1971-72 OUA – men

REGULAR SEASON

	OUAA – EAST				OUAA – WEST
	York	9-3		Bob McKinney	Waterloo	10-2	19-12	Don McCrae
	Ottawa	8-4	11-16	George Potvin	Guelph	8-4	15-19	Garney Henley
	Laurentian	8-4	10-17	Richie Spears	Western	8-4		Jerry Gonser
	Carleton	7-5	8-13	Bob O’Billovich	Windsor	6-6	14-16	Paul Thomas
	Queen’s	5-7		Frank Tindall	McMaster	6-6		Bill Fowler
	Toronto	5-7		John McManus	Wilfrid Laurier	4-8		Don Smith
	Ryerson	0-12		Ed DeArmon	Brock	0-12	6-20	Les Korchok

In 1971-72, as a result of the withdrawal of McGill, Laval and Montreal to form the Quebec Universities Athletic Association, Ontario universities met to discuss their future. “In the resulting reorganization meetings, the remaining members of the O-QAA voted to change their name to the OUAA (Ontario Universities Athletic Association). Invitations were extended to all Ontario universities to participate in the reorganization meeting.” Brock, Wilfrid Laurier (then Waterloo Lutheran), York, Ryerson and Laurentian promptly joined the league as the OIAA is effectively dissolved. “As part of the reorganization, it was decided that all trophies, records, etc. of the OQAA would remain with and be recognized by the OUAA. In the spring of 1972, the following institutions were admitted as full members: Brock; Laurentian; Ryerson Polytechnical Inst; Trent; Waterloo Lutheran and York. In 1973, the Royal Military College of Kingston, Ont. was admitted to the OUAA. Also, in 1973, Waterloo Lutheran changed its name to Wilfrid Laurier Univ.”

       Windsor appeared to be a factor in the regular season race until losing its final three games of the season to fall into a fourth-place tie with McMaster. In the fourth-place playoff, the Lancers found their form before the contest by watching a game film of the 92-82 loss they’d received at McMaster’s hands in the final regular season contest. The Lancers came out with a full court press and maintained it for the entire contest, leading 34-22 at the half and shooting 40-74 from the floor as they coasted to a 103-79 victory. Peter Mingay paced Windsor with 20. Jerry Sovran added 17, Norbert Rammler 16, Ward Conway 11, Bill Horoky 11, Tino Lenti 11 MacFarlane 7, Chase 6 and Smith 4. Lancers coach Paul Thomas told the Hamilton Spectator that “we’ve played so badly in the last three games. It was just the law of averages.” Paul Mazza paced the Marauders with 24. Frank Nagy added 19, Herwig Baldauf 15, Joe Martino 8, Mark Waugh 4, Tony McCrory 3, John Dignan 2, Casey Calvaitis 2 and Jerry Simpson 2. McMaster shot 28-76 (.360) from the floor. The Marauders (coached by Bill Fowler) also included George Wheatley, George Rybiak and Bob Nelson. Fowler said “that Windsor team deserves a lot of credit. We should have had the momentum but they took it away from us. They came to play.” Fowler added that losing John Dignan to a sprained ankle in the second quarter “hurt. But we would needed a Mack truck to go against them tonight.”

       Playoff non-qualifiers:

       Brock Badgers: Peter Hamilton, Walt Szpilewski, John Corlett, Ken Sagadore, Gord Lance, Jim Rader, Bill Davis, Gord Banting, Ortwin Baldauf, Tom McKillop, James Drury, Steve O’Hara, coach Len Korchok, assistant Walsh, trainer Tom Kearney

       Queen’s Golden Gaels: Andy Daugulis, Paul Howard, Peter Gordon, Rob Smart, Dave Smith, Bruce Hemming, Ian Rawes, Stu Beck, Stu Bridgeman, Dave Wright, Joe Davidson, Alan Dresser, Dave Foulds; coach Frank Tindall; assistant Bob Wright

       Ryerson Rams: Ron Ander, Croche Contestable, Mike DeFreitas, Carl Godfrey, Jim Greene, Rick Hagerman, Ian Johnson, Ron Johnson, Jim Mallard, Ken Pratt, Barry Richards, Dan Scott, Tom Tittle, coach Ed DeArmon

       Toronto Varsity Blues: Gerry Barker, Randy Filinski, Tony Rudmik, Brian Skyvington, Dave Watt, Bob Annis, Munk Gourlie, David Ferguson, Glenn Scott, Wayne Dunkley, Joel Hibloom, Ross McNaughton, Chris Bielecki, Dan Foster, Joel Hibloom, coach John McManus

       Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks: Al Brown, Rod Dean, Larry Danby, Bob Smeenk, Pat Woodburn, Leigh Goldie, Gord Wilson, Dave Lockhart, Mike Cleary, Neil Hageman, Carl Mitchell, Bert Vancook, Lynn Cond, Vince Mendicino, Gary Southworth, Billy Joe A’Bramson, coach Don Smith, assistant Gary Jefferies

       In the West semis, 4th-seeded Windsor stunned top-seeded regular season champ Waterloo 83-82 as Tino Lenti hit three free throws in the final 80 seconds to secure the Windsor victory. Lenti scored 22 off the bench but was almost the goat when he turned the ball over with 35 seconds to go. But after a time out, Lenti redeemed himself by getting his hands on the ball on the ensuing inbounds pass and throwing it off Jaan Laaniste’s leg out of bounds with 28 seconds to go. Windsor ran out the clock to secure the victory. Paul Thomas told the Windsor Star that “the only thing I can say is that our kids had so many chances to panic and didn’t.” Waterloo had held a 47-40 halftime lead by late in the second two free throws by Jim Chase, a field goal and a free throw by Greg Horocky and a layup by Horocky gave Windsor a 71-69 lead. Thomas said his team simply outhustled Waterloo. Ward Conway and Greg Horocky each scored 11, Jerry Sovran 9, Jim Chase 9, Denis Smith 8, Peter Mingay 7, Norb Rammler 6. Waterloo was led by Jaan Laaniste 26, Ed Dragan 21, Tom Kieswetter 13, Paul Skowron 5, Phil Schlote 4, Paul Bilewicz 4, Mike Zuwerkalow 4 and Dale Hajdu 2, while Bill Ross was scoreless. Waterloo committed 29 turnovers to Windsor’s 12. Warriors coach Don McCrae told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “I think we panicked as soon as we lost the lead in the middle of the second quarter. From then on, all communication on the floor and from the bench to the floor disintegrated. … But I give an awful lot of credit to Windsor. They have a young team but they kept coming down the floor and setting up and setting up.” The Warriors (coached by Don McCrae) also included Steve Ignatavicius, Bill Hamilton, Fred Dimson, Dave Bigness, Ernie Hehn, Phil Goggins and Bill Lozynsky.

       In the other West semi, 3rd-seeded Western stunned 2nd-seeded Guelph 90-81 as Marnix Heersink scored 24, including 13 in the second half, Larry Archibald 16 and Gary Ghent 15. The Gryphons were led by Chester Graham’s 20 and Mark Walton’s 18. The Gryphons (coached by Garney Henley, assisted by Doug Dodd) also included Wayne Morgan, Gene Wolkowski, Larry Angus, Vic Juzenas, Wes Garrod, Phil Smith, Dennis Zettler, Mike Patrick, Ralph Hakenburg, Paul Allen, Peter Dick, John Huff and Fred Promoli.

       In the East semi, top-seeded York defeated 4th-seeded Carleton 84-67 after rallying from a 34-32 deficit. The Yeomen were paced by Don Holstrom 19, and Alf Lane and Jerry Varsava, each with 13. Santoro added 12 and Weppler 10. York trailed for the entire first half after being held scoreless for the first five minutes. But Bob Pike came off the bench to ignite the offence and Jerry Varsava hit three bombs as they rallied to the slim half-time lead. Ed Talaj gave York its first lead with a layup early in the second half. Don Holstrom added an and-one and York slowly pulled away, taking a 14-0point lead as four Ravens fouled out down the stretch. Lorne Bowles led the Ravens with 21. Jon Lefebure added 11 and Hugh Reid 10. The Ravens (coached by Bob O’Billovich, assistant Hank Tatarchuk, manager Terry Welch, trainer Brian Rose) also included Drew Love, Tom Ryan, Bruce Giddings, Mike McPhee, Graham Haig, Tom Towle, Benji Sadavoy, Dennis McKernan, Lorne Bowles, Ron Shoub, Michael Pulchny and Arnold Tracey.

In the other East semi, 2nd-seeded Ottawa nipped 3rd-seeded Laurentian 88-86 as Vince Lukenda notched a jumper with four seconds to play. Lukenda finished with 25, while Lorne Lennox added 18 and Merv Sabey 16. Guy Vetrie paced Laurentian with 37. Phil Fury added 20. The Voyageurs (coached by Ken Shields) also included John McKibbon, Ray Owens, Dan Cattapan, Don Lavigeur, Mel Bishop, George Chandler, Bob Gouley, Ray Foucault, Ralph Kohrs and Claudio Penn.

       In the crossover semis, West 4th-seed Windsor thrashed East runner-up Ottawa 100-78 by pressing the ball, as the Gee-Gees guards proved unable to handle the pressure. The Lancers were up 24-12 and at 26-20 went on a 12-0 run to ensure the victory. They led 57-30 at the half and shot 22-57 from the floor in the first half and 15-39 in the second. Ottawa shot 14-30 in the first half and 13-29 in the second. Windsor was 26-36 from the line, while Ottawa was 24-42. The Lancers were paced by Peter Mingay 16, Jerry Sovran 15, Jim Chase 14, Norbert Rammler 12, Tino Lenti 12, Ward Conway 10, Denis Smith 9, Jim McFarlane 6 and Charles Robinson 6. Merv Sabey paced Ottawa with 25, while nabbing 23 boards. Vic Chandler added 15, Lorne Lennox 12, Gerry Ashe 9, Mike Davis 5 and Greg Roberts 2. “I think it was a case of being in the finals for the first time and we just lost all our poise,” Gee-Gees coach George Potvin told the Ottawa Journal. “A lot of mistakes (i.e., 40 turnovers). … The amazing thing is that other teams had use the same sort of press against us a dozen times this year and we’ve always burned them.” Lancers coach Paul Thomas told the Windsor Star that “we knew their big guys were their top scorers, so it was out game plan to put pressure on their smaller guards from the opening whistle. We looked a little ragged at the outset but showed our dominance early in the game. Our kids went up against a lot of height tonight and responded well.”

In the other semi, East regular champ York dumped West 3rd-seed Western 85-79 as Jerry Varsava scored 16, Butch Feldman 12, Alf Lane 12, Bob Pike 12, Ed Talaj 12, Bob Weppler 10, Himstrom 9 and Vince Santoro 2. York led 47-39 at the half. The first half was an absolute foulfest, while Pike blocked Raoul Kreek three times early, making him reluctant to shoot. Varsava took command in the second half, coming off the bench as the fouls continued to mount against the York starters. Pike iced the win with two late buckets. Raoul Kreek paced Western with 22. Gary Ghent added 16. Western star Marnix Heersink picked up four quick fouls in the first half and was in effective thereafter, scoring 12. Larry Archibald added 12, Alan Vanweeldon 10, Jack Orange 3, Arunas Vaiceliunas 3 and Dave Crichton 1.

       In the bronze medal match, Ottawa defeated Western 89-72. The Gee-Gees led 42-31 at the half. Vic Chandler paced Ottawa with 28. Merv Sabey added 14, Lorne Lennox 13, Pat Harris 10 and Vince Lukenda 10. “It was a matter of pride in this game,” Gee-Gees coach George Potvin told the Ottawa Journal. “We wanted to prove after losing so badly Friday night (in the semis) that we aren’t chokers.” Raoul Kreek led the Mustangs with 17. Gary Ghent added 11 and Marnix Heersink 10. The Mustangs (coached by Jerry Gonser, manager Dave Smith, trainer Dave Wise) also included Larry Archibald, Jack Orange, Dave Crichton, Alan Van Weelden, Arunas Vaiceliunas, Hugo Sorenson, Doug Corrigan, Dave McCabe, Greg Roberts and Mike Savage.

       In the final, Windsor handled York easily 73-61 despite shooting a pathetic 10-46 in the first half (.210). York led 35-25 in the first half on jumpers by Holmstrom, Weppler and Feldman The Lancers trailed by five at the half 39-34 but opened the second half with a half-court zone press and began trapping York ballhandlers at midcourt. They soon took control, particularly within the first six minutes. They knotted the score on a three-point play by Peter Mingay and then hit three of its first four shots in the half and 7-8 as they took a 49-41 lead and never looked back. “We used a half-court zone press, which we use when we’re losing,” coach Paul Thomas told Canadian Press. “It worked for us against Waterloo so we figured to try it again.” It clearly worked. The Lancers shot 16-39 in the second half and 25-31 from the line for the entire contest. Tournament MVP Jerry Sovran scored 20, including 14 in the first half. Ward Conway added 13, Tino Lenti 13, Norbert Rammler 10, Peter Mingay 6, Jim McFarlane 6, Greg Horoky 3 and Jim Chase 3. Don Holstrom paced York with 15. Butch Feldman added 12 and Alfi Lane 9, Vince Santoro 9, Pike 6, Weppler 6 and Ed Talaj 4. “We were counted out this year,” an elated Thomas told Canadian Press. “They said we couldn’t win the title again with five freshmen on our team, three of them on our starting squad.”  Thomas told the Windsor Star that “we were tight in the first half. I guess you can blame that on our inexperience as much as anything else. We weren’t running our stuff correctly and we were taking bad shots. In the second half, we started to do things better and more precisely. We took better and closer shots, and with better position on the floor, the shots started to go in for us. And we went to a halfcourt zone press against them in the second half. We had used it against them back in November and it worked out pretty well for us again.” York coach Bob McKinney said “I think their poise and experience turned the game around for them. We didn’t react well to their press and their shooting improved immensely after the half.”

       In late March, the University of Montreal announces that it was withdrawing from all athletic competition because the student’s association refused to contribute monies to varsity programming on the grounds that only a minority of students compete at the intercollegiate level. In 1971, students contributed $97,000 to the varsity program.

       The bronze medalist Ottawa Gee-Gees: Vic Chandler; Merv Sabey; Lorne Lennox; Pat Harris; Vince Lukenda; Gerry Ashe; Mike Davis; Lorne Lennox; Greg Roberts; Todd Plaskacz; John Plaskacz; Dave White; Bill Chang; Art Salmon; Gord Dumas; Mike Owens; coach George Potvin

       The runner-up York Lions: Don Holstrom; Alf Lane; Bob Weppler; Vince Santoro; Bob Pike; Larry ‘Butch’ Feldman; Ed Talaj; Jerry Varsava; Jeff Simbrow; Talaga; Bob Buchanan; Eric Gawley; Price; Himford; Scotty Hortop; Warren Heeley; Eddie Lane; coach Bob McKinney; manager Tony Moscato; manager Harold Wolkin

       The champion Windsor Lancers: Denis Smith; Peter Mingay; Ward Conway; Jim Chase; Norbert Rammler; Tino Lenti; Jim McFarlane; Jerry Sovran; Charles Robinson; Greg Horocky; Jack Moore; Joe Artiss; coach Paul Thomas; assistant Nick Grabowski; manager Sam Drouillard; trainer Bill Mitchell; trainer Jerry Wachowicz; statistician John Bernik