REGULAR SEASON
| EAST | WEST | ||||||||
| York | 12-0 | Bob Bain | Brock | 9-3 | 20-14 | Garney Henley | |||
| Laurentian | 8-4 | Mike Heale | Windsor | 8-4 | Paul Thomas | ||||
| Toronto | 8-4 | 8-7 | John McManus | Guelph | 7-5 | Gib Chapman | |||
| Ottawa | 6-6 | 12-17 | John Restivo | Western | 6-6 | Doug Hayes | |||
| Carleton | 5-7 | 6-23 | Gene Chatterton | Waterloo | 6-6 | 18-16 | Don McCrae | ||
| Queen’s | 3-9 | Jim Crozier | Wilfrid Laurier | 3-9 | Chris Coulthard | ||||
| Ryerson | 0-12 | Phil Schlote | McMaster | 3-9 | Don Punch | ||||
Playoff non-qualifiers:
Carleton Ravens: Bill Holmes, Greg Yeldon, Keith Kelso, Brock Cowan, Geoff Wells, Greg Armstrong, Steve Casselman, Steve Gladu, Peter Simons, Andy Czich, David Paterson, coach Gene Chatterton, manager Nigel Bushe
Queen’s Golden Gaels: Jeff Folkhard, Mike Kirby, Rick Emmerson, Kelly Campbell, Andy Lapin, Jim Allen, James Reynolds, Tom Birch, Stuart Ferguson, Rick VanDerlee, Harry McMurtry, Norbert Pinder (Priener?), coach Jim Crozier
Ryerson Rams: Phil Dugas, Tom Imray, Carlyle Johnson, Kevin Lewis, Jamie Mandolesi, Bernie Moseley-Williams, Tom Mouharemis, Darrell Outschoorn, Tony Ramondino, Greg St. Kitts, Jim Szarka, Oliver Johnson, Rob Jones, coach Terry Haggerty
In the East semis, top-seeded York defeated 4th-seeded Ottawa 91-56 as David Coulthard scored 28. Coulthard, named an OUA all-star for the fifth time a day earlier, said “we’re hitting our peak now and I think that I am too. Like any sport, it’s a matter of intensity. The individual awards and recognition, they’re nice but needless to say, a national championship is what I want most.” The Gee-Gees kept it close early, with York leading 32-24 midway through the first half. But Yeoman forward Grant Parobec ignited a 14-0 run with reverse layup on a baseline drive. Parobec added 16 for York, which led 48-26 at the half. Paul Manning led Ottawa with 18. The Gee-Gees (coached by John Restivo) also included Ethan Bynoe, Rob Ashe, Robert Taylor, Daniel Gingras, Henry Hanlan, Matt Kane, Winston Ivey, Ross Buskard, Rob MacDonald, Rob Brewer, George Azzie and Rob Corlett.
In the other East semi, 2nd-seeded Laurentian nipped 3rd-seeded Toronto 71-69 as Dave Burden hit the winning bucket with four seconds to play and Voyageur Don Jones hit a free throw to clinch the win. Toronto had taken a 69-68 lead with 10 seconds remaining on a hoop by John Lam, after rallying from a 19-point first-half deficit. Laurentian coach Mike Heale said his troops “were too hesitant and cautious in the second half. We lost our intensity. We just let up. That kind of thing can snowball on you.” Brian Skeoch led the Voyageurs with 18 points and 14 rebounds. The Varsity Blues (coached by John McManus, assisted by Rob Selkirk) included Bill Pangos, Ron McClure, Anthony Hadwen, Mike Virro, Tim Fischl, Doug Cleminson, John Lam, Ross Geddes, John Roy, Mark Fisher, Ed Ulrich, Marty VanKranendonk and Robert Jaworski.
In the East final, top-seeded York disposed of 2nd-seeded Laurentian 81-62 as David Coulthard tossed in 40 (Coulthard had tossed in 50 late in the regular season during a 104-85 pasting of Toronto), including 24 in the first half. The win gave the Yeomen their fifth consecutive East division crown. “People say that because we have dominated our league so much, we don’t have the experience in close games to a big (national) championship,” said Coulthard, who hit .670 from the floor in the first half, while scoring 40. The Yeomen took a 44-31 lead into the lockers. Laurentian rallied back to within five but were plagued by turnovers down the stretch. York led 66-58 with four minutes to play, when Coulthard ignited a closing 15-2 run by pilfering the ball from Voyageur guard Diego Favero and racing for a layup. Laurentian finished with 22 turnovers, while York had 9. Coulthard hit 18-29 from the field. Grant Parobec added 21 for York. Mike Sheridan led Laurentian with 15. Diego Favero added 12, David Burden 10 and 6-4 post Brian Skeoch, just 8. Voyageurs coach Mike Heale told The Excalibur that the Voyageurs tried to “limit” Coulthard. He’s just an exceptional athlete and a smart player.” Lions coach Bob Baine said “Skeoch was good on the boards but offensively, he didn’t do very much.” Heale said “they took him (Skeoch) out of our offence. York sagged extremely well on him, so we had a hard time getting the ball to him.”
In the west quarterfinals, 2nd-seeded Windsor defeated 7th-seeded McMaster 86-72 (also reported as 89-72) as Stan Korosec scored 25, Jim Kennedy 23, Phil Hermanutz 15 and Brian Hogan 12. Windsor shot 24-42 from the line. They led 37-36 at the half but trailed by 44-41 in the second half when coach Paul Thomas inserted John Ritchie “to make something happen,” as he told the Windsor Star. Although playing with a heavily bandaged left knee, Ritchie promptly hit a bucket, fed Stan Korosec for another, and ran down a loose ball passing it to Jim Kennedy who hit a field goal, all part of a 10-0 run. Windsor took a 51-44 lead and never looked back. Korosec said Ritchie “is not the player he used to be but seeing him come out on the floor and do his thing was an inspiration to all of us.” McMaster coach Don Punch said “forget the final score. It was a four-point ball game. It was a tough, physical game. We came to play.” McMaster, who hit 12-22 from the line, was paced by Ned Janjic’s 18 points. John Kulik scored 13 before fouling out in the second half. Tony Sterling added 11 (also reported as 10), Kerry Lichty 10, Jim Hoyle 8 and Ed Zubas 2. The Marauders (coached by Don Punch, assisted by Dave Arsenault) also included Vojko Pesa, Jerry Catania, Nick Mugosa, Brian Fuller, Maurice Armstrong, Chuck Cochlin, John Diviesti, Horace Peterkin, George Milligan and Paul Hopper.
The 3rd-seeded Guelph Gryphons defeated the 6th-seeded Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 69-55 as Ron Henry scored 19, Tom Heslip 17 and Mike Sesto 12. The Gryphons led 33-24 at the half. Enzo Piazza paced the Golden Hawks with 16. Scott Bryson added 12 and Bob Fitzgerald 10. Golden Hawks coach Chris Coulthard told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “I thought we played very well – except for one thing – we didn’t score. We tried to inside with the ball and then we just missed the shots. … It’s not that they killed us offensively. It’s just that didn’t do the job ourselves.” The Golden Hawks (coached by Chris Coulthard and Don Smith) included Bob Fitzgerald, Enzo Piazza, Scott Bryson, Leon Arendse, Dave Byck, Peter Briglio, Helmut Tinnes, Doug Aitchison, Mike McCormack, Brian Totzke, Pat Langdon and Dave Weaver.
In the last West quarterfinal, 5th-seeded Waterloo defeated 4th-seeded Western 78-73 as Phil Jarrett scored 17, Peter Savich 14, Paul Van Oorchot 14 and Bruck Breckill 13. The Warriors broke to a 9-2 lead but the Mustangs rallied to take a 41-40 lead at the half. Bruce Breckbill notched three consecutive buckets as Waterloo retook the lead early in the second half and then Harry Van Drunen came off the bench and took control. Van Drunen told the Imprint that “when you’re on the bench you’ve always got to be ready to go.” Van Drunen, Breckbill and Paul Van Oorchot took control of the boards. “The post men exploded to the box,” said Warrior Phil Jarrett. Breckbill scored 14 and nabbed 8 boards. Van Oorschot scored 14 and nabbed 7 boards. The Warrior posts contained Mustang posts Ross Hurd and Paul Hunt in the blocks. “We’ve played with so many people all year that we can always find a player to play well. It’s a different bunch of guys every time,” said Warriors coach Don McCrae. “You find the guys who are clicking and you go with them. Harry has had very few minutes all year but few people are aware that he trains twice a day. He has set a real example. When I put him in, I had no anxieties. It was a very critical time and our game improved.” McCrae told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “we played great. We had a very bad second 10 minutes of the first half but other than that we played very well. … In our second half, for the first time, we dealt with the team’s focus of attack. It was the first time we really got after what Western was trying to do and we were successful.” Ross Hurd led the Mustangs with 21. Paul Hunt added 17 and Jim Davidson 15. The Mustangs (coached by Doug Hayes, assisted by Clyde Adkin, manager John Douglas, trainer Josee Lanouette) also included Scott McKenzie, Wade Walker, Shawn Manuel, Craig Bonner, Dave Bull, Dave VanSlingerland, Ian Paterson, Ken Lougheed, Marty Rybiak and Andy Lewis.
In the West semis, 2nd-seeded Windsor defeated 3rd-seeded Guelph 95-69 as Phil Hermanutz tossed in 22, including 16 in the first half. Brian Hogan added 18, Stan Korosec 18, Jim Kennedy 17, Ron Wallman 7, Martin Ritsma 3, Hunt Hool 3, Paul Sobocan 2, Joe DiBattista 2 and John Ritchie 2, while Mark Landry was scoreless. The Lancers hit 36-77 from the floor and 23-34 from the line. Windsor led 46-35 at the half. Lancers coach Paul Thomas told the Windsor Star that “I thought we could have been a little more inspired in the first half. But in the second half, our defence did one great job. I thought I detected that Guelph got demoralized quite early and it was the type of game where I was able to substitute everybody.” Guelph coach Gib Chapman said “what can I say? Windsor has an excellent ball club. They’re much too physical for us. Once you get behind them, you’re in trouble. I thought their defensive play was just awesome tonight. Hermanutz hit 8 of his 12 shots in the first half to break it open. Then we had to deal with Hogan and Kennedy in the second half. That Kennedy … he’s a big surprise. He does so much for them.” Tom Heslip paced Guelph with 21. Derrick Lewis added 12, 6-9 centre Mike Sesto 10, Ron Henry 10, Dan Sukara 6, Mark Scott 4, Adrian Kirby 4 and Mike Wacasey 2. The Gryphons hit 28-74 from the floor and 11-18 from the line. The Gryphons (coached by Gilbert Chapman, assisted by Barry Phillips and Ron Barber, trainer Marion Greenberg, faculty advisor Jim Stevens, faculty advisor Dan Yarmey) also included Roger Tustanoff, Greg Hook, Mike Hudson, Rory Gooderham, Rick Dundas, Keith Mosher, Ken Capponi, David Thompson and Dan Ryan.
In the other West semi, top-seeded Brock defeated 5th-seeded Waterloo 84-80 as Bob Blasko scored 23, Bob Yuhasz 14, Fast 12, Radosku 11, Zareski 10, Baker 8, Hodges 3 and Trietz 3. The Badgers led 48-42 at the half and by as many as 14 in the second half of the physical affair. But Peter Savich and Clayton Ninham rallied the Warriors to within one point with four minutes to play. Badgers coach Garney Henley told the St. Catharines Standard that “it was a tough, physical game with both teams going at it hard. We had so many chances to put them away but missed all those foul shots. The referees calls went one way for a while when we had the lead, then turned right around again … with calls the other way. We started quickly with a little different offence that was new to Waterloo and the guys played a good strong defence. In the second half, we went into a zone defence to slow them down.” Peter Savich paced the Warriors with 21. Clayton Ninham added 14, Paul Van Oorchot 14, Phil Jarrett 11, Scott King 7, Bob Urosevic 6, Richard Kurtz 3 and Bruce Breckbill 2. The Badgers shot .470 from the floor and 24-38 (.630) from the line, while the Warriors hot .420 from the floor and 14-22 (.640) from the line. Each team committed 16 turnovers. “I thought we played really well,” Warriors coach Don McCrae told the Imprint. “We got off to two bad starts and got into eight-point holes. You can only come back so many times.” McCrae told the Standard that “was nothing but war on the court. If I had known it was going to be like that, I would have recruited football players instead. When players start punching each other, then something has to be done about it. I did something and got a technical foul for it … Brock didn’t break under pressure. They made a few free throws and (Bob) Yuhasz hit some little jumpers to come back. We started dismally in the second half, reaching and hacking to pick up four or five fouls without getting the basketball. We cam back but that tired us out. It’s fairly easy to close the gap but tough to open any kind of lead.” The Warriors (coached by McCrae, assisted by Mike Visser and Mike Frisby) also included Cal Keil, Ken Haggert, Harry Van Drunen, Steve Leeming, Dave Moser, Harry Van Drunen and Bruce Milliken.
In the West bronze medal match, Guelph clipped Waterloo 93-79 as Heslip scored 34, Scott 20, Lewis 12, Henry 8, Kirby 8, Sukara 6 and Sesto 5, while Hook, Caponis, Wacasey, Thompson and Bowering were scoreless. Jarrett led the Warriors with 17. Savich added 16, Ninham 15, Van Oorschot 9, King 7, Kurtz 4, Urosevic 4, Kiel 2 and Van Douinen 2, while Hoser and Haggert were scoreless.
In the West final, 2nd-seeded Windsor defeated top-seeded Brock 92-75 as guard Brian Hogan scored 30. He was named the game’s MVP after hitting 14-18 from the floor and two free throws. Phil Hermanutz added 20, Stan Korosec 16, Jim Kennedy 9, Wallman 7, Ritchie 6, Ritsma 2, DiBattista 1 and Sobocan 1. Windsor rallied from a 46-43 halftime deficit and opened the second half with a 22-13 run. But Hogan hit six straight field goals as Windsor stretched its lead to 68-56. Although Brock was up by 11 in the first half, Hogan told Canadian Press that he wasn’t concerned: “They were pressing us all over the place early in the game but we made a good comeback the last time we played here (losing 96-85) and knew that we could do it again. Things started to turn around for us when we started to play our helter-skelter brand of ball. Sure, I scored a lot of points but a lot of them came on open dog shots.” Stan Korosec told the Windsor Star that “things were going wrong for us in the first half. We made a lot of mistakes we really shouldn’t have been making. So, at halftime, we decided it was time to suck it up and get back to basics. All hell broke loose after that. We just killed them. Funny thing, we really like playing on the road in front of these big, hostile crowds. We get all pumped up when the crowd’s against us like it was tonight.” Lancers coach Paul Thomas said “I was never really worried. I felt that if we ever got it going, and we did in the second half, we’d chase all over the floor.” Badgers coach Garney Henley said “they were shooting just super. We had an edge in the play in the first half but they took everything away from us in the second.” Henley told the St. Catharines Standard that “losing the final was a terrible letdown. … The game against Waterloo took a lot out of us and we weren’t as alert as we should have been. The ball wouldn’t drop for us and everything Windsor threw up seemed to go in. When we couldn’t hit our shots, we started to press, then just died and lost our confidence. They hurt us on the boards, leaving us with only one shot most of the time.” Windsor shot 36-57 from the floor and 20-29 from the line. Brock shot 28-57 from the floor and 19-29 from the line. Bob Blasko paced Brock with 23 points, including 20 in the first half. Jim Zareski added 13, Doug Fast 12, Yuhasz 8, Trietz 8, Radoslav 5, Hodges 4 and Baker 2.
In the Wilson Cup final, York defeated Windsor 95-84 as Coulthard tossed in 49 points in his final home appearance. York won its third straight OUAA title, defeating Windsor in all three finals. Coulthard had his number retired at halftime ceremony before a capacity crowd of 2037. He hit 23 points in the first half as York took a 42-33 lead. He finished with a 19-38 night from the floor and hit 11-14 from the line, while pilfering 2 balls and nabbing 7 boards. Windsor coach Paul Thomas told Canadian Press that Coulthard “was the main difference. We feel kind of bad about losing but it was a great show and the place was jammed.” John Christiansen added 16 for York, Grant Parobec 10, Tony Bone 6, Tim Ryder 6, Lester Smith 6 and Paul VanDenbosch 4, while Peter Rizakos, Rob Hager, Dino Scagnetto and Bruce Atwood were scoreless. Lions coach Bob Bain told The Excalibur that “David is a great talent and I’m not taking anything away from him. But some of the other guys who may not be great talents played with big hearts.” Lancers coach Paul Thomas said “when you get a guy who scores 49 points in a championship game, there’s not much you can do. I don’t know how anybody can stop Coulthard, he needs so little room to shoot.” Thomas added that he didn’t try any trick defences; “we don’t play that way. We just play our game. … (But) we weren’t playing our game. And even when we were ahead, we weren’t playing with the aggressiveness we usually do.” Coulthard said “it’s nice to bbeat those guys again.” Windsor was paced by Stan Korosec’s 31 points including 20 field goals and 11 free throws. Brian Hogan added 15, Ron Wallman 14, Phil Hermanutz 13, Jim Kennedy 5, John Ritchie 4 and Joe DiBattista 2, while Hunt Hool, Paul Sobocan, Mark Landry and Martin Ritsma were scoreless. Thomas told the Windsor Star that “we had a chance nearing the end. But we couldn’t put the ball in the basket when we had to.”
After the season, Barry Phillips is named coach of McMaster. Phillips had been an associate at Guelph.
York’s Bob Bain announces that he will take a one-year sabbatical.
The co-bronze medalist Brock Badgers: Bob Blasko; Jim Zareski; Doug Fast; Bob Yuhasz; Kelly Baker; Dave Hodges; Paul Trietz; John Radoslav; Mark Green; Tim McAlpine; Jim Baldin; Doug Johnson; Mike Crichton; coach Garney Henley; manager Britt Fischer; trainer Joe Kenney
The co-bronze medalist Laurentian Voyageurs: Diego Favero; Mike Sheridan; David Burden; Brian Skeoch; Greg Johannes; Don Jones; Willie Woitowicz; Rick Paulowicz; Andrew Barbeau; Dave Clements; Paul Makkonen; Mike Johnson; Eddie Picco; coach Mike Heale
The runner-up Windsor Lancers: Stan Korosec; Phil Hermanutz; Jim Kennedy; Ron Wallman; Brian Hogan; Hunt Hool; Paul Sobocan; John Ritchie; Mark Landry; Joe Dibattista; Martin Ritsma; coach Paul Thomas; assistant Nick Grabowski
The champion York Yeomen: David Coulthard; John Christensen; Tim Rider; Grant Parobec; Lester Smith; Paul VanDenbosch; Tony Bone; Dino Scagnetto; Peter Rizakos; Rob Hager; Bruce Atwood; Enzo Spagnuolo; coach Bob Bain; assistant Gerry Barker; assistant Michael Foster; athletic director Nobby Wirkowski; SID Lynn Cornett