REGULAR SEASON
| Saint Mary’s | 13-5 | Gary Heald | ||||||
| Dalhousie | 12-6 | Doc Ryan | ||||||
| St. FX | 11-7 | 22-14 | Steve Konchalski | |||||
| U.P.E.I. | 11-7 | George Morrison | ||||||
| Acadia | 8-10 | Dave Nutbrown | ||||||
| New Brunswick | 3-13 | Don Nelson | ||||||
| Mt. Allison | 2-14 | Andy Kranack | ||||||
Playoff non-qualifiers:
Acadia Axemen: Chris Sumner, Gerald ‘Skeeter’ Mower, Eugene Gibson, Rod Martin, Peter Morris, Mike Carson, Kevin Moore, Ed McNally, Colin Charles, Arnold Dowell, John Lott, Mike Zareski, coach Dave Nutbrown
Mount Allison Mounties: John Johnson, Richard MacKay, Pat Baker, Mike Hayden, Randy Field, Donald Moffatt, Mike Graf, Doug Bothwell, Matthews, Hess
New Brunswick Varsity: Mark Newell, Dale McIsaac, Andy Hayward, Thom Gillespie, Mike Sherrard, Tony Walker, Chris McCabe, Ed Crowe, Phil Guthrie, Bill Jarrett, Don McCormack, Scott Nicholson, Mike Sherrard, Bill Young, coach Don Nelson, assistant Phil Wright
Shortly before the start of the tournament, St. Mary’s announced that it had to forfeit two games because they’d used an ineligible player, one Donald “Duck” Williams, who said Saint Mary’s officials did not know when they recruited him last year that he was impersonating his brother Greg Williams, 27, of St. Petersburg, said he played two years at Brevard JC in Cocoa, Florida, then transferred to the University of Alabama-Huntsville. He had thus completed four years of North American eligibility. The real Greg Williams was forced out of basketball by a car accident and was recruited by Saint Mary’s assistant Bill Marshall. Donald Williams left his girlfriend and baby behind to go to Halifax. At the border, he said his name was Greg Williams, produced no identification and applied for a student visa through university channels. He came up a credit short at Christmas. The only person who knew Williams’ true identify was Mike Hubbard of St. Petersburg, a former classmate who Saint Mary’s had recruited in September. Hubbard was not in school much and left at Xmas. He played along with Williams’ scheme and referred to him only as Greg.
The forfeiture resulted in a reseeding of teams in the playoffs.
In the semis, the 4th-seeded U.P.E.I. Panthers stunned the suddenly top-seeded Dalhousie Tigers 78-64. The Tigers led 32-28 at the half but Panthers coach George Morrison inserted Curtis Brown into the line-up in the second half and the reserve ignited a 15-1 run that left Dalhousie reeling in confusion. Brown led the Panthers with 20. Tejan Alleyne added 19, Mike Morgan 13, Trevor Willock 11, Tyrone Norman 6, Pettigrew 5 and Steve Marchbank 4. Stan Whetstone and Steve Lambert each scored 21 to pace the Tigers. Bo Hampton added 10, Ron Wright 8 and George Leacock 4.
In the other semi, the Saint Mary’s Huskies defeated the St. FX X-Men 73-70. The Huskies led 42-32 at the half. Rod Buckland led the Huskies with 18. Ron Lardge added 16, Bill Marshall 10, Cliff Harris 10 and Rob Latter 10, along with 14 boards. John Hatch paced the X-Men with 17, along with 10 boards. Kyle Gayle added 13 and Geoff McIver 12. Buckland told the Saint Mary’s Journal that “I felt really good from the start, especially after I got a couple of baskets and my confidence began to build.” Cliff Harris said “we concentrated on man-to-man because Hatch had been shooting over a zone a lot. Coach told me to stick with him.” Huskies coach Gary Heald said “tonight the bench did their job well when called upon to do so.” The Huskies outrebounded the X-Men 42-26.
In the final, Saint Mary’s defeated U.P.E.I. 78-67 as Gary Bratty scored 27, Ron Latter 16, Ron Lardge 12, Rod Buckland 10, Cliff Harris 6, Brian Ross 4 and Bill Marshall 3. The score was knotted at 40 at the half and at 48 in the third quarter when the Huskies took command with an 11-0 run. Mike Morgan led the Panthers with 23. Tejan Alleyne added 18 and Tyrone Norman 18, including 14 in the second half and 4-7 from the line. Mike Morgan led the Panthers with 21. Tejan Alleyne added 21 and Tyrone Norman 18. Huskie Gary Bratty told the Saint Mary’s Journal that he was shocked at being chosen tournament MVP. “I didn’t expect anything like this at all. My shooting hasn’t been the greatest, as a matter of fact, it stunk for about four games straight. It was kind of a psychological thing more than anything else and I kept getting down on myself. When the first couple of shots dropped today, I really started feeling good.” Rob Latter said coach Gary Heald “talked to us and we played a better second half. In the first half, we were being outrebounded by guys smaller than us but we came out more aggressive in the second. But give UPEI credit. They came out to play.” Rod Buckland said the Huskies “had been timid passing the ball, allowed UPEI to come on.” Heald said “the team as a whole played well, especially in the second half. Gary Bratty was just super. He’s a real money player who always comes up big for us in key tournaments. Ronnie Lardge didn’t have one of his greatest scoring games but the team kept encouraging him to shoot. They never got down on him. It was one of those efforts as a team and they stayed together to win.”
One week after winning the AUAA title, Saint Mary’s threw a bombshell at the CIS’ East regional, announcing, only hours before play was to have commenced, that they were forfeiting their AUAA championships and their right to play in the national tourney because they’d used another ineligible player, Ron Lardge. The Fort Lauderdale, Florida native was selected the AUAA rookie of the year a week earlier. Saint Mary’s also relinquished its AUAA title. Rumours swirled that Lardge was ineligible because he had played college hoops for Broward JC in Florida a year earlier and thus was ineligible at Saint Mary’s because of a requirement that transfers sit out a year before playing for their new team. A week earlier, athletic director Bob Hayes had announced that Saint Mary’s was forfeiting all games in which Greg Williams, also of Fort Lauderdale, had participated. It was alleged that Williams had played under his brother’s name but because he left school at Christmas, the school had trouble checking his background.
The co-bronze medalist St. FX X-Men: John Hatch; Geoff McIver; Chris Sellitri; Brent Baker; Kyle Gayle; Ken Scott; Chris Ross; Andy Ledoux; Roger Jolicoeur; Leo MacPherson; John Hatch; John Knight; Mark Naylor; Geoff McIver; Greg Malliet; coach Steve Konchalski, assistant Owen Cameron, manager Kent MacDonald; manager Steve Lloyd
The co-bronze medalist Dalhousie Tigers: Al Ryan; Ron Wright; George Leacock; James ‘Bo’ Malott; Steve Lambert; Bo Hampton; Stan Whetstone; Pat Slawter; Alex Laevski; Rob Baert; coach Peter Ryan
The runner-up Prince Edward Island Panthers: Mike Morgan; Curtis Brown; Tejan Alleyne; Tyrone Norman; Trevor Willock; Steve Marchbank; Aion Pettigrew; Delroy Adams; Carl Doucet; Evon Forbes; Jim MacDonald; Tom McSwiggan; Jim Moore; Ron Valentine; coach George Morrison
The champion (subsequently forfeited) Saint Mary’s Huskies: Rob Latter; Ron Lardge; Gary Bratty; Greg Williams; James MacDougall; Anthony Thomas; Cliff Harris; Rod Buckland; John Murphy; Warren Woods; Bill Marshall; B.J. Ross; coach Gary Heald; assistant Allan Waye; assistant Rick Plato; manager John Landry; manager James MacDougal