REGULAR SEASON
| Victoria | 15-5 | 27-7 | Guy Vetrie | |||||
| Alberta | 14-6 | 25-15 | Don Horwood | |||||
| U.B.C. | 11-9 | 20-13 | Bruce Enns | |||||
| Lethbridge | 11-9 | 17-15 | Dave Crook | |||||
| Calgary | 7-13 | 8-15 | Cory Russell | |||||
| Saskatchewan | 2-18 | 5-27 | Steve Roth | |||||
Playoff non-qualifiers:
Calgary Dinosaurs: Navie Sekhon, Kyle Russell, Alan Gibb, Sandor Kiss, Brad Gallop, Josh Boertzen, Blake Foster, Levin Lestander, Shawn Stetson, Robin McNally, Andrew Baird, Andrew Gustafson, Colin Inman, coach Cory Russell
Saskatchewan Huskies: Whitney Harris, Jody Glines, Ryan Leier, Wade Bourassa, Jamie Charlton, Dan Block, Adam Wilson, Darren Berg, Derek Czarnota, Jamie Dickson, Paul Engen, Paul Seipp, Luke Syme, Tyler Stuart, Jamie Peterson, coach Steve Roth
In the semis, Victoria d’d UBC 79-65; 82-91; 90-83 (2g-1). …………………………………………………… In the opener, rookie Aaron Olson scored 29 as Victoria prevailed 79-65. …………………………………………………… In game two, U.B.C. defeated the Vikings 91-82 as John Dumont scored 14. Eric Hinrichsen led the Vikings with 25. …………………………………………………… In game three, the host Vikings prevailed 90-83 as Nino Sose scored 24 and nabbed 4 boards. Alister Willmot added 27 points and 7 boards.
In the other semi, Lethbridge d’d Alberta 71-88; 95-75; 71-64 (2g-1). …………………………………………………… In game one, Alberta crushed Lethbridge 88-71 as Mikel Schmidt scored 19. Darren Semeniuk added 17 and Mark Humphrey 16. The Bears led 48-32 at the half as Schmidt got hot. “I look to be a leader on the court,” he said. “I’d like to think I know what it takes. That road to Halifax, geez, it’s got plenty of turns in it if you don’t know how to get there.” Barnaby Craddock led Lethbridge with 26. Semeniuk was also hot. ‘I just seemed to be on the receiving end of our little runs,” he said. “I don’t know what it was. Maybe I was getting out in the lanes. Post Nick Hughes also dominated both ends of the floor in the paint. The Bears led by 16 and shot .760 from the field. …………………………………………………… In game two, Lethbridge smacked Alberta 95-75. “They just outworked us,” said Bears coach Don Horwood. “They shot really well, but mainly because they worked hard offensively and defensively. They got good penetration and good open shots. Last night, we didn’t allow that penetration. Maybe our guys after winning by 17 last night thought that they’d roll over and die.” The Pronghorns built a 10-point lead after just three minutes and then extended it to 54-34 at the half. Lethbridge outshot Alberta .560 to .370 from the floor, .500 to .280 from the arc and .850 to .730 from the line. Tim Rollingson scored 25, including four treys and 7-7 from the line. The Bears got no closer than 10 in the second half. “Maybe I should have taken a time out when we came back but as a coach you worry about losing momentum,” said Horwood. “You’re afraid to substitute when things are going your way.” Bears guard Tally Sweiss said “it was just pathetic. A lot of us just died. …. A Few of us just couldn’t hit a damn ocean. It was horrible.” …………………………………………………… In game three, Lethbridge prevailed 71-64. “Absolutely amazing,” said Pronghorns guard Christopher Orr. “There’s such a tradition here, it’s so hard to win in this gym. The history here. Getting to the national finals five three times. After playing these guys last year and they were so tough, this is an amazing feeling. But everyone played well on our team. Barnaby Craddock is absolutely amazing. He’s playing with a broken hand. He was the leader on the team.” Jared Heidinger scored 19, Craddock 16 and Tim Rollingson 25. Craddock noted that “we knew it was our year. They’ve had their time. We always thought we were stronger than them.” Lethbridge led 36-34 at the half but Alberta rallied to a 59-53 lead before being held to five points over the final eight minutes. “We just settled the kids down and said, ‘play tough D and rebound’ and they didn’t score much after that,” said Lethbridge coach Dave Crook. Alberta coach Don Horwood said the Pronghorns “worked extremely hard, hit the key shots they had to hit. They made good decisions. They didn’t panic. They showed poise. If you look at our record this season, we just have not scored well. What’s kept us in most ball games has been our defence. We don’t have a lot of guys who can score, if Mike Schmidt and Vern Gerhardt aren’t scoring very much.” Schmidt notched 28 and Gerhardt 10. Guard Mikel Schmidt finished his career in dismay. “I’m destroyed. I don’t even know what to say. It hurts to go out on a losing note after five years.”
In the finals, Victoria defeated Lethbridge 79-78; 100-75 (2g-0).
In game one, Victoria defeated Lethbridge 79-78. Vic trailed 32-33 at the half. Seth Adler paced Victoria with 21 points and 3 rebounds. Eric Hinrichsen added 18 and 10 boards, Allister Wilmott 14 and 1 board, Aaron Olson 13 and 4 boards. Barnaby Craddock led Lethbridge with 26 points, no rebounds. Christopher Orr added 22 and 12 rebounds. Jared Hedinger added 13 and 4 boards. Lethbridge cut the margin to one at the buzzer when Chris Bullock hits shot from Pronghorns side of centre line. Adler, a Lethbridge native, went to the line and sank one of his two free throws with four seconds left to make it 79-75 for the Vikes after Lethbridge gunner Barnaby Craddock, the No. 2 scorer in the nation behind conference rival Navie Sekhon of Calgary, was light on his three-pointer that would have tied the game at 78-78 if it had connected. But it hit the front of the rim and Adler went to the line the other way. Curtis Bullock unleashed a 50-foot prayer at the buzzer that found its way into the basket to give UVic its final one-point margin. Adler had a season in the final two minutes. He knocked the ball out of Robert White’s hands for a key turnover at 1:47 left and UVic leading 73-72. Adler then blew by his check as if he wasn’t there and had a wide open lay-up but instead tried a dunk that rattled off the rim. Eighteen seconds later, Adler forced another Lethbridge turnover, which led to a three-point play that made it 76-72. He then almost made Christopher Orr cough up the ball but was instead called for a foul. Orr made it 76-73 with under a minute remaining. Then UVic’s Aaron Olson was called for traveling. Donnie Fitzpatrick scooped up a loose ball after the Horns let it slip but then the Vikes forward tossed it right back to the Horns and Craddock was in for an easy layup. It was 76-75 for the Vikes when Ali Wilmott was fouled with 17 seconds remaining. Wilmott’s first shot just rolled in and his second rattled through to give UVic a three-point cushion before Craddock’s ill-fated missile from the top of the key to try and tie it.
In game two, Victoria thrashed Lethbridge 100-75. Hinrichsen dominated game scoring 36 and grabbing 12 boards, while dominating the paint. Ali Wilmott added 17 points and 7 assists, Seth Adler 8, Aaron Olson 11. Pat Cannon, a 6-9 forward, scored 15, added 7 boards and 4 assists. “When they [Vikes] do what they do best, it’s unlikely anyone can beat them,” said a subdued Lethbridge coach Dave Crook. “Can anybody beat them at Halifax [national championships] except maybe an Atlantic team with the crowd behind it at the Metro Centre? I sincerely doubt it. But nationals are weird and intense – it comes down to one game at a time there.” Barnaby Craddock cranked 23 points for the Pronghorns. The Vikes led 56-45 at the half. “We were down nine to 13 points most of the first half and we just weren’t in sync, we just couldn’t score,” said Crook. “We came out in the second half and we must have missed our first eight shots, good shots too, but we just couldn’t get them to fall and they got it up to 20 and from there it’s pretty tough.” Chris Orr picked up three fouls just nine minutes into the opening half and the Pronghorns struggled both on the glass and with their interior defence as a result.
The co-bronze medalist British Columbia Thunderbirds: John Dykstra; Darcy Deutscher; Erin Butler; John Dumont; Gerald Cole; Jeremy Adrian; Brady Ibbetson; Nino Sose; David Buchanan; Jason Ussher; Curtis Mepham; Joel Nickel; redshirt Simon Orr-Ewing; redshirt Beau Mitchell; coach Bruce Enns; assistant Ross Tomlinson; assistant Maurice Sampson; assistant Todd Kazinska; assistant Simon Dykstra; strength & conditioning Joey Dolcetti; manager Sean Mitchell; trainer Dave Nelson
The co-bronze medalist Alberta Golden Bears: Mikel Schmidt; Vern Gerhardt; Darren Semeniuk; Ryan Dunkley; Jeff Collier; Mark Humphrey; Tally Sweiss; Nick Hughes; Michael Smith; Max Darrah; Chris Horwood; Nick Hughes; Kent Bergstrom; Patrick Crevolin; Rob Killen; Kelly Muir; coach Don Horwood
The runner-up Lethbridge Pronghorns: Barnaby Craddock; Jared Heidinger; Tim Rollingson; Robert White; Christopher Orr; John Tschritter; Curtis Bullock; Ryan Hall; Chris Wilde; David Erickson; Nick Noronha; Jessie Stanford; Jamie Elwood; Dave Jackson; coach Dave Crook
The champion Victoria Vikings: Eric Hinrichsen; Aaron Olson; Seth Adler; Allister Wilmott; Pat Cannon; Ralph Carter; Donald Fitzpatrick; Joel Neilson; Aaron Buckram; Colin Martin; Ole Schmidt; Matthew Coyne; Matthew Loveless; Tyler Bates; coach Guy Vetrie