48 after three quarters, but forged ahead early in the fourth, by a 56-55 count, on a rebound bucket by Emmanuel Chiek. A few minutes later, SAIT went ahead 61-60 on a pair of free throws by Milburn, and from that point on it was edge-of-the-seat territory for the partisan packed house. Cavaliers sophomore sensation Simon Bibeau made an unbelievable one-touch, three-point basket with just over four minutes left, cutting SAIT’s lead to 65-63. St-Lambert’s Bjorn Michaelsen made a fabulous block on SAIT’s Jamil Pierre on a sure bucket off an offensive rebound. Trojans co-captain Fabian Warner, playing with a broken finger on his right hand, jammed home a huge rebound of a Milburn shot with 2:18 left, making it 69-63. Champlain’s Adam Chmielewski missed an inside shot with 17 seconds left and SAIT leading 69-67. Milburn and Warner missed two free throws apiece in the final 10 seconds. And with no time on the clock, Bibeau clanked a three-point attempt off the rim. “It’s unbelievable, is what it is,” said Stevens. “The guys gutted it out. At halftime, when it was 33-33, we talked about how it was a zero-zero game, in a national semifinal in our gym, with 20 minutes left – and how we needed to go out and get it. Unbelievable plays both ways. Even that last shot by Bibeau, there, my heart was in my throat, because it looked good from where I was standing, and I was already trying to think of what I was going to tell the guys when that dropped. For this program, the last few years, we needed a break, and it looks like we finally got one.” The loss was a bitter pill to swallow for 13th-year coach John Dangelas, whose squad was up 51-42 just before the third quarter ended. “We had a nine-point lead, and we turned the ball over two times. We gave them a chance to get back in the game, and that’s it. It’s one of those games I’ll replay in my head, I guess, a thousand times. When you play on the road in someone’s gym, (against a team) that’s this good, you can’t make mental mistakes like that. You almost have to play the perfect game to win, and we didn’t play the perfect game. We fouled a three-point shooter (Milburn), and gave him three shots. Turned it over twice. And unless it was a dunk, we couldn’t finish underneath. (The Trojans) played good, too. No. 10 (Milburn) was outstanding. He made clutch shot after clutch shot. No. 14 (Pierre) came off the bench with big plays, kind of surprised us. They’re good; we’re good. Unfortunately, someone has to lose, and it happens to be us.” Emmanuel Chiek paced SAIT with 21 on 8-11 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 3-5 from the line, 6 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Keenan Milburn added 18 on 6-15 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc, 3-6 from the line and 5 boards. Jamil Pierre notched 11 on 4-8 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. Fabian Warner scored 6 on 3-7 from the floor, 6 boards and 2 assists. Brett Pekar scored 4 on 2-5 from the floor and 4 boards. Josh White added 3 on 1-2 from the arc and 5 assists. Caleb Dowdy added 2, Branden Stewart 2, Lanny McHugh 2 and Gabe Diggs 2, while Stephen Oliver-Job and Jared Laird were scoreless. The Trojans hit 27-59 (.458) from the floor, 7-24 (.292) from the arc and 8-15 (.533) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 14 fouls, 19 assists, 16 turnovers, 3 blocks and 8 steals. Simon Bibeau paced Champlain-St. Lambert with 29 on 11-20 from the floor, 5-10 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 5 boards. Adam Chmielewski added 15 on 7-18 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 2 steals. Yann Charles added 14 on 6-16 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 7 boards. Ibrahim Appiah added 4 on 1-3 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 8 boards and 3 assists. Bjorn Michaelsen added 4 on 2-4 from the floor, 3 boards and 5 blocks. Youssef Ouahrig notched 1 on 0-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 7 assists, while Shawn McAlpine, Ted Greffin and Azaria Estifanos were scoreless. The Cavaliers hit 27-63 (.429) from the floor, 6-16 (.375) from the arc and 7-12 (.583) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 14 fouls, 18 assists, 14 turnovers, 7 blocks and 11 steals.
In the bronze semis, the 2nd-seeded Humber Hawks clipped the 5th-seeded Mount Saint Vincent Mystics 70-58. “We still have the drive. We came here for a reason, and our goal right now is to get the bronze medal. We’re determined to win it,” said Humber’s Kern Lewis. “It’s very special. A lot of teams in this country, right now, wish they could be playing at this level. To come away with something to remember it by? That’d be awesome. Very special. It shows we put a lot of hard work into the season.” The Mystics lost two straight games for the first time this season. “All tournament long, we just haven’t been able to find the basket. I don’t know what the problem was,” said MSVU coach Rick Plato. “We just lacked the ability to execute offensively. Our shot selection probably wasn’t the best. Defensively, we had our moments, but even defensively, sometimes we had mental lapses. At this level, when you get down to the final eight, every team here is an excellent team. As I tell the guys, every weakness you have becomes magnified when you play at the highest level. Our guys played their hearts out. I’m so proud of them. For some of these guys, especially Stevie Morris, Carl Wickstrom and Adam Jewkes, for five years they’ve got here. They got to five semifinals in a row, and they’ve got one silver medal (from 2008), but I know they’re very disappointed that they didn’t finish it off on a more positive note.” Quinlan Veira paced Humber with 16 on 5-9 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 4-8 from the line, 6 boards and 2 assists. Kern Lewis added 14 on 5-11 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 3-7 from the line, 4 boards, 7 assists and 4 steals. J.R. Bailey scored 10 on 5-7 from the floor, 3 boards and 3 blocks. Mike Dvorak scored 10 on 4-9 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 7 boards and 2 assists. Michael Acheampong notched 9 on 3-9 from the floor, 1-3 from the line and 2 boards. Chris Thompson scored 8 on 1-3 from the floor, 6-12 from the line, 3 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Ron Gabay added 2 and Jevon Francis 1, while Robert Clarke, Adrian Tucker and Milan Tosic were scoreless. The Hawks hit 23-55 (.418) from the floor, 5-18 (.278) from the arc and 19-39 (.487) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 16 fouls, 19 assists, 15 turnovers, 6 blocks and 11 steals. Stephen Morris paced Mount Saint Vincent with 12 on 5-15 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Anthony Zinn added 8 on 1-7 from the floor, 6-6 from the line, 3 assists and 3 steals. Adam Jewkes scored 8 on 3-12 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 3 boards and 2 assists. Carl Wickstrom scored 8 on 1-5 from the floor, 6-11 from the line and 6 boards. Jeremy Skidmore scored 6 on 3-5 from the floor and 4 boards. Todd Williams scored 5 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 7 boards and 3 assists. Sean Boulay scored 4 on 2-6 from the floor, 7 boards and 2 assists. Luke Reynolds added 3, John Caulfield 2 and Derico Symonds 2, while Mac Ellis was scoreless. The Mystics hit 20-60 (.333) from the floor, 2-15 (.133) from the arc and 16-22 (.727) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 24 fouls, 16 assists, 19 turnovers, 1 block and 11 steals.
In the other bronze semi, the 8th-seeded Fanshawe Falcons edged the 5th-seeded Champlain-St. Lambert Cavaliers 91-88 in double-overtime. “It feels good to get another crack at (Humber),” said Fanshawe’s Pat Wright. “Humber’s a good team. I know they’re missing some guys (the Hawks did not bring veterans Jadwey Hemmings, Daviau Rodney, and Jeremy Alleyne for violating team policy), but any time you can play one of your rivals at the national level, it’s exciting. That day (in the OCAA championship game), they just outplayed us. We know each other so well. That was a great defensive game, and this game is probably going to be very similar.” The Falcons and Cavaliers battled to a 74-74 tie after 40 minutes. Fanshawe took a 78-74 lead in the first five-minute OT session, fell behind 80-78, and needed a layup by Will Bradbury with 14.7 seconds remaining to push the game to a second overtime period. Bradbury scored four more points in the first 3:38 of double overtime to stake the Falcons to an 87-84 lead. The Cavaliers’ Yann Charles was good for two buckets in the final 10.6 seconds, making it 89-88 Fanshawe, but Wright was credited with a layup at the buzzer to complete the scoring. “We had a chance to win it a couple of times at the end of the overtime, and we didn’t make the shots. But that’s OK,” said 13th-year Cavaliers coach John Dangelas. “It’s been one of those tournaments. I think turnovers buried us this weekend. We had bad turnovers at bad times. We didn’t take care of the ball.” Will Bradbury paced Fanshawe with 26 on 10-18 from the floor, 5-10 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 3 steals. Pat Wright added 22 on 9-18 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 3-6 from the line, 11 boards and 6 assists. Bryan Kameron notched 12 on 4-8 from the floor, 4-8 from the line, 4 boards and 3 steals. Cody O’Brien added 11 on 4-8 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 1-3 from the line and 3 boards. Andy Campbell scored 10 on 4-7 from the floor and 2-5 from the arc. Darcy Young scored 6 on 3-3 from the floor. Manny Campbell added 4 on 1-5 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Rob Hamilton, Alex Brkljac, Brandon Cato and Andrew Smith were scoreless. The Falcons hit 35-76 (.461) from the floor, 10-30 from the arc and 11-24 (.458) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 25 assists, 12 turnovers, 1 block and 13 steals. Adam Chmielewski paced Champlain-St. Lambert with 25 on 11-24 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 9 boards and 9 assists. Yann Charles added 24 on 9-16 from the floor, 6-8 from the line, 7 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Bjorn Michaelsen scored 16 on 6-9 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 14 boards and 3 assists. Ibrahim Appiah scored 15 on 6-9 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 13 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Simon Bibeau scored 8 on 2-13 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 5 assists. Youssef Ouahrig, Shawn McAlpine, Earvin-Ace Lacsamana, Ted Greffin and Azaria Estifanos were scoreless. The Cavaliers hit 34-72 (.472) from the floor, 5-13 (.385) from the arc and 15-21 (.714) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 28 assists, 21 turnovers, 1 block and 5 steals.
In the bronze medal match, the 2nd-seeded Humber Hawks defeated the 8th-seeded Fanshawe Falcons 72-66.
In a clash of two weary clubs, the Etobicoke-based Hawks took away their first CCAA medal since 2003. “We asked some guys to come off the bench who hadn’t really played very much all year long. They came in and gave us significant minutes, and I’m really proud of the effort that we got from everybody today,” said sixth-year Humber coach Darrell Glenn. “I couldn’t ask for any more than what we got. It’s a real credit to the guys, and the work they’ve put in all season long, and the depth of our team.” The Hawks arrived at CCAA nationals without co-captains Jadwey Hemmings, Daviau Rodney and Jeremy Alleyne, who were left behind for violating team protocol. “We were able to still come here, compete and show very well.” The Falcons jumped out to an early 16-8 lead, and led 21-15 after the first quarter and 37-34 at the break. But the Hawks enjoyed a big third quarter, outscoring their opponents 20-9 in that frame, and pushed their advantage to as much as 12 points in the waning moments. “What the hell. They won it, no issues, no excuses,” said 33rd-year Fanshawe coach Glenn Johnston. “But a lot of my guys deserved the Iron Man award. They were playing hurt. And they sure as hell don’t owe me anything. They gave me everything they had. Our guys out at the end, four of the five out there were hurt and they’re still playing hard.” Offered Glenn: “I think it’s good for the province of Ontario that we were able to get two teams into third and fourth position. I think it shows just how tough our schedule was this year, and hopefully we represented our province well here.” Quinlan Veira said “we left it all on the floor tonight. We had good defence in the second half, and gave it our all. Some people couldn’t make it here with us, so we made them proud.” Fanshawe guard Manny Campbell said “we missed a lot of shots. A lot of easy ones. Just a lot of defensive breakdowns, not keeping them out of the middle, not rebounding. We should have beat UNBC but we couldn’t hold a lead. That crushed the dreams for first, and we wanted bronze, but (Humber) outplayed us again.” Co-Captain Bryan Kamerman said “it’s my last (college) game, so I’m disappointed that we couldn’t go out with a win. We had a good team. We stuck together, and we had a lot of guys step up.” Quinlan Veira paced Humber with 15 on 6-8 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 1-4 from the line, 2 board, 2 assists, 2 blocks and 3 steals. Milan Tosic scored 11 on 5-8 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 5 boards. Kern Lewis added 10 on 3-6 from the floor, 4-4 from the line, 2 boards and 5 assists. Jevon Francis scored 10 on 4-4 from the floor and 3 boards. Michael Acheampong scored 8 on 4-9 from the floor, 5 boards and 3 assists. Ron Gabay scored 7 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards, 4 assists and 2 blocks. J.R. Bailey scored 4 on 2-3 from the floor. Damell Garrick added 2, Chris Thompson 1 and Adrian Tucker 1, while Mike Dvorak was scoreless. The Hawks hit 27-51 (.529) from the floor, 2-8 from the arc and 13-24 (.542) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 4 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 19 assists, 15 turnovers,6 blocks and 7 steals. Alex Brkljac paced Fanshawe with 13 on 3-5 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 5-7 from the line and 4 boards. Bryan Kamerman scored 12 on 4-12 from the floor, 4-4 from the line and 3 boards. Will Bradbury scored 12 on 4-14 from the floor 1-7 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 3 steals. Andy Campbell scored 8 on 3-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards. Pat Wright scored 7 on 3-11 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 10 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Manny Campbell added 5 on 1-10 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 7 assists. Cody O’Brien added 4 on 2-6 from the floor and 2 assists. Brandon Cato added 1 and Darcy Young 1, on 1-2 from the line and 4 boards. The Falcons hit 20-68 (.294) from the floor, 6-26 (.231) from the arc and 17-23 (.739) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 14 assists, 10 turnovers, 2 blocks and 7 steals.
In the title bout, the top-seeded University of Northern British Columbia Timberwolves whipped the 7th-seeded Southern Alberta Institute of Technology Trojans 96-63. After a scare in the opening round, the T-Wolves were focused and determined to win the title in just the 11th year of the school’s existence, said coach Mike Raimbault. “It was nice to see some growth and maturity in the group, in terms of saying: ‘Hey, we need to put things together for 40 minutes.’ We felt like we were able to do that the last two nights.” UNBC’s Inderbir Gill (4th-year guard, Spokane, Wash.), who chalked up 32 points, was named MVP of this CCAA national tournament. The Trojans were elated with silver. “Everybody said that we were going to play one game and get outta here. We made it to the final instead,” said SAIT’s Stephen Olivier-Job (2nd-year guard, Winnipeg), who notched 12 points against the T-Wolves, two back of the team-high 14 posted by co-captain Keenan Milburn (3rd-year guard, Royston, B.C.). “It’s a huge achievement. We put SAIT back on the map,” said Olivier-Job. “Hopefully the next Trojans that come in here can take it further, and get that national championship.” SAIT’s Emmanuel Chiek (5th-year post, Guelph, Ont.) wrapped up his post-secondary career with an 11-point performance. “Being on the losing end of this game is tough,” said third-year Trojans coach Mike Stevens. “But like I said to the guys, they won the silver medal last night. Tonight, was a chance to earn gold. It didn’t go our way, but we’ve still got to be proud of what we accomplished this year. I don’t think we came out with our best game, and (the T-Wolves) came out with a really good game, and that put us behind the eight-ball real quick. As this tournament proved, you can’t afford to get down and fight your way back. In the last couple of minutes, there, in our huddle, I told the guys: ‘You can’t hang your heads. We had a fantastic season.’ It just so happens that we finished as the second-best team in the country this year. That’s the way it goes sometimes. … I didn’t think we came out with our best game and they came out strong and that put us behind the eight ball. We tried to remind them to stick to what got us here.” UNBC led early, 8-2, and the Trojans battled back to make it 10-7, and the first quarter ended with the T-Wolves up 21-11. But the second quarter was a backbreaker for the hosts, who were outscored 28-11 for a lopsided 49-22 total at the break. UNBC led 70-48 after 30 minutes. Both teams featured SAIT men’s basketball alumni behind the bench. Stevens played for all three post-secondary Calgary teams – the Trojans, the University of Calgary Dinos, and the Mount Royal University Cougars – while Raimbault spent two years in Trojan colours during the 2001-02 and ’02-03 campaigns. “There’s no better feeling than this,” said Gill. “And to be able to do it here? Our coach, he was a player here, so there’s no better way.” Trojan forward Emmanuel Chiek said the Timberwolves are “an absolutely amazing squad. They have great shooters. Absolutely amazing show out there. This is a huge honour, the silver medal; it’s a great feeling.”
The all-tournament first team featured MVP Inderbir Gill (UNBC); Emmanuel Chiek (SAIT); Keenan Milburn (SAIT); Will Bradbury (Fanshawe); J.R. Bailey (Humber); and Jose Araujo (UNBC)
The second team featured: Quinlan Viera (Humber); Francis Rowe (UNBC); Gerard Mozwa (NAIT); Pat Wright (Fanshawe); and Adam Chmielewski (Champlain-St. Lambert)
The bronze medalist Humber Hawks: Jadwey Hemmings; Chris Thompson; Darnell Garrick; J.R. Bailey; Michael Acheampong; Quinlan Veira; Ron Gabay; Mike Dvorask; Mac James (Samuels); Daviau Rodney; Jevon Francis; Kern Lewis; Robert Clarke; Adrian Tucker; Jeremy Alleyne; Milan Tosic; coach Darrell Glenn; assistant Ajay Sharma; assistant Shawn Collins; general manager James DePoe; therapist Nolon Bromfield; manager Dan Cox
The silver medalist Southern Alberta Institute of Technology Trojans: Emmanuel Chiek; Stephen Olivier-Job; Scott Peris; John Lasa; Josh White; Brett Pekar; Keenan Milburn; Jared Laird; Logan Armstrong; Fabian Warner; Caleb Dowdy; Lanny McHugh; Branden Stewart; Gabe Diggs; Jamil Pierre; Daniel Kabeya; coach Mike Stevens
The champion University of Northern British Columbia Timberwolves: Francis Rowe; Sebastien Louis; Joel Rybachuk; Dennis Stark; Sam Raphael; Jose Araujo; Abdu Benrabah; Kenny Carnes; Inderbir Gill; Matt Mills; Jesse Smith; Kevan Madsen; coach Mike Raimbault