REGULAR SEASON
| Victoria | 16-4 | 28-9 | Guy Vetrie | |||||
| Alberta | 16-4 | 30-9 | Don Horwood | |||||
| U.B.C. | 14-6 | 19-13 | Bruce Enns | |||||
| Calgary | 6-14 | 9-18 | Gary Howard | |||||
| Lethbridge | 5-15 | 8-19 | Dave Crook | |||||
| Saskatchewan | 3-17 | 7-24 | Steve Roth | |||||
Playoff non-qualifiers:
Lethbridge Pronghorns: Danny Balderson, Harpal Manhas, Tadius Lisowski, Barnaby Craddock, Slobodan Pajic, Anthony Pomonis, Christopher Firth, Brad Krizan, Jack McMurray; Quinn Lybbert, Dan Isbister, Darren Miller, Jared Heidinger, coach Dave Crook
Saskatchewan Huskies: Richard Lovelace, Shawn Thorburne, Tyler Stuart, Jody Glines, Dan Block, Trevor Mirtle, Ryan Hindmarsh, Shaun Nechvatal, Scott Ferguson, Scott Moore, Kevin Grandberg, Whitney Harris, Kent Bacon, Geoff Bostick, Jared Musschoot, coach Steve Roth
In the semis, game one Victoria defeated Calgary 98-59; 97-79 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, Victoria coasted to a 98-59 win. The well-balanced Vikes thoroughly dominated the Dinosaurs, holding Richard Bohne to 25 points. “They played great defence,” said Bohne. “Their focus was there and they kept it up for the entire game. They knew what they wanted to accomplish and they came out tonight and accomplished it.” Victoria coach Guy Vetrie said his troops were playing with confidence. They held Calgary to just 29 first-half points. Bohne was 4-6 from the field, 2-7 from the arc, and 11-14 from the line. “I think it was just a combination of things,” Vetrie said of his team’s defence on Bohne. “He’s carried that team all year. This just shows the guy is human. People were starting to wonder about that this season.” Guard Kieron Warren led the Dinosaurs with 29 points. Rookie forward Eric Hinrichsen and fourth-year guard Andy Wilmott paced a balanced UVic attack that featured six players in double figures. The bullish Hinrichsen completely dominated the paint, racking up 14 rebounds and helping UVic post a 44-27 edge on the boards. Greg Meldrum added 13 points and six rebounds, Pat Cannon had 12 points and eight rebounds and Todd Langley contributed 10 points and seven assists. …………………………………………………… In game two, Victoria romped to a 97-79 win over the Dinosaurs. “The Vikes are a very good team,” said Dinosaur coach Gary Howard, whose team simply couldn’t stop UVic’s many weapons or contend with the Vikes’ aggressive defence. Todd Langley drilled six treys in the first half for the Vikings, including five in a seven-minute span that pretty much took the wind out of Dinosaur sails. Langley finished with a team-high 24 points, 21 of those coming in the first half. Third-year forward Pat Cannon added 22, Greg Meldrum 14 points and four assists, while Andy Wilmott had 12 points, seven rebounds and nine assists. Rookie forward Eric Hinrichsen dominated inside once again with 11 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. CIAU scoring leader Richard Bohne had 29 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for Calgary.
In the other semi, Alberta defeated U.B.C. 101-93; 88-84 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, Greg Devries, a fourth-year guard from Nelson, B.C., pumped in 39 points, including 24 in the second half. Sale had finished third in the league in scoring and averaging 24.8 ppg behind Calgary’s Richard Bohne (34.2 ppg) and UBC’s Ken Morris (26.9 ppg) but Horwood called him the best go-to guy in the loop. “DeVries has done it for us all year. He’s Mr. Clutch. Richard Bohne, Ken Morris: if I had a choice of all three, I’d take him.” DeVries hit a buzzer beater at the half, from the perimeter after turning the ball over the UBC for a three just near the end of the half. The three gave Alberta a 47-46 lead. “A perfect example was that three,” said Horwood. “I saw that look in his face. The look that says this is my ball and my responsibility to get it done.” Devries said later “that ball’s going up. I feel confident when I have the ball in my hands. I was mad at myself. It was a big shot. We didn’t want to go down at the break. … I felt good. But the fact is UBC couldn’t afford to concentrate on me so much because we’ve got such a diverse team. We played really well down the stretch.” Scott Martell added 13 for the Bears and played a stalwart defensive game. Murray Cunningham had 17, veteran Jay Johnstone 21 and point guard Greg Badger ran the offence impeccably. “As a team we played tough down the stretch,” said DeVries. The Bears took an early 9-point lead but UBC roared back to take a 31-24 lead in the second half until DeVries heroics put the bears in the lead at the half. Ken Morris led UBC with 27 points. Mark Tinholt added 21. UBC took a 9-5 lead early but Greg Devries rallied the Bears. UBC coach Bruce Enns said “we got into a couple of periods where we just couldn’t open shots. Had they fallen, it might have been a little different but there’s no question tonight they were the better team.” UBC took a 9-5 lead early but Greg Devries rallied the Bears. UBC coach Bruce Enns said “we got into a couple of periods where we just couldn’t open shots. Had they fallen, it might have been a little different but there’s no question tonight they were the better team.” …………………………………………………… In game two, Scott Martell scored 24, including 22 in the first half, to lead Alberta past the Birds 88-84. “It sure feels good. It’s my last game here and I’m glad it was a win,” said Martell. “They were like mosquitos. They just wouldn’t go away. You can’t let up at all or these guys will beat up. They don’t quit. I really respect them because they play so hard. I’m glad we’re rid of them. It’s one big step.” Alberta took a 55-40 lead at the half as John Dumont and Randy Ellis each picked up two fouls for the Birds. Alberta had trailed until nine minutes into the half when Greg Sale’s three-point play gave Alberta a 23-22 lead. Tough D and timely threes made the difference. Devries was cold in the first half but others picked up the slack. “The team’s capable of filling the void,” said Johnstone. “For the last two years, one of our biggest assets is our depth. During the year, the coaches have questioned our bench’s contribution. It struggled at times but really came through the last half of the season.” Johnstone finished with 14 points. Bears coach Don Horwood noted that the T-Birds did a great job of rallying from a 55-40 halftime deficit. “I thought we made some mental errors, and that our guys got tired. I think that made the game closer than it should have been. Then again, if you take into account the kind of season UBC has had, maybe a four-point win was what it should have been. … UBC played with a lot of spirit and desire; they didn’t quit. They were full value for the effort and the fact that they almost pulled this one out.” UBC coach Bruce Enns said his troops had “nothing to be ashamed of. We fought and scrapped the best we could. We might have been short a little talent but we showed a lot of other things this season. We’re an inexperienced team that never stopped. Maybe we got here with balls instead of brains and talent, but we got here. It’s still tough to lose. We came to win.” Murray Cunningham added 15 for Alberta, while nabbing 9 boards. Enns said the T-Birds “got into trouble not taking good shots in the first half.” UBC forward Mark Tinholt said “we had trouble with their zone. Cunningham, Martell – there’s some big kids in there. And myself and(Eric) Butler, we were guards last year. I’m not used to banging around with those big boys. I’m feeling pretty bruised right now.” UBC were down 18 but rallied within four. “We just dug ourselves too deep a hole tonight,” said Morris. “When the crowd gets on me and the players get on me, usually it picks up my game. They got on a roll and it’s tough to break that momentum.” Martell said “I think we outhustled them. But it seemed like some of guys felt we had it won early on and they started letting up a bit and that’s one thing you can never do. We’ll never make to nationals if you start letting up early in a game like that.” Ken Morris led UBC with 23.
In the final, Victoria defeated Alberta 75-78; 81-58; 81-63 (2g-1).
In game one, Alberta defeated host Victoria 78-75 at McKinnon Gym. Vike Andy Willmot tossed up a running trey at the buzzer that hit the rim and bounced away. “I feel very lucky to get out of that one,” said Bears coach Don Horwood. “But sometimes I feel it’s better to be lucky than good. And I’m very proud of my guys tonight. I thought a few things went against us down the stretch – we didn’t get some of the breaks we could have. But our guys have hung tough all year and they hung tough in this game.” The Bears, playing aggressive defence and attacking the Vikes when they had the ball, took over the game with a 12-0 run during the closing minutes of the first half and the opening minutes of the second. Victoria kept battling back, even when forward Scott Martell’s two free-throws with 17 seconds left gave the Bears a seemingly insurmountable five-point lead. Eric Hinrichsen cut the Alberta lead to 78-75 with an inside bucket with less than 10 seconds remaining. Then, incredibly, the Bears’ inbounds pass squirted through the hands of Greg De Vries and into Wilmott’s. The Vikes called a time-out with 4.4 seconds on the clock. “We got the shot we wanted,” said a disappointed Wilmott. “I should have made that shot.” The Vikes wouldn’t have had a chance to pull it out had Wilmott not sparked their comeback with a pair of timely treys, a jumper and a steal and lay-up in the dying minutes. He finished with 12 points. Pat Cannon led UVic with 17 points and seven rebounds while Hinrichsen scored 16 points and added seven boards and Greg Meldrum contributed 15 points and five assists. De Vries led all scorers with 26 points while Martell added 17 points and seven rebounds and Alberta point guard Greg Badger contributed 10 points and eight assists. “They played well,” said Vikes coach Guy Vetrie. “They came out and they got the loose balls and they got the rebounds. They just went at us a little harder than we went at them.” Bears forward Peter Knechtel said “we were able to get into the flow of our game which was get the ball down low inside to Murray (Cunningham), Marty (Scott Martell) and myself and let us go to work on them.”
In game two, Victoria defeated Alberta 81-58. The Vikes took the Bears by the throat early and didn’t let go. “Last night, I was really disappointed with losing and I was disappointed with the way I played,” said Vikes shooting guard Andy Wilmott. “I felt like I had let our team down a little bit and I felt I had let down our fans. I just wanted to come out tonight and take care of business.” Willmott attacked the basket from the start. “They came out with their backs against the wall, playing like they had to win,” said Alberta point guard Greg Badger. “And we played kind of like we were hoping to win.” The Vikes nabbed all the loose balls and out-rebounded Alberta by a tell-tale 36-23 margin. “In games like this, it’s s all a matter of attitude,” Alberta’s Badger said. “It’s not so much what you do physically on the court or anything like that. It’s attitude.” Wilmott scored 19 and dished 5 assists. Rookie forward Eric Hinrichsen added 18 points and seven rebounds. Greg Meldrum had 12 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists while Todd Langley added 11 points and six assists and Pat Cannon chipped in 10 points and three steals. Forward Murray Cunningham paced Alberta with a 21-point effort. Greg DeVries was held to 7. Alberta coach Don Horwood seemed to concede the outcome with 10 minutes left when he began to put in his bench. Willmott said the Vikes were ready for the game three showdown. “We’re a money team. That’s all I can say about that.” Bears forward Peer Knechtel said “we completely forgot about Willmott. He just started getting shot after shot. By the time we tried to figure out what was happening and what we could do, it was too late and that game was just a lost cause.” Alberta coach Don Horwood said Greg DeVries “just got manhandled. “The referees had in their mind that they were going to allow physical play and it was really hard for us to score inside. In fairness, they played very well and we played hard, but not smart.”
In game three, Victoria took the series with a 81-63 victory over Alberta as Greg Meldrum scored 21 and Jeff Bevington 12. Greg DeVries led by the Golden Bears with 28. “They played really well,” said Horwood. “They beat up on us pretty good.” Victoria’s size proved the difference, Horwood added. “To be absolutely honest, they deserved the victory. The thing that we couldn’t control was their size. They had 20 offensive boards against us. Really, that summed up the game. It was just too hard to keep them away from the boards. …..We did get frustrated as well. We felt a number of times they were jumping over our backs. The referees weren’t calling it and that became a big advantage for Victoria.” The Bears fell behind 40-27 at the half and while they cut the lead to eight in the second half, they never really threatened. “Maybe uptight isn’t the right word,” said Horwood. “I think we were in too big of a hurry and became impatient.” The Vikes played tough defence, used their size to complete advantage and outlasted the Bears thanks to a terrific job by the bench. Even when Langley and fellow backcourt starter Andy Wilmott got themselves into early foul trouble, the Vikes got outstanding play off the bench from Shawn King and Drew Hyndman. Hyndman didn’t turn over the ball and scored nine points. “We’ve e got lots of guys playing hard, lots of guys playing with confidence and we’re playing together,” a happy coach Guy Vetrie said. “On Friday, we thought it was going to happen for us just because we were at home. On Saturday, our guys realized they had to go out and make it happen. And they weren’t going to be denied.” Eight Vikes hit the scoresheet Sunday as Vetrie subbed frequently and rotated his big men effectively to wear down the Bears and pile up a telling 43-25 edge on the boards. “Basically, their size got t to us,” said Horwood, whose team trailed 40-27 at the half and never got closer than eight points after that. Veteran forward Greg Meldrum led the Vikes with a fine 21-point, eight-rebound, five-assist effort while Jeff Bevington added 12 rebounds off the bench and rookie phenom Eric Hinrichsen had 10 points and 10 rebounds. Shooting guard Greg De Vries said Victoria deserved the win. “All power to Victoria – they just beat us up out there.” Murray Cunningham said “I don’t know what happened. It was just bad. Everything didn’t go our way.” Alberta coach Don Horwood said “they out-bigged us. They played the boards very well.”
The co-bronze Calgary Dinos: Richard Bohne; Craig Newman; Stephane Rochet; Kelly Forbes; Andy McPike; Kieron Warren; Colin Inman; Ryan Baldry; Earl Amankwah; Sandor Kiss; Carl Deane; Steve Seiler; Steven Winkelman; James Verwey; Matt Rogers; coach Gary Howard
The co-bronze medalist British Columbia Thunderbirds: Ken Morris; Randy Ellis; Eric Butler; John Dumont; Mike Oord; Mark Tinholt; Brady Ibbetson; Jeff Sharma; Pat Inglis; Curtis Mepham; Kevin Bos; coach Bruce Enns
The runner-up Alberta Golden Bears: Greg Devries; Scott Martell; Murray Cunningham; Jay Johnstone; Peter Knechtel; Greg Sale; Greg Badger; Tally Sweiss; Marc Semeniuk; Jeff Collier; Stephen Curran; Mikel Schmidt; Joel Chalifoux; Marc Marciniuk; coach Don Horwood; SID Dan Carle; athletic director Ian Reade
The champion Victoria Vikings: Andy Wilmott; Greg Meldrum; Jeff Bevington; Patrick Cannon; Eric Hinrichsen; Todd Langley; Shawn King; Drew Hyndman; Dan McMillan; Colin Cunningham; Greg Bateson; Sterling O’Sullivan; Peter Carmichael; coach Guy Vetrie; assistant Thom Gillespie; SID Judy Joseph; athletic director Wayne MacDonald