2003-04 CanWest - men - From Naismith to Nash

REGULAR SEASON

PLAINS				CENTRAL
Brandon	12-8	19-14	Reggie Carrick	Calgary	15-5	28-11	Dan Vanhooren
Manitoba	8-12	14-18	Rick Suffield	Alberta	14-6	24-10	Don Horwood
Regina	7-13	17-17	James Hillis	Saskatchewan	8-12	8-24	Greg Jockims
Winnipeg	3-17	7-21	Dave Crook	Lethbridge	6-14	8-20	Mike Connolly
PACIFIC
Simon Fraser	13-7	14-11	Scott Clark
U.B.C.	12-8	23-13	Kevin Hanson
Trinity Western	11-9	16-13	Stan Peters
Victoria	11-9	15-15	Craig Beaucamp

Playoff non-qualifiers:

Lethbridge Pronghorns: Tom Hudel, Nick Baldwin, Ryan Reed, Simon Straith, Tim Whitehead, Sarain Soonias, Matthew Bekkering, Leo West, Luke Harris, Joel Price, Denver Corbiere, Daniel Bosters, coach Mike Connolly

Victoria Vikings: Chris Marsh, Chris Trumpy, Reagan Daly, Nathan Ashmead, Eric Rushton, Shaun Doherty, Michal Osusky, Steve Moore, Bryan Taylor, Ross MacDonald, Tylor Hynd, Ryan Vetrie, Rob Kinnear, coach Craig Beaucamp

Winnipeg Wesmen: David Brar, Mike Gomes, Tony Richter, Matt Opalko, Marlon Richards, J.P. Lynch, Oliver Leslie, Kevin Yeboah, Tosin Opanubi, Will Bergmann, Mo Williams, Phillip Swart, Joh Menjivar, Chris Friesen, Tim McDowell, coach Dave Crook

In the Pacific Division semis, the 2nd-seeded U.B.C. Thunderbirds defeated the 3rd-seeded Trinity Western Spartans 84-71; 73-96; 74-71 (2g-1). …………………………………………………… In the opener, U.B.C. dominated from the start en route to an 84-71 win. The T-Birds were led by point guard Karlo Villaneuva’s 21 points, 10 assists and three steals. The Spartans had won three of four from UBC during the regular seasons, “but we’ve put all that behind us now,” said Villaneuva. “It’s the playoffs and we’re working harder now than at any point of the season. I believe we’re playing our best basketball of the year right now and it couldn’t come at a better time. The playoffs are what the season’s all about.” U.B.C. took a 42-31 lead at the half. “There were very few stoppages in the second half and a lot of time to run our offence,” said UBC coach Kevin Hanson. “We were hungry for a win after Trinity beat us in one playoff game last year and I thought that showed in our play tonight. We went into the game wanting to be the aggressor and I thought we were aggressive.” In the scrappy second half, U.B.C. increased its lead to 65-45 with 10:44 remaining before the Spartans battled back to pull within 10 at the five-minute mark. But UBC’s defence and transition game was simply too strong for Trinity Western as the T-Birds converted 22 Spartan turnovers into 25 points, including several easy baskets down the stretch. “I thought Karlo was the man tonight,” said Hanson. “He dictated the tempo and played perhaps the best game I’ve seen him play. The challenge for him now is to do that in back-to-back games.” Hanson added that Pete Wauthy, replacing starter Ryder McKeown, who was in foul trouble, did a good job of containing Spartan star Logan Kitteringham. “The first four meetings this season Kitteringham got the best of him. But tonight, Pete did a great job of coming off the bench and giving us a spark. He was physical, chased down some huge rebounds on the offensive end and he hit some key shots.” Trinity Western was led by Dan Young’s 16 points despite being in foul trouble for most of the second half. Starting centre Andy VanderMeulen fouled out with just under mine minutes to play, while power forward Logan Kitteringham and shooting guard Brian Banman saw limited minutes in the second half with four fouls apiece. Villaneuva shot 9-16 from the floor. Peter Wauthy added 14 for UBC on 5-8 from the floor and 8 boards. Craig Rollins scored 13 on 6-11 from the floor and 6 boards. Casey Archibald scored 12 on 4-9 I floor and 4 boards. Pat McKay scored 11 on 3-8 from the floor. Jason Birring scored 9 and Pat Sponaski 4, while Ryder McKeown and Jordan Yu were scoreless. The T-Birds shot 31-67 (.463) from the floor, 5-16 (.312) from the arc and 17-20 (.850) from the line, while garnering 33 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 14 assists, 12 turnovers, 4 blocks and 10 steals. Dan Young led Trinity Western with 16 points on 7-12 from the floor and 4 boards. Logan Kitteringham scored 15 on 6-11 from the floor and 5 boards. Adam Friesen scored 12 on 5-12 from the floor and 5 boards. Andy VanderMeulen scored 5 and Brian Banman 4 on 3-9 from the floor and 5 boards. David Martens added 7 off the bench, while Steven Janzen and David Bron each scored 5. Kent Bergstrom and Justin Vink were scoreless. Trinity Western shot 26-58 (.463) from the floor, 4-16 (.250) from the arc and 15-23 (.652) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 5 assists, 22 turnovers, 2 blocks and 1 steal. …………………………………………………… In game two, Trinity Western romped to a 96-73 in as 6-5 power forward Logan Kitteringham scored 27 on 11-13 from the floor, 5-6 from the line and 9 boards before injuring his ankle early in the second half in a scramble for a rebound and crawling off the court on his hands and knees with a sprained ankle. But Adam Friesen and Dan Young maintained the Spartan’s margin as TWU pulled away down the stretch. Coach Stan Peters doubted Kitteringham would be available for game three. Kitteringham took command from the start. The Langley native hit 9-9 from the floor in the first half and shut down T’Birds Peter Wauthy and Pat McKay in the blocks. “We did absolutely nothing that was in the scouting report,” said UBC coach Kevin Hanson. “We got kicked.” The T-Birds missed 10 of their 24 free throw attempts in the second half. Trinity Western took a 21-4 lead and the T-Birds never recovered. The Spartans extended their lead to 46-30 at the half and although U.B.C. went on a 14-2 run over a four-minute stretch in the second half, cutting the deficit to 57-52 when Casey Archibald hit a trey with 12:26 remaining, Trinity Western had the answers. Three consecutive hoop-and-harm plays, including a four-point play from Adam Friesen, bolstered Trinity Western’s lead to 78-61 with less than seven minutes to play and put the game out of reach. “We did everything we could as coaches to prepare our guys,” said Hanson. “Our heads were not in it from the get go. Our defensive assignments were screwed up and we didn’t do what we wanted to offensively. But credit Trinity. They came out and hit some pretty tough shots and Kitteringham had a great first half.” Spartans coach Stan Peters doubted that Kitteringham would play in game three. “But it’s indicative of our year. We’ve had to fight through obstacles and overcome a few things so this is no different. Tomorrow is just going to be who can execute better and who can hit their shots.” Adam Friesen added 21 for Trinity on 5-11 from the floor and 9-11 from the line. Dan Young scored 20 on 9-14 from the floor and 3 boards. Brian Banman scored 8 and Andy VanderMeulen 2 before fouling out. David Bron scored 10 off the bench. Steve Janzen added 6 and David Martens 2, while Kris Erhardt, Kent Bergstrom and Justin Vink were scoreless. The Spartans shot 34-58 (.586) from the floor, 7-19 (.368) from the arc and 21-25 (.840) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 2 on the offensive glass, 25 fouls, 14 assists, 12 turnovers, 3 blocks and 8 steals, including 5 by Friesen. Casey Archibald paced UBC with 26 points on 9-16 from the floor, 4-5 from the arc and 4-4 from the line, while grabbing 8 boards and collecting 4 assists and 2 steals. Pat McKay added 14 on 5-15 from the floor and 7 boards. Ryder McKeown scored 8 on 4-6 from the floor. Karlo Villaneuva scored 4 and had 9 assists. Craig Rollins scored 3. Peter Wauthy notched 9 off the bench on 7-8 from the line and 8 boards. Jason Birring scored 3, Jordan Yu 2, Jama Mahlalela 2 and Pat Sponaski 1. UBC shot 23-64 (.359) from the floor, 6-18 (.333) from the arc and 21-33 (.636) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 14 assists, 14 turnovers and 4 steals. …………………………………………………… In game three, Casey Archibald scored 25 as U.B.C. nipped Trinity Western 74-71. “In my mind, tonight’s game was the turning point,” said Archibald. “It came down to execution at crunch time – and we executed tonight.” Trinity Western clearly missed Logan Kitteringham, who sat out all but the last 3:45 with a sprained left ankle. “It was a factor. You can’t lose a guy like Logan without it affecting your game,” said coach Stan Peters. “He came off the bench late tonight simply because he wanted to play. He wouldn’t have come off in a normal regular season game.” Archibald scored 14 in the first half, including 2-4 from the arc, as U.B.C. took a 40-36 lead into the lockers. Adam Friesen scored 25 for the Spartans, including 15 in the first half, as well as a buzzer beating three-pointer. Villaneuva stole a cross court pass by Western’s Brian Banman and converted it into a layup with 2:08 to play to give the Birds a 71-65 lead. Peters said “both teams put their armour on and played as hard as they could. …In life, you have to go with the hand that is dealt you. If I think about could have been with Logan, I go crazy. UBC executed down the stretch.” UBC coach Kevin Hanson said “that’s 14 times we’ve now played each other in the past two years. Thank goodness we had home court.” Archibald 9-17 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc and 4-5 from the line, while grabbing 6 boards. Ryder McKeown scored 13 on 5-9 from the floor and 7 boards. Karlo Villaneuva scored 12 on 3-11 from the floor, 5-6 from the line and 9 assists. Pat McKay scored 10 on 1-5 from the floor and Craig Rollins scored 4. Peter Wauthy added 6 off the bench and Neil Morrison 4, while Jason Birring and Pat Sponaski were scoreless. UBC shot 25-56 (.446) from the floor, 5-14 (.357) from the arc and 19-26 (.731) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 14 assists, 15 turnovers, 3 steals and 9 blocks, including 3 apiece by Villanueva and McKeown. Adam Friesen led Trinity Western with 25 points on 9-23 from the floor, 3-12 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 3 assists. Brian Banman scored 15 on 5-13 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc and 5 boards. Dan Young scored 8 on 4-8 from the floor. Andy VanderMeulen scored 6 and David Martens 3. Steve Janzen and David Bron each added 5 off the bench, while Logan Kitteringham and Kent Bergstrom each scored 2. The Spartans hit 26-60 (.433) from the floor, 8-24 (.333) from the arc and 11-12 (.917) from the line, while garnering 27 boards, including 7 on the offensive blocks, 23 fouls, 13 assists, 18 turnovers, 5 blocks and 3 steals. The Spartans (coached by Stan Peters) also included Jon Lundgren, John Locht, Kent Bergstrom, Chris Laurie, Justin Vink, Marshall Peters, David Muller and Kris Erhardt.

In the Central Division semis, 2nd-seed Alberta d’d 3rd-seed Saskatchewan 90-64; 77-74 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, Alberta coasted to an easy 90-64 win. Saskatchewan took a 9-4 lead early on a backdoor cut by Robert Lovelace. But the Bears countered with a 17-0 run despite losing star forward Phil Sudol to a left knee injury six minutes into the game. Levi Vann stemmed the bleeding with a turnaround jumper but Alberta kept rolling, taking a 51-26 lead into the lockers. Saskatchewan opened the second half with a 7-0 run and reduced the deficit to 16 early in the second half as their full court pressure yielded some dividends. But Tyler Coston countered with a trey as the Bears got back on track and cruised home. Sudol said the injury was a freak one. “I went up for a rebound and fell and then someone fell on top of me.” Tyler Coston paced Alberta with 22 points on 8-13 from the floor, 5-7 from the arc, 7 boards and 5 assists. Tyson Jones scored 7 on 2-3 from the floor. Phil Sudol scored 7 on 3-5 from the floor. Phil Scherer scored 5 on 2-7 from the floor and 5 assists. Kevin Petterson scored 5 on 2-3 from the floor. Mike Melnychuk added 16 off the bench on 3-11 from the floor and 10-11 from the line. Scott Gordon added 16 on 6-8 from the floor, 4-6 from the line and 6 boards. Brandon Park scored 5 and had 6 boards. Richard Bates scored 4 and Gavin Fedorak 2, while Alex Mahary and Cody Darrah were scoreless. The Golden Bears shot 29-56 (.518) from the floor, 6-16 (.375) from the arc and 26-33 (.788) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 19 assists, 12 turnovers, 2 blocks and 17 steals, led by 5 from Melnychuk. Conference rookie of the year Andrew Spagrud and Levi Vann each scored 13 for the Huskies. Spagrud was 5-11 from the floor and grabbed 7 boards, while Vann was 5-16 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc and had 4 boards and 3 assists. Sam Lamontagne scored 4, Matthew Greenberg 3 and Robert Lovelace 2. Jordan Harbidge added 10 off the bench on 3-5 from the floor. Kevin Langdon scored 7, Trent Folk 6, Ryan Lynchuk 3 and Cameron Penner 2. The Huskies shot 24-59 (.407) from the floor, 5-15 from the arc and 11-17 (.647) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 16 assists, 23 turnovers and 9 steals, including 3 by Spagrud. …………………………………………………… In game two, Phil Scherer and reserve Mike Melnychuk each scored 18 to lead the Bears to a 77-74 win and a sweep of the series. The Bears threatened to turn it into a rout early but the Huskies maintained their composure and sophomore guard Rob Lovelace’s trey cut the lead to 21-17. Matt Greenburg hit a jumper to knot the score at 26 but the Bears reasserted themselves and built a 40-33 lead at the break. They extended it to 14 early in the second half but Greenburg, Kevin Langdon and Andrew Spagrud rallied the Huskies to within 10 with eight minutes to play. Greenburg and Levin Vann hit back-to-back treys to cut the margin to four. Alberta’s Mike Melnychuk scored but was called for a charge and Spagrud went to the line for two free throws. After hitting both the score was 70-66 with 4:15 to play. Both teams then went into slumps for the next three minutes, both failing to score until there was 1:09 remaining. Tyler Coston’s three-pointer put the Bears up 73-66. Trailing 75-68, Greenberg hit another three with 18 seconds left to cut the lead to four. Melnychuk then nailed two shots from the line after being fouled with 16 seconds to play. A Jordan Harbidge three at the buzzer made the final 77-74 for the Bears. “We made it a lot harder than it looked,” Bears coach Don Horwood said. “We didn’t shoot very well at all and it’s something we’re going to have to work on this week.” Scherer shot 7-14 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc and 2-6 from the line, while garnering 7 boards, 4 assists and 7 steals. Melnychuk shot 5-13 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc and 6-6 from the line. Tyler Coston scored 13 on 5-12 from the floor and 6 assists. Scott Gordon scored 9 on 4-7 from the floor and 7 boards. Tyson Jones scored 2. Gavin Fedorak added 6 off the bench, while Brandon Park scored 4 and Richard Bates 2. Alberta shot 28-63 (.444) from the floor, 9-25 (.360) from the arc and 12-20 (.600) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 17 assists, 14 turnovers, 4 blocks and 13 steals. Matthew Greenberg led Saskatchewan with 24 points on 9-14 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc and 5 boards. Andrew Spagrud scored 19 on 7-15 from the floor, 12 boards and 5 steals before fouling out. Sam Lamontagne scored 8 on 1-8 from the floor, 6-7 from the line and 6 boards. Levi Vann scored 5 and Robert Lovelace 3. Kevin Langdon added 12 off the bench on 5-7 from the floor and 4 boards, while Jordan Harbidge scored 3. Cameron Penner was scoreless. The Huskies shot 26-53 (.491) from the floor, 8-18 (.444) from the arc and 14-19 (.737) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 6 assists, 22 turnovers, 1 block and 7 steals. The Huskies (coached by Greg Jockims) also included Kyle Grant, Mitchell Grant, Scott Clark, Trent Folk, Ryan Lynchuk, Mark Breker and Mark Thompson.

In the Great Plains Division semis, 3rd-seed Regina d’d 2nd-seed Manitoba 76-85; 79-71; 74-62 (2g-1). …………………………………………………… In game one, Manitoba collected an 85-76 win. The Herd jumped out to an early lead in the first half led by Jat Johal, Chris Dyck and Ryan Dulder. They extended it to 45-38 at the half and were never threatened. Manitoba led 45-38 at the half. Jordan Mason paced Manitoba with 22 points on 6-12 from the floor, 4-9 from the arc, 6-6 from the line, 4 boards and 4 assists. Ryan Dulder added 13 on 6-10 from the floor. Tim Pershick scored 12 on 6-11 from the floor and 6 boards. Taylor Cherris-Wilding scored 9 on 4-9 from the floor and 5 boards, while Ivan Saric scored 6 on 3-6 from the floor. Jatinder Johal added 14 off the bench on 4-7 from the floor, 6-10 from the line and 7 boards. Christopher Dyck scored 9, while Marc Rootes and Ryan Koleric were scoreless. The Bisons shot 32-64 (.500) from the floor, 8-19 (.421) from the arc and 13-20 (.650) from the line, while garnering 33 boards, 15 fouls, 20 assists, 12 turnovers, 4 blocks and 5 steals. Joel Hunter led Regina with 20 points on 6-19 from the floor and 7-7 from the line. Will Porter scored 19 on 8-16 from the floor and 9 boards. Tyler Wright scored 14 on 6-12 from the floor and 11 boards. Zach Michell scored 8 on 3-4 from the floor before fouling out. Greg McKoy scored 4. Bryden Wright added 6 off the bench, while Matthew Cherkas scored 3 and Bradley Fekula 2. Michael Enns was scoreless. The Cougars shot 30-67 (.448) from the floor, 5-17 (.294) from the arc and 11-12 (.917) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 14 assists, 12 turnovers, 2 blocks and 5 steals. “We just couldn’t get stops when we needed them,” said Regina coach James Hillis, whose team overcame a 45-38 halftime deficit to get within one early in the second half before succumbing. “It was disappointing. (The Bisons) played well. We struggled to defend. They were 8-for-17 from the three-point line and that’s not a good number for us. We have to get that down if we’re going to have a chance.” …………………………………………………… In game two, Regina evened the series with a 79-71 win. The Cougars led 36-30 at the half. Tyler Wright and Zach Michell each scored 24 to lead Regina. Wright was 9-14 from the floor, 4-6 from the line and grabbed 8 boards. Michell was 7-12 from the floor, 6-10 from the arc and 4-6 from the line while grabbing 4 boards. Bryden Wright scored 10 on 3-12 from the floor, 6 boards and 3 assists. Will Porter scored 7 on 1-6 from the floor and 5-6 from the line. Joel Hunter scored 7 on 5-6 from the line. Greg McKoy added 3 points and 8 boards off the bench. Matthew Cherkas scored 3 and Bradley Fekula was scoreless. The Cougars shot 25-62 (.403) from the floor, 8-17 (.471) from the arc and 21-33 (.636) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 16 assists, 17 turnovers, 2 blocks and 7 steals. Jordan Mason led Manitoba with 24 points on 9-16 from the floor, 4-8 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Taylor Cherris-Wilding added 13 on 4-9 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 6 boards and 7 assists. Ryan Dulder scored 8 on 3-10 from the floor and 5 boards. Tim Pershick scored 8 on 3-10 from the floor and 4 boards. Ivan Saric scored 6 and grabbed 5 boards. Jatinder Johal added 9 on 7-10 from the line off the bench. Christopher Dyck scored 3 and Marc Rootes was scoreless. The Bisons shot 23-63 (.365) from the floor, 10-22 (.455) from the arc and 15-22 (.682) from the line, while garnering 26 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 25 fouls, 20 assists, 10 turnovers, 2 blocks and 8 steals. …………………………………………………… In game three, Regina clipped Manitoba 74-62 to take the series. The Wright brothers, Tyler and Bryden along with the Cougars’ Joel Hunter were too much for the Herd as the trio combined for 45 of Regina’s 74 points on the afternoon. The Cougars stifling defense along with Manitoba’s poor shooting helped the visitors get out to a quick 38-25 half-time lead and they were never threatened. They opened the second half with a 14-6 run as Will Porter rejected three Herd shots in a row. With Regina ahead by as many as 21, Manitoba looked to be completely out of the game but a full-court press on the defensive side of the ball created some timely turnovers and the Bisons cut the lead to 9 points with just over three minutes remaining. But the Cougars maintained their poise and iced it at the line. Joel Hunter paced the Bisons with 20 points on 7-16 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 3-6 from the line, 5 assists and 4 steals. Tyler Wright added 16 on 7-14 from the floor and 6 boards. Zach Michell scored 10 on 2-5 from the arc and 4 boards. Will Porter scored 9 on 3-10 from the floor and 11 boards. Greg McKoy was scoreless but grabbed 10 boards. Bryden Wright added 19 points off the bench on 6-15 from the floor and 7 boards. Bradley Fekula and Matthew Cherkas were scoreless. The Cougars shot 25-64 (.391) from the floor, 9-22 (.409) from the arc and 15-33 (.455) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 23 fouls, 13 assists, 15 turnovers, 7 blocks and 16 steals, led by Porter’s 6. “All the ups and downs and injuries and stuff that happened to us, that’s all gone now,” Regina coach James Hillis said. “This is our opportunity to show what kind of team we thought we were going to be at the start of the season. We played good D both games. The score flattered them. With 5:37 left, they only had 41 points. We just missed a lot of free throws down the stretch.” Ryan Dulder led Manitoba with 13 points on 4-10 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc and 3-6 from the line. Ivan Saric scored 12 on 3-11 from the floor, 6-6 from the line and 13 boards. Jordan Mason scored 11 on 3-4 from the arc and 4 assists. Jatinder Johal scored 5 on 1-8 from the floor and 7 boards. Taylor Cherris-Wilding scored 2 on 1-6 from the floor and 3 boards. Chris Hildebrand added 11 off the bench on 4-12 from the floor and 5 boards. Tim Pershick scored 9 on 3-13 from the floor and 8 boards, while Christopher Dyck was scoreless. The Bisons shot 19-68 (.279) from the floor, 5-14 (.357) from the arc and 19-29 (.655) from the line, while garnering 51 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass, 27 fouls, 12 assists, 21 turnovers, and 9 steals, including 3 apiece by Cherris-Wilding and Dulder. The Bisons (coached by Rick Suffield) also included Allen Gervais, Damian Drzewiec, Ryan Koleric and Marc Rootes.

In the Pacific Division finals, 2nd-seed U.B.C. d’d 1st-seed Simon Fraser 89-88; 78-73 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In the opener, U.B.C. rallied from a 17-point deficit to nip the Clan 89-88on a free throw by Karlo Villaneuva as time expired. With the game tied at 88, Simon Fraser’s Pasha Bains drove to the hoop but missed the ensuing layup. The Clan’s Joe Schow grabbed the rebound but it was swatted across court by UBC’s Peter Wauthy into the hands of Villaneuva at midcourt. Villaneuva drove to the hoop and was fouled by Brent McLaren as time expired. With no time on the clock, he hit the winning free throw. “All I was thinking was putting the ball in the hoop no matter what,” said Villaneuva. “We were lucky to get that call. Often you don’t get at that stage of the game.” Villaneuva said he knew he had time to drive to the hoop. “From running lines, I know I can get up and down the court in probably four to five seconds. This time I got it midway and I was just thinking, ‘get to the basket.” The T-Birds had pulled to within 88-86 on a free throw by Pat McKay with 27 seconds to play. He missed his second free throw but UBC’s Jama Mahlalela tipped the ball on the offensive glass and it was grabbed by Wauthy and converted to tie the game. The Clan had taken an early 33-16 lead as Bains hit 5-5 from the arc and maintained the margin til the end by dominating the blocks. But U.B.C. simply refused to die and finally took its first lead at 85-84 with 1:20 to play on a Ryder McKeown layup. SFU responded with free throws by Raj Mander and Brent Charleton to retake the lead, setting the stage for the Birds last minute heroics.. “That’s what I said in the team room afterwards,” said T-Birds coach Kevin Hanson. “The number 1 thing we did was we showed the poise we needed at the end of the game. We’ve been in so many of those games. …We certainly didn’t compete in the first 10 minutes. Pasha hit five quick three-point shots, but I put Jama on him and I thought he did an outstanding job shutting him down from that point on.” Hanson added that his Birds “defensive energy in the second half was the difference.” Clan coach Scott Clark said the T-Birds were “relentless. They never quit and they never hung their heads. … They never hung their heads. I thought we made some poor shot selections.” All five U.B.C. starters hit double figures, led by Casey Archibald’s 23 on 7-16 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc and 7-8 from the line. Pat McKay and Ryder McKeown each added 17. McKay was 6-10 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc and grabbed 4 boards. McKeown was 6-8 from the floor, 5-8 from the line and grabbed 3 boards. Karlo Villaneuva scored 14 on 4-8 from the floor, 5-5 from the line and 10 assists. Craig Rollins scored 13 on 3-6 from the floor and 4 boards. Jama Mahalela added 3 off the bench. Peter Wauthy scored 2, while Jordan Yu, Jason Birring, Pat Sponaski and Neil Morrison were scoreless. The T-Birds shot 28-59 (.475) from the floor, 10-22 (.455) from the arc and 23-32 (.719) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 25 fouls, 16 assists, 10 turnovers, 1 block and 7 steals. Pasha Bains led Simon Fraser with 29, including 7-9 from the arc, 9-16 from the floor, 4-7 from the line and 6 boards. Brent Charleton scored 16 on 5-15 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 5-7 from the line and 7 boards. Sean Stewart scored 12 on 5-11 from the floor, 8 boards and 5 assists. Chad Clifford 7 on 2-9 from the floor, 6 boards and 4 assists. Eric Albrecher scored 5 and grabbed 7 boards. Joe Schow scored 10 on 8-8 from the line and 6 boards. Raj Mander scored 8 on 2-5 from the floor and 3 boards. Brent McLaren, John Boateng and Mike Klizs were scoreless. The Clan shot 24-62 (.387) from the floor, 13-27 (.481) from the arc and 27-33 (.818) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 25 fouls, 16 assists, 17 turnovers, 3 blocks and 6 steals. …………………………………………………… In game two, U.B.C. swept the series by dumping Simon Fraser 78-73 in overtime. Coach Kevin Hanson said his Birds were determined to avoid a third game. “We certainly didn’t want to end up playing six games in nine nights. We wanted to finish it off tonight. Clan coach Scott Clark said his squad was hampered by an injury to star Pasha Bains, who collapsed with a broken ankle with three minutes to pay in the first half. “I just feel horrible,” said Bains, who scored 18 before being injured. “Not so much for myself but for my teammates. I’ve said all season I’ve never played with a bunch of greater guys. I just feel awful for them. “I’m not going to be selfish and feel bad for myself. I feel bad for my teammates. It was just a freak accident. I would have played if I could have put my shoe on, but the ankle was just too big.” U.B.C. led 37-35 at the half and Clark tried to convince them they’d be a better defensive unit. They appeared so for most of the second half, clawing back to almost win it at the buzzer when John Boateng’s shot clanked off the rim. U.B.C. outscored Simon Fraser 11-6 in the extra session. “We had one game where they had a kid score the winning points after the buzzer. And another tonight where we lose in overtime with our leading scorer on the bench,” said Clark. Hanson said “we thought SFU might fold a bit when they lost Pasha, but they hung in there. Pasha is such a great player. He was having a tremendous series.” SFU was in a position to win the game but missed five of its final six free throws. Casey Archibald led U.B.C. with 25 points on 6-16 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 10-13 from the line, 10 boards and 5 assists. Pat McKay added 19 on 7-14 from the floor, 4-8 from the line and 9 boards. Craig Rollins scored 11 on 5-9 from the floor. Karlo Villaneuva scored 9 on 3-9 from the floor and 10 assists. Ryder McKeown scored 7 on 3-8 from the floor. Peter Wauthy added 5 off the bench. Pat Sponaski scored 2, while Jama Mahalela, Jordan Yu and Jason Birring were scoreless. The T-Birds shot 26-64 (.406) from the floor, 5-18 (.278) from the arc and 21-38 (.553) from the line, while garnering 50 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 25 fouls, 19 assists, 9 turnovers, 1 block and 4 steals. “We’ve got all the confidence in the world and there’s a difference between confidence and cockiness,” said T-Birds’ fifth-year forward Pat McKay. “We have been involved in so many tight games this year and we weren’t winning them. But now when it counts, we are.” Added UBC head coach Kevin Hanson after winning before a crowd of about 2,500: “We’re flying on adrenalin right now with the way the games have been, winning these close ones.” SFI coach Scott Clark said “if we have Pasha for the game do I think we win? Yes. But the reality of the situation is that we didn’t.” Chad Clifford paced the Clan with 20 points on 6-18 from the floor, 5-6 from the line and 8 boards. Pasha Bains added 19 on 5-8 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 4 assists and 4 boards. Brent Charleton scored 12 on 5-16 from the floor, 2-10 from the line, 7 assists and 6 boards. Sean Stewart scored 5 on 2-10 from the floor and 7 boards. Eric Albrecher scored 3 and grabbed 6 boards. Raj Mander added 8 points, 4 assists and 5 boards off the bench. Mike Klizs scored 4 and Brent McLaren 3, while John Boateng and Joe Schow were scoreless. The Clan shot 23-66 (.348) from the floor, 9-28 (.321) from the arc and 18-33 (.545) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 27 fouls, 19 assists, 11 turnovers, 4 blocks and 2 steals. The Clan (coached by Scott Clark) also included Ross Naka and Emmy Unaegbu.

In the Central Division final, top-seed Calgary d’d 2nd-seed Alberta 64-74; 70-58; 67-53 (2g-1). …………………………………………………… In game one, the Bears defeated the Dinosaurs 74-64. Alberta led 34-28 at the half. Mike Melnychuk paced the Bears with 24 points off the bench on 5-12 from the floor, 13-17 from the line, 3 boards and 3 assists. Phil Scherer scored 14 on 3-6 from the floor and 5-6 from the line. Scott Gordon scored 11 on 7-10 from the line and 11 boards. Kevin Petterson scored 6 before fouling out, Tyler Coston 5 and Tyson Jones was scoreless while grabbing 4 boards. Gavin Fedorak and Brandon Park each added 6 off the bench, while Alex Mahary scored 2 and Richard Bates was scoreless. Alberta shot 21-48 (.438) from the floor, 7-17 (.412) from the arc and 25-36 (.694) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 25 fouls, 11 assists, 24 turnovers and 7 steals. Whit Hornsberger led Calgary with 18 points on 4-15 from the floor, 10-10 from the line and 3 assists. Aman Heran added 15 points on 4-11 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 4-8 from the line and 3 assists. Chris Wright scored 14 on 5-7 from the floor and 8 boards. Jon Salgado scored 7 and grabbed 5 boards. John Riad scored 5. Sean Newland and Rick Brar added 2 apiece off the bench, while Surinder Grewal scored 1. Lindsay Thouret, Ian Ferguson and Brendan Groat were scoreless. The Dinosaurs shot 20-56 (.357) from the floor, 3-20 (.150) from the arc and 21-28 (.750) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 27 fouls, 11 assists, 22 turnovers, 4 blocks and 13 steals. Riad got in foul trouble quickly and that seriously hampered the Calgary attack. The Bears built at 10 point lead with seven minutes to go but Riad notched a three-point play and Aman Heran added a trey to knot the score at 60. But Herald fouled Melnychuk on a three-point shot. Melnychuk drilled all three free throws to ignite the Bears offence down the stretch. “This team just showed what we’re made of,” said Melnychuk. “Calgary made a huge run and the place went wild. All the odds were stacked against us but we never doubted ourselves.” Calgary coach Don Vanhooren said his Dinosaurs played poorly in the first half. “We needed some guys to step off the bench and hit some shots. We made some mental errors in the game and gave some open shots to players we shouldn’t have.” Dino forward Jon Salgado said “it’s tough to keep playing defence when they get four or five offensive rebounds. It gets tiring. We have to put more focus on getting rebounds. …And when you’re turning the ball over that quick, it just kills you. It’s back to back offence for them.” …………………………………………………… In game two, Calgary dumped Alberta 70-58. The Bears led 30-29 at the half. The teams were tied at 41-41 with 13 minutes remaining in the hard-fought physical contest. Calgary went on a 15-5 run in the next five minutes to take a 56-46 lead with eight minutes remaining on a pair of treys by Rick Brar who came off the bench to give Calgary some momentum. The Bears refused to go away and cut the margin to 60-54 with just under four minutes remaining. Calgary iced the contest when Whit Hornsberger drained a trey and was fouled for a four-point play giving Calgary a 64-54 lead. It was the second four-point play of the game for Hornsberger. Night when Calgary shot just 15% from beyond the arc, the Dinos were six for 11 for 54% while Alberta five for 14 for 36%. Both teams were solid defensively in the contest with Calgary forcing 19 turnovers for Alberta as compared to a dozen by the Dinos. John Riad led Calgary with 15 points on 6-12 from the floor and 5 assists. Aman Heran scored 10 on 3-7 from the floor and 4-6 from the line. Whit Hornsberger scored 9 on 2-9 from the floor. Jon Salgado scored 8 on 3-3 from the floor and 4 boards. Chris Wright scored 8 on 3-6 from the floor and 5 boards. Rick Brar added 6 off the bench, while Surinder Grewal scored 5, Sean Newland 4, Lindsay Thouret 3 and Ian Ferguson 2. Brendon Groat was scoreless. The Dinosaurs shot 22-51 (.431) from the floor, 6-11 (.545) from the arc and 20-31 (.645) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 13 assists, 12 turnovers, 3 blocks and 10 steals. Phil Scherer led Alberta with 13 points on 6-12 from the floor and 1-5 from the arc. Tyson Jones scored 10 on 4-7 from the floor. Scott Gordon scored 8 on 4-8 from the floor and 4 boards. Tyler Coston scored 5 on 1-5 from the floor and Kevin Petterson 5 on 1-4 from the floor and 5 boards. Mike Melnychuk and Brandon Park each added 7 off the bench, while Richard Bates scored 4. Gavin Fedorak, Alex Mahary and Cody Darrah were scoreless. The Golden Bears shot 22-48 (.458) from the floor, 5-14 (.357) from the arc and 9-14 (.643) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 24 fouls, 8 assists, 19 turnovers, 7 blocks and 2 steals. Hornsberger admitted that the Bears full-court pressure “is wearing me down. That’s a physical, relentless brand of ball out there. My body is tired. Good thing we don’t have to play another game Monday.” Indeed, they had to play game three Sunday. Bears coach Don Horwood lamented the 19 turnovers to Calgary’s 12. “That’s seven possessions in a tight game between two very even teams. That’s a lot. We just weren’t sharp. When that kid (Rick) Brar came off the bench and hit the two threes? We knew he was subbing in, knew what he could do, and then forgot all about him. You’ve got to be smarter, be more aware, especially against a team as good as Calgary’s.” Riad said the Dinosaurs were determined to shed the ghosts of a horrible performance in game one. “We didn’t have a choice but to be better. I mean, we couldn’t have been much worse.” …………………………………………………… In game three, Calgary defeated Alberta 67-53. Calgary led the entire opening half and ventured into the lockers leading 25-21. The second half started like the first with Calgary holding a narrow 39-36 lead with 12 minutes to play. The Dinosaurs took control going on an impressive 23-7 run thanks to deadly outside shooting. Surinder Grewal hit a couple of back to back treys giving Calgary a 48-38 lead with 11 minutes remaining and after an Alberta timeout and a possession change, Rick Brar nailed another trey to stretch the margin to 51-38 with just under ten minutes left. The Dinos increased the margin thanks to outstanding defense and poor Alberta shooting and had a 62-43 lead with four minutes remaining in the contest before 2197 fans. John Riad paced Calgary with 18 points on 7-18 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc and 5 boards. Chris Wright scored 10 on 2-10 from the floor, 6-9 from the line and 11 boards. Whit Hornsberger scored 9 on 3-9 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc and 5 assists. Jon Salgado scored 6 and grabbed 6 boards. Aman Heran scored 4 and grabbed 5 boards. Surinder Grewal added 9 points off the bench on 3-9 from the floor and 2-6 from the arc. Rick Brar also scored 9 on 3-5 from the floor. Sean Newland and Ian Ferguson each scored 1, while Lindsay Thouret, Brendan Groat and Brad Summers were scoreless. Calgary shot 21-60 (.350) from the floor, 9-23 (.391) from the arc, and 16-25 (.640) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 13 assists, 17 turnovers, 5 blocks and 11 steals. Scott Gordon paced Alberta with 12 points on 3-8 from the floor, 6-6 from the line and 3 boards. Tyler Coston added 9 on 2-6 from the floor, 4-5 from the line and 4 boards. Kevin Petterson scored 5 on 2-10 from the floor and 9 boards. Phil Scherer and Tyson Jones were scoreless. Scherer was 0-5 from the floor and 0-4 from the arc. Richard Bates scored 9 off the bench on 5-6 from the line. Alex Mahary scored 8 on 3-5 from the floor. Mike Melnychuk scored 6 on 3-10 from the floor and 5 boards. Cody Darrah scored 2, while Cameron Kusiek and Brandon Park were scoreless. The Bears shot 16-56 (.286) from the floor, 1-17 (.059) from the arc and 20-23 (.870) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 6 assists, 18 turnovers, 3 blocks and 8 steals.

In the Great Plains Division final, top-seed Brandon d’d 2nd-seed Regina 65-78; 92-85; 81-72 (2g-1). …………………………………………………… In game one, Regina upset Brandon 78-65 as Joel Hunter scored 30. Regina opened the affair with an 18-2 run before Brandon countered with its own 18-2 run to knot the score and then moved ahead 36-34 at the half. But Regina coach James Hillis said he told his troops “at the half to wake up. It was like a morgue in there. I told the guys we were right there, down by two, against a really great team. We just really needed to work at taking care of the ball.” They came out in the second half with a fearless performance. “Brandon is a very tough team to coach against,” said Hillis. “They have so many threats, so many guys that can hurt you. We felt we needed to contain their big men, and not allow Mustafa (Cetin) and Tyrone (Purnell) to score a lot, and we did that.” Brandon star O’Neil Gordon played but two minutes, nursing an injury. “We had too much laziness on defense,” said assistant coach Gerry Neree. “Guys were reaching, not playing real defense. We started off playing good inside out but got away from that as the game went on. I was stunned by our performance tonight. We did not expect to come out and play like this.” Joel Hunter paced Regina with 30 points on 10-24 from the line, 0-7 from the arc, 10-11 from the line, 4 assists and 4 boards. Tyler Wright added 15 points on 4-8 from the floor, 5-6 from the line and 5 boards. Zach Michell scored 14 on 8-8 from the line and 5 boards. Will Porter scored 5 and Greg McKoy 4. Bryden Wright notched 9 off the bench, while Bradley Fekula, Drew Kuzminski, Michael Enns and Matthew Cherkas were scoreless. The Cougars shot 25-63 (.397) from the floor, 4-16 (.250) from the arc and 24-27 (.889) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 14 fouls, 14 assists, 16 turnovers and 5 steals. Michael Page led Brandon with 18 points off the bench on 7-13 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc and 3 boards. Dido Bunema scored 14 on 6-14 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc and 3 steals. Mustafa Cetin scored 7 on 3-11 from the floor and 10 boards. Mario Joseph scored 6 on 2-9 from the floor. Shawn Corbin and Tyrone Purnell each added 2. Scott Lelievre added 8 off the bench, while Yul Michel and Adam Hartman each scored 4. O’Neil Gordon was scoreless. The Bobcats shot 26-69 (.377) from the floor, 8-24 (.333) from the arc and 5-9 (.556) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 23 fouls, 15 assists, 15 turnovers, 1 block and 12 steals, including 5 by Page. “We played well,” said Hillis. “We were down two at the half. We were actually up 18-2 in the first half, but we ended up tied 20-20. We went on a run, and then they went on a run. We threw it to them five or six times in a row and they did layups. I took the always wonderful timeout where the coach says, ‘Don’t throw it to the other team.’ Once we got through that stretch, we were OK. It’s nice to win the first one, but it’s over. I’m pleased with how the guys handled the victory. They weren’t jumping up and high-fiving. They were very businesslike.” …………………………………………………… In game two, Brandon evened the series with a 92-85 win. Despite playing without O’Neil Gordon (knee) and Dido Bunema (suspension), the Bobcats pulled out the win as Los Angeles, California native Michael Page knocked down six treys. “I didn’t know how our guys would respond tonight,” said Brandon coach Reggie Carrick. “We don’t have a lot of play-off experience. We really controlled the boards well tonight… before the game I told the guys if we won the rebounding game we would win the ball game. Our defensive intensity was as good as it’s been in the second half. Usually we are strong defensively in the first half, but tonight it was the opposite. We had great 40-minute energy. So many kids on our team stepped up. O’Neil is hobbled and played a few minutes, Dido isn’t even in the building, and these guys still came to play.” Regina coach James Hillis said “we gave them too many second chance opportunities. This team shoots the ball too well for us to allow that.” Each team knocked down six from beyond the arc as they played to a 37-37 draw at the half. The Bobcats pulled away with eight minutes to play as they hit several clutch free throws and Page connected on a trey with two minutes remaining to give the Bobcats a nine-point edge. Michael Page led Brandon with 27 points on 8-14 from the floor, 6-9 from the arc, 5-6 from the line and 5 boards. Mario Joseph added 20 on 5-9 from the floor, 8-10 from the line, 6 boards and 5 assists. Tyrone Purnell scored 9 and grabbed 6 boards, while Shawn Corbin scored 2. Yul Michel added 12 off the bench on 3-5 from the floor, 6-12 from the line and 5 assists. Brent Ransome scored 4, Scott Lelievre 1, while O’Neil Gordon, Adam Hartman and O’Neil Wint were scoreless. The Bobcats shot 26-52 (.500) from the floor, 10-19 (.526) from the arc, and 30-45 (.667) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 19 assists, 15 turnovers, 3 blocks and 10 steals. Joel Hunter led Regina with 24 points on 7-16 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 7-8 from the line and 3 assists. Tyler Wright added 18 on 8-15 from the floor and 12 boards. Will Porter and Zach Michell each scored 11. Porter grabbed eight boards, while Michell hit 4-13 from the floor and grabbed 3 boards. Greg McKoy scored 6. Bryden Wright added 13 off the bench, while Bradley Fekula scored 2. Michael Enns and Matthew Cherkas were scoreless. The Cougars shot 29-68 (.426) from the floor, 11-28 (.393) from the arc and 16-20 (.800) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 26 fouls, 18 assists, 16 turnovers and 6 steals. …………………………………………………… In game three, Brandon took the series with an 81-72 win. The Bobcats led 38-34 at the half. Yul Michel paced Brandon with 15 points on 6-9 from the floor, 3-7 from the line, 5 assists and 3 steals. Mario Joseph added 13 on 5-8 from the floor and 6 boards. Mustafa Cetin scored 10 and grabbed 8 boards. Michael Page scored 9 on 4-11 from the floor and 1-6 from the line. Tyrone Purnell scored 6 and grabbed 5 boards. Scott Lelievre scored 15 off the bench on 5-6 from the arc. Dido Bunema added 10 on 4-11 from the floor. Adam Hartman scored 3, while O’Neil Gordon, Brent Ransome, Robens Josephat and Shawn Corbin were scoreless. The Bobcats shot 30-66 (.455) from the floor, 7-19 (.368) from the arc and 14-20 (.700) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 22 fouls, 17 assists, 17 turnovers, 1 block and 8 steals. Rookie Scott Lelievre, who hit 5-6 from the arc, the first time on the season that he’d hit double figures, noted that “I don’t do very much well except shoot three’s. I can’t shoot free throws or drive. But I can shoot three pointers. The net looked really big tonight.” Coach Reggie Carrick said someone had to step up after the Cougars shut down guard Michael Page. “Regina did a really good job on Page today. But Scott is our other threat and it worked out nicely. They were so aware of Page that they would often lose Scott. He was operating the post and just found ways to step out and shoot. He’s a great team player and showed that tonight.” The Ottawa, Ontario native only played 13 minutes in the game, however his clutch shots down the stretch proved to be monumental to Brandon’s success. “It’s been tough for me this year,” added Lelievre. “Jerry Hemmings recruited me here, and he believed in me as a shooter. So does Reggie (Carrick). Hopefully this win will keep us rolling. We aren’t happy with just this.” Carrick said point guard Yul Michel was exceptional. “In the last half of yesterday’s game and also here tonight, Yul played the best I’ve seen a point guard play at this level. His composure and the way he ran the ball was excellent.” Brandon guard Dido Bunema, who’d been ejected in game one and given a two-game suspension afterwards due to some comments he made towards an official. However, Brandon appealed the decision, and received word around noon on Sunday that Bunema would be allowed to play in the series’ third game. He finished with 10 points. Regina took an early 7-0 lead and were ahead for the opening 10 minutes of the half. BU battled back, and at the break led 38-34. Regina came out quick at the start of the second and the two teams exchanged leads for much of the half. It was only in the last 5 minutes that the ‘Cats started to pull away, with Lelievre hitting big shots and Michel converting a handful of and-one plays. Regina coach James Hillis said “it’s disappointing. We played as well as we could, to be 100-per-cent truthful. Tyler broke his nose five minutes into the game. He missed some minutes and then came back. He had 15 points, but he had cotton stuffed up his nose. Then Will (Porter) pulled his hamstring with eight minutes left. He missed about five minutes and gutted it out to the end. It’s just the way this season has gone. I could write a book about it. We were hoping for a fairy-tale ending to the book, winning this weekend and maybe squeaking one out at the (Canada West) Final Four to go to nationals. But it didn’t happen.” Will Porter led Regina with 19 points on 6-11 from the floor, 7-8 from the line and 6 boards. Tyler Wright added 15 on 6-11 from the floor and 7 boards. Joel Hunter scored 11 on 5-18 from the floor. Zach Michell scored 7 and Greg McKoy was scoreless while grabbing 9 boards. Bryden Wright scored 12 off the bench on 4-11 from the floor and 7 boards. Matthew Cherkas scored 6 and Michael Enns 2, while Bradley Fekula was scoreless. The Cougars shot 26-64 (.406) from the floor, 5-16 (.312) from the arc and 15-19 (.789) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 17 assists, 16 turnovers, 4 blocks and 6 steals. The Cougars (coached by James Hillis) also included Alek Arsenic, Zach Michell, Tai Tuisamoa, Greg McKoy, Drew Kuzminski, Brendan Duerksen, Rod Jelinek, David Rainnie and David Tallman.

Alberta was awarded wild card (3 teams to qualify for nationals) for the Final Four, held in Brandon.

In the Final Four semis, 3^rd-seed U.B.C. thrashed Alberta 92-70. The T-Birds led 45-36 at the half. The first seven made baskets after the opening tip off were all three-point shots as U.B.C. built a 12-9 lead. But it was the inside game that proved to be the difference in this one as UBC capitalized on an Alberta post game weakened by the loss of Phil Sudol, who averaged 15.6 points and 8.4 rebounds in the regular season. “Obviously they’re not as strong without Sudol,” said UBC head coach Kevin Hanson, who has now guided the T-Birds into the national tournament for two straight years in just his fourth season behind the bench. “He’s a big presence at both ends of the floor, but credit our guys for taking advantage of that. We were able to score inside and really control the paint. . . . The guys on our bench have a whole lot of pride and they want this championship really badly. I was so impressed with the class they showed, not getting too high after the game. … I can’t describe how I feel right now about qualifying (for nationals). But the best part was at the end of the game, when I was walking down the bench, and three guys stood up and started telling the team not to celebrate. They want to win again tomorrow. They’re not happy with just this. We have a really special team.” Hanson joked that the early three-point shootout was remarkable. “I’ve never seen a game start like that, in all my years of coaching. “They say that defense wins championships, but this weekend it might be the team that gets up and down the floor quicker.” Casey Archibald led UBC with 19 points on 6-9 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc, 3-3 from the line and 2 steals. Pat McKay scored 18 on 7-11 from the floor and 8 boards. Ryder McKeown scored 14 on 6-11 from the floor and 3 boards. Karlo Villaneuva scored 10 on 5-8 from the floor and 10 assists. Craig Rollins scored 5 on 2-6 from the floor, 5 boards and 6 assists. Peter Wauthy notched 10 off the bench on 8-11 from the line and 6 boards. Jason Birring scored 7, Jama Mahalela 5 and Pat Sponaski 4, while Jordan Yu and Neil Morrison were scoreless. The T-Birds shot 33-59 (.559) from the floor, 9-15 (.600) from the arc and 17-22 (.773) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 22 fouls, 27 assists, 14 turnovers, 4 blocks and 5 steals. Phil Scherer paced Alberta with 18 points on 6-14 from the line, 3-8 from the arc, 4 boards and 8 assists. Scott Gordon scored 14 on 6-11 from the floor and 11 boards. Tyler Coston scored 11 on 5-9 from the floor. Tyson Jones scored 6 on 2-5 from the floor and Kevin Petterson 4 on 1-3 from the floor and 4 boards. Brandon Park added 6 off the bench, while Richard Bates scored 4, Mike Melnychuk 3, Alex Mahary 2 and Cody Darrah 2. Gavin Fedorak was scoreless. Alberta shot 23-59 (.390) from the floor, 5-18 (.278) from the arc, and 19-25 (.760) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 14 assists, 15 turnovers, 6 blocks and 7 steals

In the other semi, Calgary bounced Brandon 86-71. The Bobcats led 40-32 at the half but the Dinosaurs took complete control in the second frame. Dinosaur guard Surinder Grewal torched the Bobcats for 19. “I just came out and tried to hit my shots,” said Grewal, who finished 6-9 from the floor, 3-5 from three-point range and 4-4 at the free throw line. “I think it was J.R. (John Riad) who really got us going, and I tried to carry what he started.” Trailing 40-32 at the break, the Dinosaurs stormed out of the gates on a 13-2 run to start the second half, with Riad scoring nine unanswered at one point. “There was so much motivation for us tonight,” commented Riad. “Win and we got to Halifax. That was all we needed. Surinder started hitting shots and he got rolling and we picked up the win.” Brandon was plagued by indifferent defence and surrendered 51 in the second half. “We’re down right now,” said Brandon coach Reggie Carrick. “This hurts. We didn’t play a lick of defense tonight. We handed Calgary a trip to the nationals. That hurts. They went gut check at the half and we went gut check and they had more in the tank. They outworked us, and we should not have let them do that. I’m very disappointed.” Carrick added that the Bobcats post play was atrocious. “Calgary doesn’t have much size down there, and we didn’t take advantage of that. Our guys were invisible tonight.” John Riad led Calgary with 20 points on 6-17 from the floor, 5-6 from the line and 3 assists. Aman Heran scored 13 on 5-11 from the floor. Chris Wright scored 12 on 4-11 from the floor, 4-7 from the line and 10 boards. Whit Hornsberger scored 10 on 1-7 from the floor, 8-10 from the line and 11 assists. Jon Salgado scored 9 on 4-5 from the floor and 8 boards. Surinder Grewal added 19 points off the bench on 6-9 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 4 boards. Sean Newland scored 3, while, Lindsay Thouret, Rick Brar, Ian Ferguson, Brad Summers and Glen Smith were scoreless. Dido Bunema paced Brandon with 17 points off the bench on 6-13 from the floor and 4-4 from the line. Yul Michel scored 14 on 7-10 from the floor, 8 boards and 7 assists. Michael Page scored 10 on 4-9 from the floor. Scott Lelievre scored 6 on 2-6 from the floor. Tyrone Purnell scored 6 on 3-3 from the floor and Mario Joseph scored 2 on 1-6 from the floor. Mustafa Cetin added 10 points off the bench on 4-11 from the floor and 11 rebounds. Shawn Corbin scored 4 and O’Neil Gordon 2, while Robens Josephat and Adam Hartman were scoreless. The Bobcats shot 29-63 (.460) from the floor, 5-22 (.227) from the arc and 8-9 (.889) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 27 fouls, 15 assists, 13 turnovers and 9 steals, including 3 by Cetin.

In the bronze medal match to determine the conference’s third berth in the nationals, Brandon topped Alberta 108-99. The Bobcats led 39-35 at the half. Mario Joseph led Brandon with 22 points off the bench on 6-7 from the floor, 10-12 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Dido Bunema scored 21 on 7-11 from the floor, 7-8 from the arc and 3 boards. Mustafa Cetin scored 19 on 6-15 from the floor, 7-8 from the line and 12 boards. Yul Michel scored 8 on 3-4 from the floor and 4 assists. O’Neil Gordon scored 8 on 4-4 from the floor and 6 boards. Adam Hartman scored 7 on 3-5 from the line. Michael Page added 11 off the bench on 3-9 from the floor and 4-4 from the line. Scott Lelievre scored 8 and Shawn Corbin 4, while Brent Ransome, Robens Josephat and Tyrone Purnell were scoreless. The Bobcats shot 36-65 (.554) from the floor, 4-12 (.333) from the arc, and 32-36 (.889) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 22 fouls, 25 assists, 22 turnovers, 1 block and 6 steals. The Bobcats also included Shawn Corbin, Scott McKinney, Jeff Freiheit and O’Neil Wint. Brandon coach Reggie Carrick saw the victory as vindication after all the doubts expressed about his ability through the season. “I want to look at it from the other side,” said Carrick. “I proved a lot of people right. I proved all the guys down in our locker room right. The guys fought and battled. All of this was new for me. I didn’t know how to coach during the season and we finished first. I didn’t know how to coach in the play-offs and these guys beat Regina. I didn’t know how to get ready for a Final 4 and we are coming out of this. The credit goes to my team. You look at the coaches here, guys like (Dan) Vanhooren, (Don) Horwood and (Kevin) Hanson. What am I doing with a great mix like that? I just put my faith in our guys and they delivered.” Cetin, an Edmonton native who was playing in front of his parents, who’d made the trip to the Wheat City, noted that “this is the first college game at any level that I’ve ever won in front of them. And it was the biggest game we could’ve won. We gave it all we could, absolutely everything, and now we’re going to Halifax. We worked our butts off, and wow, it feels great. I’m thrilled.” Carrick said his troops played with determination. “All year long it seems like our backs have to be against the wall before we respond. Our energy tonight came from our desperation.” Brandon led 39-35 at the half and dominated the second frame. Tyler Coston paced Alberta with 22 points on 8-11 from the floor, 4-6 from the line and 4 assists. Mike Melnychuk added 20 on 6-16 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 7-9 from the line, 4 boards and 6 assists. Phil Scherer scored 16 on 5-9 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 4 assists and 4 boards. Scott Gordon scored 13 on 5-10 from the floor, while Brandon Park was scoreless. Tyson Jones added 17 off the bench on 4-8 from the floor, 7-7 from the line and 2 boards. Kevin Petterson scored 11 on 5-5 from the floor. Gavin Fedorak and Cameron Kusiek were scoreless. The Golden Bears shot 33-60 (.550) from the floor, 8-18 (.444) from the arc and 25-33 (.758) from the line, while garnering 23 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 24 fouls, 16 assists, 16 turnovers, 3 blocks and 7 steals. The Golden Bears (coached by Don Horwood) also included Richard Bates, Alex Mahary, Cody Darrah, Matthew Hudson, Phil Sudol and Kevin Petterson.

In the championship final, Calgary defeated U.B.C. 92-87. The Dinosaurs rallied from a late 7-point deficit to earn their first Canada West title in a decade. Trailing 87-80 with 2:09 left, Whit Hornsberger and Chris Wright each hit three-pointers as the Dinos took an 88-87 lead with 35 seconds remaining. “Obviously this feels fantastic,” said Calgary head coach Dan Vanhooren. “I’m happy for our kids. Hey came together, they believed in themselves, they played so hard. I’m excited that they have the opportunity to experience this. Each night we have different people step up and do it. Whit (Hornsberger) got rolling early and Chris (Wright) was getting good looks in the second half. We just stuck with them.” Whit Hornsberger and Chris Wright each scored 25 for Calgary. Hornsberger was 8-17 from the floor, 5-8 from the arc and 4-4 from the line, while grabbing 5 boards, handing out 5 assists and committing five turnovers. Wright was 8-19 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc and 7-10 from the line, while grabbing seven boards. John Riad scored 13 on 5-9 from the floor and 6 assists. Aman Heran scored 12 on 4-9 from the floor and 5 boards. Jon Salgardo scored 2. Surinder Grewal pitched in 8 off the bench on 3-10 from the floor. Glen Smith scored 5 and Ian Ferguson 2, while Sean Newland and Rick Brar were scoreless. The Dinosaurs shot 32-73 (.438) from the floor, 9-23 (.391) from the arc and 19-25 (.760) from the line, while grabbing 42 boards, including 15 offensive rebounds. They committed 23 fouls, had 16 assists, 11 turnovers, 2 blocks and 1 steal. U.B.C. was paced by Pat McKay’s 25 points, on 8-15 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc and 6-8 from the line. He also grabbed 8 boards. Casey Archibald scored 21 on 7-17 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc and 5-6 from the line. Craig Rollins scored 11 on 4-11 from the floor. Karlo Villaneuva scored 10, while dishing out 10 assists. Ryder McKeown scored 2. Pat Sponaski hit 8 off the bench, while Peter Wauthy added 6 and Jama Mahlalela 4. Jordan Yu, Jason Birring and Neil Morrison did not score. The Thunderbirds hit 29-61 (.475) from the floor, 7-20 (.350) from the arc and 22-28 (.786) from the line. They grabbed 41 boards, including 11 offensive rebounds and had 23 fouls, 16 assists, 12 turnovers, 3 blocks and 6 steals. Calgary trialed 45-38 at the half but rallied to a 66-62 lead midway through the second half. But UBC surged ahead 87-83 with two minutes remaining so Vanhooren called a timeout and shifted his troops to a zone, which forced a pair of T-Bird turnovers. After Hornsberger and Wright hit treys, Horan hit a pair of foul shots and then Hornsberger notched a pair to ice the win. “We told ourselves not to hurry things, not to rush things and at end we came back,” said Wright. ‘That was one of the best comebacks I’ve ever been a pair of.” Hornsberger said the Dinos “never doubted ourselves throughout the game and we haven’t doubted ourselves all season. This was the second step out of three in our journey this year. Anything less than a national championship is going to be disappointing now.” After the season, CIS player of the year Pasha Bains of Simon Fraser announces that he is transferring to U.B.C. for his final year of eligibility, where he planned to pursue a Masters in Human Kinetics. “I’m super excited about coming to UBC,” said Bains. “It’s going to be a really comfortable situation for me, knowing coach [Kevin] Hanson and a lot of the guys already. I’m not really looking at this as a transfer but more as me taking advantage of an opportunity to pursue both my basketball dreams and academic dreams. My long-term vision is to play professionally and then to go into coaching.” UBC coach Kevin Hanson noted that “any time a player of the year transfers to your school, it’s a dream-come-true scenario,” said Hanson. “Obviously we’re getting an outstanding basketball player in Pasha – someone who is going to play professionally one day – but we’re also getting someone who’s serious about pursuing higher education and that means a lot to the University and to the School of Human Kinetics.” Bains led the nation in scoring for the past two seasons, averaging 23 points per game in 2002-03 and 25 points per game in 2003-04, when he was awarded the Mike Moser Memorial Trophy as player of the year. In 2003-04, he also led the nation with 66 three-pointers made, averaging 44 percent from beyond the arc.

Brandon is informed during the season that they are at risk of losing conference “probationary’ membership if they fail to introduce a new sport (two teams) to their varsity program by 2005-06, thus losing its membership status after 36 years. Canada West bylaws require members to have a minimum of two sports and four teams. Brandon only runs men’s and women’s basketball. Athletic director Rick Nickelchok says the school does not have the resources to run a second sport. “We would like to add volleyball in 2005-06, but this is a very difficult time for Manitoba universities due to the tuition freeze and the possible deficit in our respective pension plans. We are currently going through a budgeting exercise that would see our unit’s current budget reduced by five per cent for 2004-05. As such, Brandon University has had to put its participation in volleyball on hold, but has every intention of proceeding.” A community was struck to raise private sector monies to run a volleyball program.

In April, Victoria announces that Craig Beaucamp is appointed head coach. Beaucamp assumed the reins after the death of Guy Vetrie. He’d been an assistant to Vetrie for two years and led the Vikes to an 11-9 record after Vetrie’s death. He was named Canada West coach of the year for his efforts. “Craig is the perfect fit for our program,” says UVic’s Coordinator of Athletics James Keogh. ”He has a strong commitment to game preparation, recruiting and is passionate about seeing his players thrive in academics and athletics.”

In May, Canada West announces that it has provisionally accepted the University of College of the Cariboo (which later renamed itself as Thompson Rivers) and the University College of the Fraser Valley as provisional members. Cariboo would commence competing in the 2005-06 season, while Fraser Valley would commence in the 2006-07 season.

Brandon announces that Jerry Hemmings will not return as coach after his year’s sabbatical and will be replaced by Les Berry. In his three decades with the Bobcats, Hemmings became the winningest coach in the CIS and led the team to four national championship titles and 16 straight appearances in the tournament up to the 2001-02 season. “I’m in no way ever going to compare to Jerry Hemmings,” Berry added. “What that man has accomplished, over 700 wins, he’s a legend in Brandon and I’m just stepping into a situation where I’d like to continue to have his success. We hope to be able to do that with some of our local kids – and some other kids from around the country too.” Hemmings, from Mount Airy, N.C., Hemmings won a North Carolina state high school title, played pro ball in Europe for a couple of years and then came to Canada to play for three seasons – two with Lakehead University and one with Brandon University Bobcats, where he was named a first-team GPAC all-star. He turned to coaching in 1974 and collected 734 career wins, he guided the Bobcats to 21 national tournament appearances and four Canadian championships (1987-89 and 1996). He took a one-year sabbatical to coach at Tulane University in 1983-84, took another one-year leave in 1989-90, and spent the 1993-94 season as assistant coach of the Canadian national team that played in the world championships in Toronto. There he had two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash on the roster. He returned to coach the Bobcats from 1994-03, taking his final sabbatical in 2003.

The bronze medalist Brandon Bobcats: Mario Joseph; Dido Bunema; Mustafa Cetin; Yul Michel; O’Neil Gordon; Adam Hartman; Michael Page; Scott Lelievre; Shawn Corbin; Brent Ransome; Robens Josephat; Tyrone Purnell; Shawn Corbin; Scott McKinney; Jeff Freiheit; O’Neil Wint; coach Reggie Carrick; assistant Levar Willis; assistant Gerry Neree; SID Jeremy Sawatzky; athletic director Rick Nickelchok; therapist Steve Dzubinski

The runner-up British Columbia Thunderbirds: Casey Archibald; Karlo Villanueva; Ryder McKeown; Peter Wauthy; Pat McKay; Jama Mahlalela; Jordan Yu; Jason Birring; Craig Rollins; Patrick Sponaski; Neil Morrison; Brian Host; coach Kevin Hanson; assistant Vern Knopp; assistant John Kykstra; assistant Joe Enevoldson; trainer Melina Kurtakis; manager Joel O’Gorman; trainer Chad Oatway, SID Marc Weber; team doctor Rob Lloyd-Smith

The champion Calgary Dinosaurs: Whit Hornsberger, John Riad, Jon Salgado, Aman Heran, Chris Wright, Surinder Grewal, Sean Newland, Rick Brar, Ian Ferguson, Brendon Groat; Glen Smith; Brad Summers; Lindsay Thouret; coach Don Vanhooren; assistant Wayne Thomas; assistant Rob Cadden; assistant Brad Gallup; therapist Eric Larsen; manager Dean McCord; athletic director Don Wilson; SID Jack Neumann