REGULAR SEASON

EAST       WEST        
  Laurentian 18-2 28-6 Peter Campbell McMaster 13-1 30-10 Joe Raso  
  York 12-8 15-16 Bob Bain Western 12-2 20-5 Craig Boydell  
  Ottawa 10-10 13-21 Jack Eisenmann Waterloo  7-7 18-14 Tom Kieswetter  
  Ryerson 10-10 12-14 Terry Haggerty Brock  7-7 17-17 Ken Murray  
  Toronto  9-11 13-20 Ken Olynyk Guelph  6-8 14-12 Chris O’Rourke  
  Carleton  7-13 14-16 Paul Armstrong Lakehead  5-9  9-13 Lou Pero  
  Queen’s  6-14  8-21 Scott Meeson Windsor  5-9  6-12 Mike Havey  
          Wilfrid Laurier  1-13  7-19 Mike Kilpatrick  
                   

Playoff non-qualifiers:

       Carleton Ravens: Brian Leonard, Matthew Moloney, Terry Vilayil, Andy Stewart, Matt Boulton, Shane Elliott, Caesar Lukwago, Matt McKechnie, Jack Zeilenga, Matt Mahar, Justin Sudds, Matt Koeslag, Ebert Ephraim, Sean Byrne, Dean Petridis, coach Paul Armstrong, assistant Dave Smart, assistant Andy Waterman, assistant Mike McInrue, assistant Jesse Sazant, trainer Bruce Marshall

       Queen’s Golden Gaels: Rob Sharrard, Reilly Musselman, Peter Stelter, Derek Richardson, Brendan Byrne, Ray Pengelly, Mark Bednis, Mike Gleeson, Linas Underys, David Sigler, John Purdy, Dave Wilson, coach Scott Meeson, assistant Brad Hann, trainer Rob Wilson, student coach Duane Brousmiche

       Toronto Varsity Blues: Arbi Shahnazarian, Sherwyn Benn, Reid Beckett, Dan Selkirk, Anthony Daly, Glen Selkirk, Ennis Blentic, Jon Reid, Chris Skeaff, Andrew Rupf, Nathan Hale, Anthony Alexiou, Vidak Curic, Ryan Pyle, Paul Culham, coach Ken Olynyk, assistant Mike Dodig, assistant John Robb, assistant Eddy Meguerian, assistant Bob Selkirk

       Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks: Jeff Zdrahal, Chris Popofski, Brent Reaney, Greg Sanstrom, Nick Ritchie, Bobo Papadimitriou, Andreas Hofer, Patrice Pusey, Andrew Moir, Kevin Ryan, Corwin Troje, Todd Saunders, Matt Cuttiford, Basil Botetzayas, Ken Hodgins, coach Mike Kilpatrick, assistant John Zdrahal, assistant Gerry Gajkowski

       Windsor Lancers: Geoff Stead, Matt McMillan, Chet Wydrzynski, Cameron Nekkers, Mark Baggio, Michael Baggio, Sefu Bernard, Ajamu Bernard, Kwame Boamah, Jey-son Edwards, Edward Moore, Robert Duffey, John Veljanovski, Stephen Stead, Nathan Jackson, Victor Sobieraj, coach Mike Havey, assistant Vince Landry, assistant Tim Elcombe, assistant Wayne Curtin

In the West quarterfinals, 3rd-seeded Waterloo defeated 6th-seeded Lakehead 70-63 with a balanced scoring attack and sterling defence. The game featured 8 lead changes but Waterloo took the lead for good with 6:05 to play and held Lakehead to .330 from the field, including .230 in the second half. Waterloo shot .440 from the floor and was ahead 43-39 at the half. Mike Stroeder led the Warriors with 14 points. Derek Maat added 11, Woody Kwiatkowski 10, Mark Eyes 10 and Mano Watsa 9 Eyes had 8 boards, Derek Maat had 7, Dan Schipper 7 and Woody Kwiatkowski 6. Stroeder told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “it’s all finally coming together. We’ve got a 10-man rotation working now. I don’t think I’ve ever been on a team with 10 guys contributing and getting so many minutes.” Warriors coach Tom Kieswetter said “after we lost four in a row, the bandwagon emptied a little bit. Maybe that will change now. … The coaches didn’t do a lot of (this) game. Basically, it was all the players. It wasn’t X’s and O’s. It was a battle of the wills. Our guys showed tremendous mental and physical toughness. Lakehead coach Lou Pero said that a 23% shooting effort “just isn’t good enough to win.” Ramon McElmurry led Lakehead with 13 points. Emanuel Ostojic and Brad Volkman each added 10. The Thunderwolves (coached by Lou Pero, assisted by Larry Krawchuk and Ron Ventrudo, trainer Kendra Arthur) also included Andrew Stevenson, Paul Andrews, Carlo Zoffranieri, Mark Moorhouse, Robert Boaz, David Elliott, Brennan Judge, Mark Neilson, Mike Booth, Anderson Spencer and Kareen Rodriguez.

       In the other West quarterfinal, 5th-seeded Guelph defeated 4th-seeded Brock 75-59 as Mike Ayanbadejo scored 19, Jason Graham 19 and Malik Shehbaz 15.  Guelph quickly took a double-digit lead but Brock rallied to cut it to 35-31 (also reported as 35-30) at the half. The Gryphons reasserted a double-digit lead early in the second half and maintained it to the buzzer by out-rebounding the Badgers and dominating the paint. Brock was playing without starter Chris Tilley, who was injured during practice. Tyler Bettridge paced the Badgers with 12. Bjorn Trow added 11, along with 10 boards, Vince Pollicella 10 and Jamie Clark 7. Clark told the St. Catharines Standard that “unfortunately, we didn’t play well in this game.” Injured Tilley said “if I was in the game and (we) lost it, it would’ve been one thing but having to sit there and watch was really tough. Our guys didn’t give in and I knew they tried their hearts out but at the end (Guelph) kind of ran away with it.” Badgers coach Ken Murray said “our nemesis all year has been poor shooting and poor rebounding and it was very, very evident today. You can’t shoot 29% in your own gym and expect to win.” The Badgers (coach Ken Murray, assistant Ralph Nero, assistant Mike Beccaria, administrative assistant Jason Little, manager George Gallo, therapist Jim Bilotta, student therapist Chris Arnoreda, student therapist Jerome Camacho, academic advisor Don Ursino, psychologist Jean Cote, strength & conditioning Tony Ferrusi) also included Sam Fuca, Adam Carpino, Jamie Duncan, Jared Wideman, Don Barnes, Conor MacSweeney, Martin Smieszek, Trevor Padfield, Ryan Dudley, Mike Hurley and Jeff Moscato.

       In the West semis, 3rd-seeded Waterloo defeated the 2nd-seeded Western Mustangs 68-63. Waterloo took an early 14-8 lead but went ice cold and Western moved ahead 24-14. But the Warriors scored 19 points in the final seven minutes of the opening half to erase a 10-point deficit and take a 33-32 lead into the lockers. Waterloo twice built an 11-point lead in the second half but Western fought back to narrow the gap to one in the final minutes. But Mano Watsa stole the ball on a rebound and went up for a bucket and was a fouled as the Warriors reasserted themselves. The Warriors also drilled 5-6 free throws down the stretch by Watsa, Mike Zavershnik and Derek Maat, while Western hit only 5-12 from the line in the second half. Waterloo’s bench outscored Western’s 33-5 and out-rebounded them 13-5. Derek Maat scored 18 points for Waterloo, including 7-11 from the floor and 4-4 from the line. Mike Zavershnik added 9 points and 6 rebounds. Remy Donaldson scored 6, had 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Woody Kwiatkowski had 11 points and held Micah Boudreau to 9. Waterloo held Western to 23-62 (.370) from the floor and 4-22 from the arc. Nat Graham led the Mustangs with 19. Jonathan Dingle added 15, Brad Campbell 14 and Mano Watsa 9. The Warriors had lost four straight before winning their quarterfinal. “It was a really bumpy ride,” Warriors coach Tom Kieswetter told the Western Gazette. “We played well, but we just forgot how to win in the second half of the season. We started to question ourselves, but through a lot of tough work and perseverance, we got through it all. … We went into the games with nothing to lose and we got some outstanding efforts from several players. We just put things together at the right time.” Nat Graham said “they shot better than us, but I don’t think they played harder than us. We got good shots, but we just didn’t make them.” Bourdeau said “it was one of those games that they were hitting a lot of their shots and we weren’t. We didn’t play great, but I give them credit – they stepped it up when they had to.” The Mustangs (coached by Craig Boydell, assisted by Brendan Noonan and Brad Campbell, administrative assistant Pat Dooley, manager Krista Sheppard, trainers Darren Chisholm and Mike Duncan, academic advisor William Avison) also included Dan Jonker, Dave Bonitatibus, Ryan Bell, Darcy Millen, Chedo Ndur, Mark Nielsen, Matt Tweedie, Chris Webber, Rich Tamminga, Chris Brown and Paul Abrams.

       In the other West semi, top-seeded McMaster defeated 5th-seeded Guelph 71-67 after rallying from 11 down in the second half on the strong inside play of Vojo Rusic. The top-ranked Marauders were ice cold to star falling behind 10-2 before clawing their way back into the contest. A three-pointer by Rodney Baptiste gave them their first lead at 23-22 with three minutes to play in the half before Guelph moved ahead 31-26 at the break. The Gryphons opened a 51-40 lead early in the second half before McMaster once again rallied to take a 60-59 lead with three minutes to play. Geoff MacNeill drilled a three for the Gryphons but then Rusic and Channer hit buckets in transition to give the Marauders a 66-62 lead. They iced it at the line. Rusic scored 19 and grabbed 11 rebounds en route to his selection as the player of the game. Titus Channer added 17, 7 boards and 6 assists. Steve Maga and Daren Spithoff each scored 9, James Akrong 8 and 6 boards, Doug Doyle 1, Rodney Baptiste 6 and Nick Rupcich 2, while Mark Maga and Sweeney were scoreless. The Marauders hit 25-63 (.397) from the floor, 4-18 (.222) from the arc and 17-26 (.654) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, 22 fouls, 12 turnovers, 12 assists, 2 blocks and 9 steals. Mike Ayanbadejo led Guelph with 15 points including a perfect 5-5 from the floor and 7 rebounds. Malik Shehbaz scored 12 and grabbed 7 boards. Geoff MacNeill had 11, including three from beyond the arc. Charles Yearwood added 2, Jason Wenczler 8, Jason Crotty 10, Jason Graham 6 and Jeff Erskine 3, while Kalvin Karimian was scoreless. The Gryphons hit 22-55 (.400) from the floor, 4-14 (.286) from the arc and 19-28 (.679) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, 22 fouls, 7 assists, 17 turnovers, 1 block and 4 steals. The Gryphons (coached by Chris O’Rourke, assisted by Kris VanderVeer, Wayne Kidd and Mark Grant, manager Dane Pierre, trainer Matt Burnside) also included Jason Wiltshire, Koven Padayachee, Brent Jamieson, Brendan Wilson, Neil Gowe, Roger Thurton and Toffer Treiguts. Marauder Rodney Baptiste told the Hamilton Spectator that “I don’t really guard Mike (Ayanbadejo) and I’m not sure how you do. He’s their time player you try to contain.”

       In the West final, 3rd-seeded Waterloo upset top-seeded McMaster 78-74 before a rapid home town crowd, avenging two regular season losses to the Marauders. The Warriors took and early 16-8 lead but McMaster responded with a 13-0 run en route to a 40-36 lead at the half. McMaster opened an eight-point lead early in the second half but the Warriors chipped away and took a 54-53 lead on a long range three by Mark Eys which capped a 10-1 run. Doug Doyle answered with a three for the Marauders but Waterloo soon took a 68-61 lead. The Marauders narrowed it to 72-69 with 1:49 to play but missed several opportunities to cut the margin further and the Warriors prevailed. Mike Stroeder scored 17 for Waterloo, as did Watsa, who also had six rebounds and 6 assists. Dan Schipper scored 11, Mike Zavershnik 15, Mark Eyes 8, Remy Donaldson 4 and Derek Maat 6, while Rigaux and Kwiatkowski were scoreless. The Warriors shot 26-60 (.433) from the floor, 7-16 (.438) from the arc and 19-29 (.655) from the line, while garnering 27 boards, 16 fouls, 16 assists, 12 turnovers, 3 blocks and 5 steals.

Mano Watsa told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “from the start of the season, I knew we had all the pieces. It would be a matter of hard work. But I have to say I wasn’t sure that we would put it all together.” Mike Zavershnik said “we never really thought it was done until very end. Playing in our house was a huge factor. It might have made all the difference.” Doug Doyle was selected player of the game for McMaster after scoring 19 points and grabbing 8 rebounds. Steve Maga added 14, Rodney Baptiste 10, Vojo Rusic 9 and 11 boards, Titus Channer 9, Darren Spithoff 9, James Akrong 2 and Nick Rupcich 2. The Marauders hit 30-68 (.441) from the floor, 8-28 (.286) from the arc and 6-13 (.462), while garnering 39 boards, 23 fouls, 12 assists, 17 turnovers, 3 blocks and 5 steals. Marauders coach Joe Raso said “hey, we are a transition team. We make a few more turnovers than some teams but you live with it. When it works, people say it looks great … We gave them too many easy scores. When you do that, it just gives them confidence. When Waterloo needed the big shots, they hit the big shots, consistently. Schipper, Zavershnik, Watsa, Eys. They all hit the big shots.”

       In the East semis, 3rd-seeded Ottawa edged 2nd-seeded York 64-63 as guard Gavin Musgrave drilled a three-pointer with 5.7 seconds to play on the clock. The Gee-Gees, who early in the season lost eight straight, turned around their season by winning 8 of their last 10 to qualify for the playoffs with a 10-10 record. “Everything seemed to blank out,” said Musgrave. “It felt like practice but once it went through, it was a totally different feeling.” Hoisted in the air by his teammates after the ball slid through the hoop. Head coach Jack Eisenmann said he had confidence in the 19-year-old starter. “He stepped up when it counted. They tried to shut Fraser (Veevers) down. But Gavin came to play.” Rob Lawlor led the Gee-Gees with 14 points Marvin Johnson added 12, Steve Chapman 10 and forward Duval Cross had 8. Dean Labayen led York with 13 but shot only 5-18 under heavy pressure from Musgrave. Paul Nixon added 12 and second-team all-star Chris Peskun 11. Musgrave credited his teammates for following the script and spreading out the York defence allowing him to drive to the hoop for layups. The first half ended in a 32-32 tie, with York dominating the offensive boards 15-9. Guard Kevin Bakker forced a few shots so Eisenmann reminded him to pound the ball inside. Bakker began feeding Johnson in the paint and he collected fouls against York’s Nick Chatzinikolis and Paul Nixon. He hit 6-8 from the line to keep the Gee-Gees in it. Ottawa trailed by two with 47.7 seconds to go. Following a timeout, Veevers inbounded it to Johnson for a layup which tied the game. Peskun responded with a bucket for York, setting the stage for Musgrave’s heroics. “We did well because that wasn’t the first time that, if we lost, we went home,” said Eisenmann. “That’s how it’s been all season.” Steve Chapman, a second team all-star said the Gee-Gees were motivated by a preseason Ottawa Citizen coaches’ poll which had them picked to finish last in the conference. “We’re going to show them we’re not a last-place team.” The Lions (coached by Bob Bain, assisted by Tom Oliveri, Charlie Simpson and Mike Quigley) also included Nathan Aryev, Theron White, Rob Sorgini, Steve Irvine, Scott Shepherd, Dwayne Lawrence, Tom Romas, Dennis Valdez and Jeff Langley.

       In the other East semi, top-seeded Laurentian crushed 4th-seeded Ryerson 88-64 before their hometown fans at Ben F. Avery Gymnasium. Laurentian appeared in total command within four minutes, scoring the first 11 points. It was 31-14 by the ten-minute mark with Kevin Gordon hitting 17 of those. The Voyageurs then became a trifle lax but were still ahead 43-33 at the half. Ryerson whittled the lead down to six early in the second half and appeared to be closing in on Laurentian when Ram forward Carl Harper was called for an offensive charge. The Voyageurs were in the bonus with 11 minutes to play and slowly pulled away to the easy victory. Kevin Gordon led the Voyageurs with 21. Ted Dongelmans added 17. Carl Harper paced the Rams with 25. Ryerson coach Terry Haggerty told The Eyeopener that questionable refereeing played a big role in the Rams loss. “You can’t win with a biased ref,” Harper said. “Especially if he’s [from] Sudbury.” The Rams (coached by Terry Haggerty, assisted by Norman Clarke, Richard Dean, Lui Cinello and Ainsworth Slowly, trainer Lori Abbate, trainer Greg Calder, manager Duane Edwards) also included Robert Armstrong, Greg Christopher-George, Claude Gaynor, Daryl Gee, Geoff Hebert, Godfrey Hunte, Sasha Ivankovic, Andrew Muir, Dave Petropoulos, Guiseppe Pompei, Lou Cinello, Duncan Prescott, Duane Quashie, Brian Smith and Ryan Mitchell.

       In the East final, top-seeded Laurentian defeated 3rd-seeded Ottawa 73-47. Ottawa exploded to a 9-2 run but then it was game over as Laurentian took complete command. “It was inexperience in being in a situation like this,” said Ottawa coach Jack Eisenmann, blaming the loss on foul trouble that cobbled a young squad with a shallow bench. guard Rob Lawlor agreed. “We started getting into foul trouble and that forced us to go short.” Lawlor took three fouls and only scored two free throws in the first half. “They took advantage of the fact we had a small team and inexperience on the floor.” Laurentian’s Cory Bailey and Tec Dongelmans ripped a fatal wound in Ottawa’s under belly, scoring 8 and 11 points respectively as the Voyageurs took command. Johnson hit 6-9 for Ottawa in the first half but it wasn’t enough. Laurentian led 49-25 at the half. The second half was a massacre. “We have to be alert to the threat of Gavin Musgrave and work to control him,” said Laurentian coach Peter Campbell before the contest. The Voyageurs promptly contained him to three points. “I really believed we were the better team although I was concerned in the first two minutes of the second half.” Ottawa’s Steve Chapman came alive to score six quick points early in the second half while Laurentian was hit with five fouls. But the score never got closer than 53-35 when Kevin Bakker whittled the lead to 18 by drilling one from beyond the arc. Musgrave missed a three and Ottawa repeatedly coughed up the ball against Laurentian’s press as the Voyageurs ran away. Marvin Johnson led Ottawa with 13. Bakker and Chapman each added 12. “Obviously, it didn’t feel good,” said Veevers, who scored 5. “We just didn’t execute our fast break and let the game get away from us.” Johnson added that “we turned the ball over quite a bit from the pressure.” Anthony Malcolm was selected player of the game for Laurentian after his play kept the Voyageurs in it when Ottawa threatened to take command early.

       In the Wilson Cup, Laurentian defeated Waterloo 75-67 as Cory Bailey scored 22, while nabbing 9 rebounds. Ted Dongelmans added 13. Bailey hit four from beyond the arc as Laurentian broke open a 21-17 contest to take a 37-21 lead en route to a 43-25 lead going into the lockers. The Voyageurs led by as many as 22 in the first half. But Mano Watsa and Mike Stroeder drilled a series of threes to narrow the margin to four with 55 seconds to play before Laurentian iced it at the line. Mike Stroeder paced the Warriors with 20. Mano Watsa added 19, Mark Eys 8, Mike Zavershnik 6 and Remy Donaldson 6. Watsa told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “our lack of experience was a possible explanation for this. We played hard but we didn’t play well consistently.” As for Laurentian’s infamous pot-banging fans, Watsa said “we were ready with our hand signals so we didn’t have a problem communicating with each other.” Mike Stroeder said “actually, I think the racket helped me concentrate. It was so constant.” Warriors coach Tom Kieswetter said “we didn’t bring our best game. … During the first half, we weren’t playing with the same fever pitch that they were. It wasn’t so much an X’s and O’s thing between halves. It was an attitude change. Everything down the floor was going to be a war and we finally approached it that way in the second half.”

The co-bronze medalist Ottawa Gee-Gees: Rob Lawlor; John Boccabella; Steve Chapman; Kevin Bakker; Marvin Johnson; Fraser Veevers; Guy Lucien; Gavin Musgrave; Wes Oswald; Justin Aman; Youri Toussaint; Faisal Docter; Sebastien Leduc; Robert Hakaj; Shawn Cross; coach Jack Eisenmann; assistant Carlos Brown; assistant Clarence Porter

The co-bronze medalist McMaster Marauders: Doug Doyle; Steve Maga; Rodney Baptiste; Vojo Rusic; Titus Channer; Darren Spithoff; James Akrong; Nick Rupcich; Patrick Sweeney; Anthony Nicholls; Mark Maga; Jay Egbo; Keegan Johnson; Jamie Loucks; Patrick Greco; coach Joe Raso; assistant Chris Oliver; assistant Rod Bynum; assistant Bill Malley; assistant Andrew Sergi; assistant Richard Wesolowski; assistant Cesare Piccini

       The runner-up Waterloo Warriors: Mano Watsa; Mark Eys; Mike Stroeder; Derek Maat; Remy Donaldson; Mike Zavershnik; Tony Grant; John Quinlan; Adam Kras; Marc Rigaux; Dan Schipper; Paul Kwiatkowski; Kieran Del Pasqua; John Awad; Josh Holden; Jeff Fox; Conrad Kreek; coach Tom Kieswetter; assistant Curt Warkentin; assistant Angelo Provenzano; manager Erin Chedd

       The champion Laurentian Voyageurs: Cory Bailey; Ted Dongelmans; Adam Dusome; Kevin Gordon; Anthony Malcolm; Clifton Edwards; Leon Sutton; Patrick Brandt; Dwayne Burton; Joey Turco; Roan Biggs; Colin Crokam; Blaine Henderson; coach Peter Campbell; assistant Shawn Swords; trainer Shawna McNabb; SID Deanna Seguin