2001-02 CanWest – men

REGULAR SEASON

	PLAINS				CENTRAL
	Brandon	17-3	27-6	Jerry Hemmings	Alberta	19-1	35-3	Don Horwood
	Winnipeg	10-10	19-15	Dave Crook	Saskatchewan	10-10	14-21	Greg Jockims
	Regina	8-12	13-17	James Hillis	Calgary	6-14	13-22	Dan Vanhooren
	Manitoba	3-17	5-25	Rick Suffield	Lethbridge	6-14	10-21	Dave Adams
	WEST
	Simon Fraser	14-6	20-14	Scott Clark
	U.B.C.	14-6	18-14	Kevin Hanson
	Victoria	10-10	23-16	Guy Vetrie
	Trinity Western	3-17	5-23	Stan Peters

Playoff non-qualifiers:

Calgary Dinosaurs: Whit Hornsberger, John Riad, Andy Stordeur, Jeff Loomis, Rich Wiebach, Chris Wright, Jonathan Woods, Adam Begley, Brent Laycock, Sean Paterson, Mark Gillrie, Michael Fitz, Joe Songi, Ashraf Sharif, coach Dan Vanhooren

Manitoba Bisons: Paul Fust, Arthur Lawrence, Ryan Dulder, Jatinder Johal, Yacine Bara, Clarence Vigalance, Kevin Westell, Glen Manlig, Chris Hildebrand, Marcel Valloton, Darcy Cross, Vinny Dumas, coach Rick Suffield

Trinity Western Spartans: Tyler Coston, David Martens, Ryan Jobs, Brian Redekop, Ryan Anderson, Brad Unger, Joey Maksymiw, Jason Reeve, Ben Bauman, Andy Vander Meulen, Josh Mark, Adam Friesen, Jonathan Lundgren, Christopher McCracken, coach Stan Peters, assistant Dave Heidebrecht

In the Plains Division semis, Winnipeg defeated Regina 73-62; 83-81 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, Winnipeg prevailed 73-62. …………………………………………………… In game two, Winnipeg nipped Regina by two despite nearly relinquishing an 18-point lead. Regina tied the game at 81 with nine seconds to play. But Joe Dominiguez hit a bucket at the buzzer to give the Wesmen the win and the series. Dominguez finished with 23 points. Tosin Opanubi added 13. Brenan Schwartz led Regina with 36. Tyler Wright and Ryan Michell each added 11. The Cougars (coached by James Hillis) also included Alek Arsenic, Geoff Glasspell, Joel Hunter, Zak Michell, Michael Enns, Jason Drummond, Murray Geisbrecht, Greg McKoy, Shaheen Zareh, Brad Fekula, Garrett Schmidt, Alex Boardman, Brett Benson and Matt Cherkas.

        In the Central Division semis, 2nd-seed Saskatchewan defeated 3rd-seed Lethbridge 99-97; 82-86; 90-88 (2g-1). …………………………………………………… In the opening game, Saskatchewan nipped Lethbridge 99-97 as Jamie Charlton scored 21, James Kenyon 20, Seth Lang 17 and Calvin Palmer 14, along with 12 boards. Ryan Reed led Lethbridge with 23. Jason Harrison added 20. The Huskies jumped to an early 17-11 lead, but it was short lived as the Pronghorns narrowed the gap tying the game at 22 and again at 35. The Huskies grabbed hold of a 41-35 lead and the teams headed for the locker rooms with the Dogs ahead 49-46 at the half. In the second half, Lethbridge took a 70-69 lead and held a 97-91 lead late, but Palmer hit a bucket. Then Seth Lang grabbed a loose ball and added two in transition with 55 seconds to play to cut the margin to 97-95. James Kenyon went to the free throw line with 22 seconds left in the game and 23 seconds on the shot clock and was 2 for 2 to tie things up at 97. With the ball in Lethbridge’s end, James Kenyon managed to get his hands on the ball as he pilfered it from Lethbridge star Jason Harrison and fired it up the court to Palmer to dodged two Lethbridge defenders for the lay-up to give the Huskies a 99-97 lead with only 4 seconds remaining on the clock. Trent Folk added 8 points for Saskatchewan, while Matthew Greenberg scored 5, Derek Boechler 3, Rob Lovelace 3 and Mitchell Grant, Sean Homenick, Nathan Nowak and Matthew Penner each scored 2. The Huskies shot 35-84 from the floor, 9-20 from the arc and 20-25 from the line while grabbing 36 boards, 11 steals 6 blocks and 24 assists. Alan Spoonhunter added 16 for Lethbridge while Denis Bekkering scored 13, Tom Hudel 10, Ryan Anderson 8 and Travis Korella 7. Lethbridge shot 36-79 from the floor, 5-14 from the arc and 20-25 from the line, while grabbing 38 boards, eight steals, 5 blocks and 14 assists. “I wasn’t thinking; I was just praying that it would go in,” said Palmer. “We stole it away from them at the end,” said Saskatchewan coach Greg Jockims. “I’m sure they’re disappointed, but we’ll take it. Usually, when you have a two or three possession lead in the least two or three minutes, it’s tough to come back from that. It’s very difficult. But we did what we had to do.” Palmer said “there was a big swing in the last two minutes, but I guess that shows you have to play the game one basket at a time and hope it turns out in your favour at the end. This gives us the advantage. They’re coming off a tough loss, and we’re coming off a win. Even if it’s a bad win, it’s still a win.” Jockims was impressed with how his young charges stayed cool down the stretch. “That’s performance under pressure – doing your job and doing it hard,” Jockims said. …………………………………………………… In game two, Lethbridge eked out a four-point win as Jason Harrison scored 27, Ryan Reed 17 and Tom Hudel 13, along with 15 boards. James Kenyon led Saskatchewan with 20 points and 6 boards. Jamie Charlton added 22 for the Huskies. Lethbridge broke to a 26-16 lead by dominating the boards. Saskatchewan chipped away to trim the margin to 50-45 at the half. The Huskies took a 72-66 lead midway through the second half. But Hudel and Alan Spoonhunter rallied the Pronghorns back to an 81-79 lead with minutes to play. Jamie Charlton hit a pair from the line to tie it at 81 but Ryan Reed responded with a bucket. Huskie Seth Lang hit a free throw. Reed hit a free throw. Huskies turned it over with seven seconds to play and Lethbridge iced it at the line. Saskatchewan shot .386 from the field, .286 from the arc and .846 from the line. Lethbridge shot .471 from the field, .462 from the arc and .762 from the line. …………………………………………………… In game three, Saskatchewan defeated Lethbridge 90-88 as Palmer scored 30 and grabs 14 boards. Kenyon adds 16 points. The Pronghorns jumped ahead in the first half and the Dogs evened the scoring at 26 apiece, but again the Horns, who were 45.9% from the field in the first half, grabbed a lead that they maintained until the end of the half. Huskies Calvin Palmer was the clear leader of the Dogs’ effort in the first half, scoring 16 of the teams 38. With a six point lead to start the second, the Horns appeared to have control of game three. In the second, the Horns went on a 13-6 run and pulled ahead yet again leading 57-44 at one point; the largest margin witnessed in each of the three games. With 14 minutes left in the game, Huskies’ James Kenyon, who had 16 points on the day, found himself with four fouls and took a break on the bench, but outstanding play by Calvin Palmer, Jamie Charlton and Seth Lang helped to bring the Dogs within reach. The Huskies enjoyed their first lead of the game, 74-73, as rookie Matt Greenberg dumped in a three-pointer to get the Huskies rolling. In the final minutes the Huskies and Horns’ exchanged their share of the lead and Lethbridge’s Tom Hudel gave the opposition an 83-81 lead with only 3:54 minutes remaining in the game. Lethbridge’s Denis Bekkering and Matt Anderson checked out of the game with five fouls each. Down two, James Kenyon tied things up shooting 2-2 from the free throw line, then Calvin Palmer added two singles as well; Huskies lead 85-83 with less than two minutes on the clock. Lethbridge’s Ryan Reed hit two from the line to bring the Horns within one; Huskies still lead 86-85. The Horns had the opportunity to pull ahead as Nick Baldwin took his turn at the line, but was one for two. Huskie Calvin Palmer grabbed an important rebound and fired the ball down the court to Jamie Charlton who picked up the deuce, but was fouled on the play. With 27 seconds left on the clock, Charlton, who was one for two from the line, gave the Dogs an 89-86 lead. Lethbridge’s Jason Harrison added two to bring the squad within one, but with 17 seconds left on the clock the Huskies need only keep control of the ball for the win. A foul on Matt Greenberg had him shooting two with 13 seconds left on the clock. Greenberg added the extra point and a last ditch effort by Lethbridge’s Jason Harrison to tie things up was thwarted as the team simply ran out of time. The Huskies shot 31.6% from the field, 31.6% from beyond the 3-point arc and 73.9% from the line, while Lethbridge was 44.9% from the field, 28.6% from beyond the arc and 81.5% from the line. “We were only down by six at half-time,” noted Huskies guard Seth Lang. “We knew we just had to hang in there and our shots were going to start going in.” The breaks started favoring the Huskies in the second half. “Like I told our guys, any third game, or fifth game, or seventh game in a series comes down to the team with more energy and the team that works harder,” said Saskatchewan coach Greg Jockims. “We were a little bit tight in the first half. In the second half, our older guys really stepped it up and even a couple of our rookies did. (Freshman) Matt Greenberg had a strong game.” Jamie Charlton said “we really stepped up in the second half. I can honestly say that we wanted it more. I’ve been here a long time (five years). I’m so glad to get to play one more weekend.” Pronghorns coach Dave Adams said that “Jocks (Jockims) is such a good coach. They did such a good job of getting the ball inside and getting Palmer involved. They could have quit but they never stopped working. They’ve got a lot of moxie.” Jason Harrison led Lethbridge with 26 points. Alan Spoonhunter added 18 and Ryan Reed 14, along with 11 boards. Tim Hudel scored 12, while nabbing 6 boards. The Pronghorns (coached by Dave Adams, assisted by Rick Pawlak and David Wells) also included Nick Baldwin, Travis Kozella, Ryan Anderson, Gerald Marcoux, Scott MacKinnon, Matthew Bekkering, Rob Slavich, Darryl Mimick and Daniel Bosters.

        In the Pacific Division semis, 3rd-seed Victoria defeated 2nd-seed U.B.C. 61-76; 72-60; 92-75 (2g-1) …………………………………………………… In game one, UBC defeated visiting Victoria 76-61. The Thunderbirds took a 12-0 lead and never looked back, leading 40-33 at the half. Kyle Russell was 6-9 from the arc and finished with 33 points, 4 boards and 6 assists. Keith Bustard led Victoria with 19 points and 8 boards. UBC held 6-8 Viking forward Sandy Bisaro to just 14. …………………………………………………… In game two, Victoria defeated U.B.C. 72-60. “Their backs were against the wall, and they got hungry – a lot hungrier than we were,” said UBC coach Kevin Hanson. The Vikings held Russell to 17 points and a shooting percentage under .500. The Vikes also out-rebounded the Thunderbirds 41 to 30, and had 11 steals to the T-Birds’ five. “Last night we gave them a lot of open looks. (Russell) played a great game, but we made him look pretty good,” said the Vikes’ Keith Bustard. “Last night we came out soft. (Tonight) we didn’t lose track of Kyle Russell.” Bustard scored nine points, had eight rebounds, and disrupted the UBC flow at every opportunity. He and Sandy Bisaro – 20 points and eight boards – were often double and triple teamed, leaving it to others to make the crucial shots, which they did. Orlando Fergusson scored 12 points, and Jason Tiffin, with three three-pointers, had 11. The Vikings hit just 13-33 from the floor in the first half but found their touch late in the half, scoring the final five points before the break to take a 33-29 lead to the locker room. Much calmer and more patient in the second half, the Vikes continued their run. Bustard opened with a three, then set up two other baskets with steals. Victoria ran for 11 straight points and a 15-point lead, before UBC got back on the scoreboard. The Thunderbirds inched to within nine a couple of times, but the Vikes, racing to cover the floor, rarely gave an inch of space to allow the explosive UBC offence a chance to detonate. “We just played with a lot more heart (than Friday night). Steals, rebounds, taking chances, taking risks, it’s playoff basketball. You’ve got to play as if it’s our last game, and not leave anything on the court.” The taller, broader Vikes punished the T- Birds inside, outscoring them 30-18 in the paint. They also had the advantage at the foul line, hitting on 19-of-26 attempts compared with 8-of-12 for UBC. …………………………………………………… In game three, Victoria defeated U.B.C. 92-75. Fifth year guard Keith Bustard notched 23 points, five rebounds, two assists and four steals. He took particular pleasure in the win, having hoped to attend U.B.C. in high school. “Bruce Enns was coaching [at UBC] then and we got along well. I just wasn’t sure that he wanted me here,” said Bustard, who was part of the back-to-back B.C. high school championship Kitsilano Blue Demon teams. “I have no hard feelings towards UBC. Don’t try to play it that way. But, yeah, it’s a little different. I did like UVic. It’s a great campus and there’s a great tradition. The main thing was that I thought I could win a couple of [national] championships, jumping on that team with [former national player of the year Eric] Hinrichsen. I figured I could get a freebie with them. It didn’t happen, but maybe we can get one this year.” Bustard and fellow Kits product Sandy Bisaro, who first went to Portland State before joining the Vikes, helped manhandle the Birds as Victoria jumped out to a 45-29 halftime lead. They dominated inside, as Bisaro also scored 23 points, and they dominated from outside, shooting 11-of-18 from three-point range, including Bustard’s 5-of-5 from beyond the arc. “They shot the heck out of the ball today,” said UBC guard Kyle Russell, who scored 32. “A team with players like that who shoot the ball that well is going to beat you.” Vikes coach Guy Vetrie said “at the beginning of this year we thought we had a pretty good team,” said Vetrie, recalling the rash of injuries suffering through the campaign. “Halfway through the Saturday night game, I felt for the first time like we were all there, healthy, and on the same page.” Sandy Bisaro said the Vikes “were determined to never let them have any open looks.” The Vikes hit 11-18 from the arc, including 5-5 by Bustard. They nailed 7 treys in the first half as they built a 45-29 lead. Victoria shot .600 from the floor. Kyle Russell led U.B.C. with 32 but the rest of the T-Birds looked shell-shocked. “They hit Kyle and they beat on him, and he just got worn down,” UBC coach Kevin Hanson said. “He needed some of the other guys to step it up, and they didn’t.” Point guard Shaun Doherty added 11 points for the Vikes and Jason Tiffin 14, while sacrificing body and limb to get the crucial loose balls and rebounds when UBC was pressing hard. Orlando Fergusson and Eric Rushton did most of the legwork in the platoon defence of Russell. “They should be proud of themselves,” Vetrie said. “I think after Friday night, a lot of people wrote them off.” The Thunderbirds (coached by Kevin Hanson) also included Corey Ogilvie, Mark Tasic, Ben Sansburn, Paul Naka, Jason Bristow, Brandon Ellis, Aaron Frampton, Jama Mahlalela, Brian Banman, Jarami Reid, Tasso Kanavos and Mon Jef Peeters.

        In the Plains division final, Brandon defeated Winnipeg 92-103; 90-78; 81-78 (2g-1). …………………………………………………… In game one, Winnipeg stunned the third-ranked host Bobcats by 103-92 before a capacity crowd of 1,000. Dan Duggan scored 30 for the Wesmen, Alden Smalling 21, Joe Dominguez 20 and Suk Singh 15. “It was a wake-up call for us,” said Bobcat guard Tyrone Smith. “This loss hurts every player on our team. For our young guys especially, this was a wake-up call.” Brandon had little answer to Duggan’s inside presence and Winnipeg’s deadly perimeter shooting. Smith, who scored 15, said the Bobcats were simply outplayed. “We have to tip our hats to them. They came here ready to play. They executed well. They didn’t run anything new or different, they just made their shots.” Winnipeg shot .520 from the floor and Brandon .630 but the Wesmen attempted 24 more shots and hit 8-18 from the arc. Joseph Prue Led Brandon with 22, Nicosey Quick added 16, Dido Bunema 11 and Josh Masters 10. Winnipeg out-rebounded Brandon 34-27 and committed 15 turnovers to Brandon’s 20. Brandon led early 9-4 but Winnipeg ripped off a 14-1 run and never looked back, leading by 42-35 at the half and by as many as 18 in the second half, repeatedly running the Bobcats off good screens for open jumpers. “We had some game rust tonight,” said Smith. “They were ready. They were coming in off of a big series win versus Regina last weekend. As much as we practiced in the past two weeks, you can’t substitute practice for a game.” Brandon had won all four regular season games with Winnipeg and had not lost a playoff opener in eight years. “We will be more focused tomorrow,” said Smith. “Guys are going to really have to buy in to what Coach (Hemmings) is telling us. We will be more focused.” …………………………………………………… In game two, Brandon evened the series with a 90-78 win as rookie Joseph Prue scored 33 and grabbed 10 boards. The Bobcats played with more urgency, said Prue, who hit 12-17 from the field. “In the locker room before the game our whole team was focusing on coming out and playing better defense. We needed to start our offense with defense tonight, and we did just that.” The Bobcats stormed out of the gates, hitting .660 from the floor, including 5-8 from the arc, as they took a 50-37 lead at the half. “On Friday, we tried to press them and we tried to play more of an up-tempo game,” noted Brandon guard Tyrone Smith, who scored 16 points in the win. “They adapted to our plan and beat us. Tonight we were much more solid. We played better defense and made them shoot over us.” Dido Bunema added 15 for Brandon and Nicosey Quick 15. Brandon shot .560 from the floor, .380 from the arc, while Winnipeg shot .470 from the floor and .360 from the arc. “We’re not going to be happy until we win this series,” said Smith. Winnipeg was led by Suk Singh with 17 points. Alden Smalling and Joe Dominguez each delivered 15, Dan Duggan had 13, and Casey Gooch chipped in with 12. Brandon coach Jerry Hemmings said the interior duo of Sean Thistle and Kwasi Danso kept the Wesmen’s post players contained. “We respect Winnipeg and their players. …They have some big-time scorers, but tonight we contained them all well.” …………………………………………………… In game three, rookies Sean Thistle and Nicosey Quick dominated as Brandon took the determining contest. Quick scored 18 and hit several decisive shots down the stretch as Brandon escaped with a five-point win. He was 6-14 from the field and 6-6 from the line, including four free throws in the final minute of play. He finished with 6 assists, 5 steals and four boards. “Being a first year player, it’s important for me to come out and play with confidence,” said Quick. “Our whole team came out today with lots of energy and intensity. We had solid contributions from everyone and a lot of great teamwork. Lately I have been struggling with my free throws. This morning I came into the gym and took 50 extra free throws. It paid off.” Fellow rookie Sean Thistle was equally fearless. “I may be a rookie in the CIS, but I’m used to playing under pressure,” noted Thistle, who scored 16, grabbed 10 boards and limited Winnipeg big man Dan Duggan to 16 points. “I played in a lot of pressure situations in high school so this is nothing new to me. …I did not want to lose this weekend. I just had to step up. It was my job to guard Duggan and I had to stop him.” Joseph Prue added 14 for Brandon and Josh Masters 12. Tyron Smith had 9, Kwasi Danso 7. Brandon shot 50% from the field in the game and 50% from beyond the three-point arc. The Bobcats also hit .890 from the line. The Wesmen, meanwhile, hit 50% of their field goals, 38% of their three’s, and 76% of their free throws. BU out-rebounded the U of W 31-29. Smith said the youngsters proved the difference. “Talent is talent. We have guys like Thistle, Quick, and O’Neil (Gordon) who can step up. They’ve proved all season long that they are talented basketball players. Today our first year guys stepped up again. It was nothing new for us to see.” Brandon led by as many as 16 in the first half and by 43-33 at the break. But the Wesmen gamely rallied to tie it several times in the second half. A fade-away jumper by Quick with 22.2 seconds to play iced the win as the Bobcats took a 77-72 lead. Winnipeg was led by 5th year guard Joe Dominguez with 24 points on 9-17 shooting from the field and 5-11 from three-point range. Fellow 5th-year star Suk Singh scored 19 along with 6 assists, and Tosin Opanubi had 10 points. The Wesmen (coached by Dave Crook) also included Aldin Smalling, Casey Gooch, J.P. Lynch, Dave Brar, Tony Richter, Joseph Benjamin, Phil Swart, Kevin Yeboah and Tim McDowell.

        In the Central Division final, top-seeded Alberta defeated Saskatchewan 77-53; 104-93 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, Alberta dozed through the first half but eventually routed Saskatchewan 77-53. The Bears led 37-30 at the half but picked up their defensive intensity in the second half, limiting the Huskies to .240 from the floor as they improved their record to 30-2. Central Division MVP Robbie Valpreda hit 11-18 from the floor and scored 24 while grabbing 14 boards. 6-9 forward Reuben Hall added 14 and 11 boards. James Kenyon paced the Huskies with 15. Calvin Palmer added 14. Despite the win, coach Don Horwood was displeased. “We were awful in the first half. Guys were just wound up and in a big hurry. Just bad decisions. We haven’t played in a couple of weeks, all those things combined, but obviously we have to play better. Guys threw up some garbage shots. It’s just bad decision-making and we can’t afford to have that against really good ball teams because it could end up costing us a game. Guys were revved up and played with a little bit of panic.” The Huskies took a 10-2 lead as guard James Kenyon lit up the gym. But Valpreda rallied Alberta back with 17 points on rebounds from perimeter jumpers as the Bears took a 37-30 lead at the half. The Bears defensive intensity improved in the second half to take a 17-pint lead on back to back blocks by Reuben Hall and Chris Trydal which led to a Phil Scherer layup and three-pointer. “The thing I liked was our defence was really strong,” said Horwood. “We did a really good job of shutting them down until some of our shooters got going. (Our play) was the sort of thing that could be expected. I’m happy our defence is good enough that we can shut some teams down and keep the score close until we do settle down.” Valpreda said the Bears “were playing cat and mouse there a bit, but we got a lead and then felt comfortable once we got the ball rolling. We’ve got a lot of strengths but I think the guys were just glad to get this win out of the way.” The Bears held Kenyon scoreless in the second half. …………………………………………………… In game two, Alberta swept the series with a 104-93 victory. Alberta took a 55-40 lead at the half and coasted to an easy win as Stephen Parker scored 28 and Robbie Valpreda 25. Saskatchewan coach Greg Jockims was irate over the officiating. “When you have the best team in the country, I think the referees get intimidated as much as players do,” said Jockims, who was tagged within a technical five minutes in and then toss a pop can over his shoulder into the stands in the final minutes of play. “The refs can’t call the physical play the whole game. You’ve got to call it early or not at all and they didn’t call it all. Don got on them early and he’s a veteran who has the ability to intimidate refs. I wasn’t going to sit back and let him influence the refs, which was why I stepped up.” Bear rookie Gavin Fedorak, from Victoria, came off the bench late in the first half and nailed a trio from beyond the arc to give Alberta its half time lead. The Bears built the lead to 20, but Saskatchewan rallied to within four and just as quickly found themselves trailing by 20 again. “Now that it’s over, we can look forward,” said Fedorak, who finished with 12 points. “We had that lapse in the second half but I think we recovered well.” James Kenyon led Saskatchewan with 34. Calvin Palmer added 20. The Huskies (coached by Greg Jockims) also included Jamie Charlton, Seth Lang, Matthew Greenberg, Mitchell Grant, Trent Folk, Trevor Cranston, Kevin Langdon, Rob Lovelace, Nathan Nowak, Matthew Penner, Derek Boechler and Sean Homenick.

        In the Pacific Division final, top-seed Simon Fraser defeated 3rd-seed Victoria 73-90; 84-68; 101-91 (2g-1). …………………………………………………… In game one, Victoria whacked Simon Fraser 90-73. Brent Charleton led the Clan with 24 points. Jordan Mason added 17. Clan coach Scott Clark attributed the loss to serious defensive lapses. “Our defensive game suffered tonight and it cost us the game. The Vikes played hard, Sandy Bisaro and Keith Bustard (of the Vikes) stepped up and made the shots. Despite the loss, I was pleased with Luke McKerow’s (4th, G, Wodonga, Australia) play tonight.” The Clan took an early lead before Sandy Bisaro got on track for Victoria. The Vikings led by three at the half in a see-saw battle and then extended their lead to nine with a pair of three-pointers in the second half. The Clan narrowed it to five before Victoria pulled away down the stretch. Bisaro scored 26 points, tore down 7 boards and 2 assists. Keith Bustard added 26 points, 10 boards and 7 assists. …………………………………………………… In game two, Simon Fraser played with considerable more intensity as they whipped the Vikings 84-68, while hitting 13-23 from the arc. Brent Charleton led the Clan with 23 points, while hitting 3 treys. Jeremey Neufeld added 22, including 4-4 from the arc. Jordan Mason scored 17, including four triples. “We were a different team out there tonight, we played hard defensively and it paid off. Everyone had their contribution,” said Clan coach Scott Clark. “We never even broke the balls out at practice. We just sat there and showed the tape of the lack of effort. We all knew that we just had to play harder. There were no Xs and Os here. There was no magic wand that I waved. The guys just played hard.” After falling behind 22-13 seven minutes into the game, the Clan went on a 24-13 run to lead 37-35, clamping down on defence and limiting Victoria’s starting three frontcourt players to just 17 points and nine rebounds. The Clan assisted on 23 of 29 field goals and shot 13-23 from the arc, including 4-for-4 in the second half by Neufeld. Keith Bustard led Victoria with 17 points. …………………………………………………… In a game three thriller, Simon Fraser earned a berth in the Canada West final four by notching a 101-91 win in overtime. The Clan trailed by nine at the half but came storming out of the lockers, playing with defensive intensity. Jeremy Neufeld led the Clan with 30 points, shooting 5-6 from the arc and 3-3 from the lime while adding five assists. Brent Charleton chipped in 18. Keith Bustard led Victoria with 39. “We played mentally tough the entire game and it showed. This was a great team effort by all,” said Clan coach Scott Clark. With 2:04 to go in OT and SFU up only 88-87, Neufeld canned a three-pointer that seemed to deflate UVic. Twenty seconds later, he drained two foul shots after Vikes coach Guy Vetrie picked up a technical foul. “We played hard,” Bustard said. “I thought we played well enough to win.” Bustard had 21 points, and three of his five three-pointers, in the first half, which the Vikes controlled. The Vikes also penetrated effectively into the paint, and led 46-37 by halftime. The Clan didn’t really get going until just before the break, when they turned on the jets, and got the Vikes on the run. The Clan plan was to take Bisaro and Bustard out of the game as early as possible, and they succeeded, at least with Bisaro. The Vikes’ big post player was in trouble with four fouls halfway through the second period, and, by that time, SFU had taken a three- point, 61-58 lead. “We knew if we didn’t get back in it right away, it would be tough,” said the smooth-shooting Jeremy Neufeld, who scored 22 of his 30 points in the second half, and glued himself to Bustard, whom he described as “a warrior.” The final minutes of regulation time were a two-way crazy carpet ride of awe inspiring moves and pressure-charged mistakes. In one sequence, Bustard uncharacteristically bobbled the ball, Neufeld picked it up, then missed the layup. In the process, he fouled Bustard, who was hot in pursuit, and the Vikes’ shooter made both attempts from the free throw line. “They just kind of whittled away at it, and on defence we made a few mistakes,” Bustard said. Down by five with one minute to play, the Vikes struggled back. Shaun Doherty made a three-point play, and Bisaro fought and twisted to make the shot that tied the game 83-83 with three seconds left on the clock. Unfortunately for Victoria, Bisaro fouled out almost immediately in the five-minute overtime period, and Jason Tiffin, who had 11 rebounds to that point, followed a couple of minutes later. “We were playing tough and in-your-face and letting the play decide it, but down the stretch they started to blow the whistle,” Bustard said. “Our post players got some tough fouls I didn’t think they deserved.” The Vikes were further damaged by a technical foul, when frustration with the referees overflowed, and the Clan pulled away on the scoreboard.

Bisaro finished with 11 points, Doherty had 10, and Eric Rushton, with three three-point shots, scored 11. Besides Neufeld, the Clan had five players in double figures, including Brent Charleton 18, Shaun Halverson 12, Luke

McKerrow 11, Jordan Mason 10 and Emmy Unaegbu 10.

        Each of the divisional champs automatically earned a berth at the final four in Edmonton. Victoria is selected as the wild card and awarded the fourth seed.

        In the first semi of the Final Four, Brandon defeated Simon Fraser 86-81. Both teams were edgy at the start, failing to score for two minutes. Simon Fraser slowly built a 17-9 lead but Brandon’s full-court press began to yield dividends as the Bobcats took a 25-22 lead on tough defence by guard Kwasi Danso. Brandon led 42-37 at the half as Nikosey Quick scored 13 in the first frame. Brandon’s pressure continued to rattle the Clan in the second half as the Bobcats increased their lead to 12. The Clan finally began to break the press and rallied back to within five on several occasions on timely shooting by forwards Elijah Mason and Brent Charleton. Mason hit a three to trim the margin to four with 1:30 to play but missed a series of buckets down the stretch, including three straight power layups from forward Emmy Unaegbu. Charlton led Simon Fraser with 25 points. Mason added 22.

        In the other semi, Victoria stunned top-ranked Alberta 79-69 in a sluggish affair. “Talent doesn’t change. What changes is what’s between your ears. Their best players played better than our best players,” said Bears coach Don Horwood. Alberta’s starters shot 20-46 from the floor. “They shot the hell out of the ball and we panicked. Our guys got tight as the game went on and we threw up some bad shots.” Alberta broke to 15-4 lead on seven points from Phil Scherer and timely steals. But Victoria rallied back to a 21-20 lead and pushed it to 46-36 on Keith Bustard’s 16 first half points. “We were a little nervous coming in,” said Sherer, who scored 16. Victoria held Robbie Valpreda to 14 points, including only three in the second half. Keith Bustard finished with 33 after shooting 11-15 from the floor, nabbing 6 boards and dishing 3 assists. “We obviously didn’t do a good job of finishing inside tonight,” said Scherer. “It was nerves and we’ve got to get back inside tomorrow.” Scherer rallied the Bears by scoring 7 points in a 13-5 run in the second half that cut the lead to 56-51 with 10 minutes to play. But the Bears suddenly had trouble executing their offence and found themselves in foul trouble. Bears star Stephen Parker was scoreless in 13 minutes of play. Post Reuben Hall notched just six points in 34 minutes of play. “Obviously, the guys didn’t handle the pressure well,” said Horwood. “If we’re going to run things around, we’ve got to be able to handle the pressure. Talent doesn’t change. What changes is what’s between your ears,” said Horwood. “I thought we were impatient on offence and we panicked a little bit. That’s the stuff I didn’t expect to see – we definitely panicked.” Bustard said the Vikings “knew all along that we had the talent. We played error-free, made some big shots and played some good D. I imagine this will shock some people. Any time a team with one lose loses to a team with 13 or 15 losses like we had, it’s going to turn a few heads.” The Vikes were 3-7 from beyond the arc in the first half, including several prayers from Bustard.

        In the bronze medal match for a berth in the nationals, Alberta dumped Simon Fraser 79-70. The teams were tied at the half but the Bears broke it open with an 11-2 run late in the second half to take a 73-65 lead. Jordan Mason led the Clan with 30 points, Jeremy Neufeld added 15. Shaun Halverson scored 11 and grabbed 11 boards. The 2300 fans in the sold-out Bears gym rallied the troops after the teams went to the break deadlocked at 32. Mike Melnychuk came off the bench to replace Conference All-Star Stephen Parker and he led the Golden Bears with 21 points as they outscored SFU 47-38 in the second half. Canada West MVP Robbie Valpreda had 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Bears. Jordan Mason was 8 for 14 from the field and 10 for 11 from the charity stripe pacing the ‘Clan offence with a game high 30 points. “The heat was immense,” said Horwood. “Everything was on the line. All the pressure these guys were feeling, no question. We hadn’t lost a game since October. The coach was feeling it, I assure you. But it may help us. We took that loss and we recovered, bounced back with a really gutty effort and now we know that’s the effort we’re going to need for three games in Halifax. There’s an awful lot of character on this team for these guys to come out and play like they did tonight.” The decision to replace Parker with ex-Harry Ainlay star Mike Melnychuk paid off immediately as he drained a number of threes to give Alberta its first lead. Melnychuk drove for a layup and then delivered a feed to Chris Trydal on a 2-on-1 to ignite Alberta’s offence. But Clan star Elijah Mason rattled off eight straight points, including back-to-back threes to rally Simon Fraser to a 32-32 tie at the half.” Melnychuk again ignited an Alberta run in the second half when he rebounded the ball and while falling scooped in a bucket, hit a free throw after being fouled on the play, to trigger a 9-0 Alberta run which appeared to break the Clan’s spirit. A breakaway dunk by Parker with 1:35 to play and pair of free throws by Trydal iced the win. “I was nervous as hell to tell you the truth but I just played my game tonight, like I’d been playing in practice and the whole season – stress free,” said Melnychuk. “When I hit first shot, I felt it was going to be that kind of game. People didn’t realize how big the pressure was. When we came into the morning shoot, coach just told us we are the best team in the country and we listened and came out and played like that.” Along with Mason, the Clan (coached by Scott Clark) also included Brent Charleton, Jeremy Neufeld, Aaron Christenson, Jeff Antwi, Shaun Halverson, Emmy Unaegbu, Peter Morgan, Luke McKerrow, Mike Elias, John Boateng and Ryan Kolleric.

        In the final, Brandon crushed Victoria 85-52. The Bobcats jumped out to a 39-27 lead at the break and then poured it on in the second half outscoring the defending Conference champion Vikes 46-25 in the second half for the 33 point victory. Conference All-Star Joseph Prue was 8 for 13 from the field and collected 23 points to pace a balanced Bobcats attack that shot 50% from the field on the night. The Vikes, who were red-hot last night against the Bears, were ice cold, shooting only 31.7% from the field. Eric Rushton led the Vikes attack with 10 points. Keith Bustard had a tough night going 0 for 7 from the field.

        After the season, interim Lethbridge coach Dave Adams is replaced by Mike Connolly, two-time ACAC coach of the year at the Medicine Hat. “What stands out about Mike is the sacrifices he has made and the hard work he has put in to being the best coach he can be,” said Pronghorn Athletics manager Sandy Slavin. “There are few coaches out there willing to work as hard as Mike will.” Connolly served as assistant to Ken Olynyk for six years at the University of Toronto and for three years as assistant to Guy Vetrie at the University of Victoria. “I’m honoured to be here,” said Connolly. “I know how committed this city is to basketball, and I’m thrilled. It’s the best opportunity I could hope for. My family loves southern Alberta, and we plan to be here long term.”

        The bronze medalist Alberta Golden Bears: Stephen Parker; Mike Melnychuk; Robbie Valpreda: Gavin Fedorak; Phil Scherer; Paul Marr; Chris Trydal; Todd McClenaghan; Ryan Baldry; Reuben Hall; Kevin Petterson; Phil Sudol; Brandon Park; redshirt Nathan Coughlin; redshirt Brandon Horton; coach Don Horwood; assistant Scott Martell; assistant Murray Scambler; assistant Cliff Rowein; trainer Dawn Caldwell; trainer Lesley Lush; administrative assistant Tasia McQueen

        The silver medalist Victoria Vikings: Jason Tiffin; Trevor Thomas, Ross McDonald, Nathan Ashmead; Jason Crawford; Eric Rushton; Keith Bustard; Peter Richmond, Orlando Fergusson; Reagan Daly, Shaun Doherty, Josh Payne, Matt Ashmead, Chris Spoor; Sandy Bisaro; coach Guy Vetrie; assistant Craig Behan; assistant Craig Beaucamp; manager Linda Kimoto; SID John Wakefield; trainer Krista Mullaly

        The champion Brandon Bobcats: Gilford Cheung; Joshua Masters; Kwasi Osae-Danso; Tyrone Smith; Charles Jacoway; O’Neil Gordon; Eric Davis; Kevin Taylor; Joe Smith; Sean Thistle; Tisibury (Dido) Bunema; Nikosey Quick; Joseph Prue; Wardell Smith; Scott Walton; Gene Wolff; Curtis Augustus; coach Jerry Hemmings; assistant Ron McCutcheon; assistant Donald Phillips; therapist Al Luhowy; business manager Bill Gadd; statistician Dick McDonald