REGULAR SEAON
| BALDWIN | NELSON | |||||||
| Saint Mary’s | 11-9 | 21-17 | Ross Quackenbush | St. FX | 18-2 | 28-8 | Steve Konchalski | |
| Acadia | 8-12 | 13-20 | T.Darling/J.Cummins | Cape Breton | 14-6 | 17-10 | Jim Charters | |
| Memorial | 7-13 | 9-18 | Todd Aughey | New Brunswick | 8-12 | 10-20 | Thom Gillespie | |
| Dalhousie | 5-15 | 10-22 | John Campbell | U.P.E.I. | 9-11 | 15-16 | Mike Connolly | |
Playoff non-qualifiers:
Dalhousie Tigers: Monte Francois, Ryan deWinter, Drew Stratton, Tom O’Connor, Trystan James, David Piers, Dan Bustillo, Mike Budreski, Chad Smith, Devon Norris, Joonha Hwang, Paul Cade, Jermayne Williams, Matt Brooks, Germain Bendegue, David Piers, coach John Campbell, assistant Scott James
Memorial Seahawks: Leonil Saintil, Justin Halleran, Tom Budai, David Langille, Robbie Hickey, Evan Constantine, Peter Ingram, Robert Grant, Curtis Power, Philip Taylor, James Saxby, Jeff Saxby, Colin Power, Mark Tobin, George English, Mark Lefebvre, Evan Constantine, coach Todd Aughey
In the quarterfinals, New Brunswick defeated UPEI 75-62 as Dan Goggin scored 21 on 6-19 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 6-7 from the line and 4 assists. Tom Spink added 11 on 5-12 from the floor and 11 boards. Adam Parent scored 6 on 3-3 from the floor and Doug Thompson 6 on 2-10 from the floor and 12 boards. Dylan Lisson notched 5 on 2-8 from the floor. Nathan Bokma scored 11 off the bench on 4-6 from the floor and 4 boards. Ben MacLeod scored 3, Thor Jensen 2 and Oliver Glencross 1. The Varsity Reds shot 25-69 (.362) from the floor, 6-18 from the arc and 19-21 (.905) from the line, while garnering 48 boards, 16 fouls, 16 assists, 7 turnovers, 2 blocks and 6 steals. Doug McKinney paced the Panthers with 22 on 7-13 from the floor, 8-12 from the line and 14 boards. Sherone Edwards added 14 on 5-14 from the floor and 8 boards. Andrew Rogers scored 12 on 5-14 from the floor. Nathan Johnson scored 6 on 2-11 from the floor and 5 boards. Peter Stay scored 5, Michael McIssac 3 and Mustapha Maynard 2. UPEI shot 22-65 (.338) from the floor, 2-21 (. 095) from the arc and 16-23 (.696) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, 8 assists, 11 turnovers, 5 blocks and 5 steals. The Panthers (coached by Mike Connolly) also included Nathan Johnson, Tyler Wood, Engen Nurumbi, Alexander Howlett, Chad MacDonald, David Canvin and Eddie Colley.
New Brunswick led 34-31 at the half. UNB’s veterans kept up the scoring pressure on an undermanned Panther squad all evening, but weren’t able to pull away until part way into the second half due to yeoman like performances by Sherone Edwards and Doug McKinney. Tyler Wood was on the bench in street clothes and with a heavily bandaged right hand. His point guard spot was filled by rookie Andrew Rogers who scored 12 points and had two assists and two steals. Also, on the Panther bench for disciplinary reasons was rookie Engen Nurumbi from Congo who averaged 14 points and 8 rebounds in almost 32 minutes per game this season. He was benched for missing practice early in the week. Panthers were helped by a very vocal rooting section near their bench. After the teams traded the lead several times, Tom Spink scored in the last minute of the first half to pull UNB into a 31-31 tie, then Nathan Bokma completed a 3-point play as time expired to give them a 34-31 lead. Early in the second half a pair of Edwards free throws gave the Panthers their last lead 39-38. Then UNB went on a 9-0 run highlighted by a Ben MacLeod jumper, a Dan Goggin runner, and a Goggin three that made it UNB 47-39. After that the Reds led by 8-10 points for most of the remainder of the game. Panthers coach Mike Connolly said he benched Murumbi to make a point. “It doesn’t matter if it’s the first practice or the end of the season. There’s more to life than winning and losing. There are responsibilities that have to be accounted for. But we’ll be back here. We’ll scare some people next year.” UNB coach Thom Gillespie said “losing both Wood and Nurumbi were big losses for them. But you have to give UPEI a lot of credit for battling the way they did.”
In the other quarterfinal, Saint Mary’s defeated Acadia 66-60 as Nelson Carvery scored 23 on 9-21 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc and 9 boards. Jonathan Thibault notched 10 on 4-10 from the floor and 6 boards. Jerome Goodman scored 10 on 4-9 from the floor and 14 boards. Morgan Gallagher and Damon Cole each scored 4. Damian Gay added 9 off the bench, while Mark Ross scored 6 and Jason Cormer was scoreless. The Huskies shot 26-61 (.426) from the floor, 6-18 from the arc and 8-14 (.571) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, 13 fouls, 17 assists, 10 turnovers, 3 blocks and 7 steals. Clint Bateman paced Acadia with 24 points on 8-14 from the floor, 6-10 from the line and 7 boards. Achuil Lual notched 15 on 6-11 from the floor and 15 boards. James Burke scored 9 on 4-9 from the floor. Nicholas Landrigan scored 6 and Jared Budd 3. Mike Filinski added 4 off the bench, while Jordan Sheriko scored 2 and Jason Jordan was scoreless. The Axemen hit 24-66 (.364) from the floor, 5-25 from the arc and 7-15 (.467) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, 13 assists, 12 turnovers, 2 blocks and 6 steals. Acadia coached by Tim Darling, for three weeks, and then Jeff Cummins) also included Joshua Baker, Tab Donaldson, Wayne Duncan, Graeme Nicol, Chris Akelaitis, Brent Wennekes and Matt Hanna. Saint Mary’s led 37-33 at the half. The teams kept trading baskets and exchanging the lead through most of the first half. The favored Huskies were trailing 28-26 with about 5 minutes to go in the half when off the end of the bench came forward Damian Gay who launched four shots from beyond the arc, making three of them, scoring 9 points and adding one rebound in about 5 minutes of playing time. Unknown, Gay was left relatively unguarded for his long shots. This surge put SMU ahead at the half 37-33 with a lead they never gave up. Acadia gave Saint Mary’s a solid battle all game. The Huskies twice pulled ahead by 10, first on a Carvery three, then moments later on Morgan Gallagher’s long jumper with 6:30 remaining. Acadia post Achuil Lual’s 15 rebounds and 12 points more than matched his SMU counterpart Jerome Goodman’s 14 rebounds and 10 points. Goodman played 40 minutes. Carvery seemed to make a jump shot or drive to the basket every time Acadia threatened to go ahead.
In the semis, St. FX crushed New Brunswick 96-75 as Garry Gallimore scored 18 on 7-8 from the floor, 4-4 from the arc and 4 assists. Zach Russell scored 17 on 5-9 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc and 5-6 from the line. Neil Macdonald scored 17 on 5-8 from the floor and 9 boards. Jonathan Bell scored 14 on 6-8 from the floor. Michael Baster scored 7 on 7-10 from the line and 9 boards. Tyler Richards scored 7 on 5-7 from the line and 5 assists. Edwin Reynolds scored 6, Alexander Stephen 5, John Bustin 3 and Mark MacKenzie 2, while David Bennett was scoreless. The X-Men hit 30-51 (.588) from the floor, 7-16 (.438) from the arc and 29-42 (.690) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, 19 assists, 17 fouls, 11 turnovers and 4 steals. Dan Goggin paced New Brunswick with 14 points on 6-20 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc and 4 steals. Tom Spink added 13 on 3-8 from the floor, 6-7 from the line and 4 assists. Oliver Glencross scored 11 on 4-6 from the floor. Doug Thompson scored 11 on 4-10 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc and 5 boards. Adam Parent scored 8, Nathan Bokma 8, Dylan Lisson 4, Ben Macleod 4 and Colin Swift 2, while Thor Jensen, Kris Gibbons and Joel Little were scoreless. The Varsity Reds hit 28-64 (.438) from the floor, 8-25 (.320) from the line and 11-17 (.647) from the arc, while garnering 27 boards, 11 assists, 27 fouls, 8 turnovers and 6 steals. The Varisty Reds (coached by Thom Gillespie) also included Robert Levy, Merv Waxwell, Kris Gibbons and Patrick Sharkey. X began with a bang, going out on a 13-3 run to open the game. Jon Bell opened with a three, Gary Gallimore went to the basket, then knocked down a long jumper, Bell drove for another, and Neil MacDonald laid it in. UNB’s only answer was Dan Goggin’s three. But the Reds didn’t look worried, and came right back with a 12-2 run led by a Nathan Bokma layup, a Doug Thompson three, and 7 points from Tom Spink. Gallimore ended that with a couple of threes in quick succession, putting X up by 6. Bell scored on a nifty one-handed reverse then X maintained a comfortable 6-10-point lead for the rest of the half with Gallimore, Zach Russel, MacDonald and Alex Stephen scoring. Goggin came back with a three, then Bokma scored three straight from under the basket, the last closing the score to 39-30 at the half. StFX basically took over and moved into a 10-12-point lead in the second half, and gradually increased it to 20 and 23.
In the other semi,
Saint Mary’s upset Cape Breton 58-54 as Nelson Carvery scored 16 on 4-14 from
the floor, 8-9 from the line and 9 boards. Jerome Goodman scored 14 on 6-13
from the floor and 23 boards. Jonathon Thibault scored 14 on 5-11 from the
floor and 6 boards. Damon Cole scored 10 on 4-7 from the floor and 6 assists.
Damian Gay and Mark Ross each scored 2, while Jason Cormer and Morgan Gallagher
were scoreless. The Huskies hit 21-52 (.404) from the floor, 4-13 (.308) from
the arc and 12-24 from the line, while garnering 37 boards, 14 assists, 17 fouls,
13 turnovers, 6 steals and 5 blocks. Eric Breland paced Cape Breton with 26
points on 10-17 from the floor, 5-7 from the line, 13 boards and 4 steals.
Anthony Breland added 11 on 3-13 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc and 4 boards.
Jarrett Timmons scored 9 on 2-5 from the floor. Paul Blake and William Fagan
each added 4, with Blake nabbing 5 boards and Fagan 6. Ryan Keliher, Corey
Hargrove, Derek Alexander and Kenneth MacQueen were scoreless. The Capers hit
18-59 (.305) from the floor, 3-15 (.200) from the arc and 15-23 (.652) from the
line, while garnering 37 boards, 7 assists, 18 fouls, 12 turnovers and 9
steals. The Capers (coached by Jim Charters) also included Jeff Saxby, Mark
Tobin, Philip Taylor, James Saxby, Mark Lefebvre, George English, Ben Homer, David
Langille, Liam Shaw, Kyle Hickey, Kerwin Liverpool, John Sylliboy, Jamie Williams
and Ryan Chaffe. Coach Jim Charters noted the ball would not drop for the Capers.
“We were 8 for 37 in the first half and only down by six points, so we felt
good going into the second half. As the game continued the shooting did
not get any better our perimeter players ended the game 4 of 33 from the floor
and our inability to make numerous lay-ups really kept us from being able to
take advantage of our press.” Leading 6-5 the Huskies twice blocked UCCB ace
Eric Brieland on the same play. First Jerome Goodman swatted out Eric’s layup
attempt, Eric recovered the ball, then 2-3 seconds later Nelson Carvery did the
same when Brieland again went for the rim. It set the defensive tone for the
evening. SMU’s Jon Thibault launched a pair of threes sandwiched around Eric
and Anthony Brieland baskets, then Anthony nailed an impossible looking three
from the left side almost at center court, making it 12-12. Goodman again
rejected Eric’s layup try, then Anthony put the Capers ahead 17-14 with a
three. The teams traded baskets, with a Goodman putback tying the game at
23-23. Carvery was fouled, crashing to the floor on his three-point attempt, then
sank all three free-throws. SMU’s Damon Cole scored just beating the
buzzer, then made a short jumper but missed the ensuing free throw. Thibault
closed the scoring at the half with a three that put the Huskies ahead 33-27.
Eric began second half with a three, Goodman blocked a Will Fagan layup, then Fagan
scored on a tip, followed by a Carvery spin-jumper. Carvery landed a spectacular
fallback jumper to stretch SMU’s lead to eight at 42-34. Timmons scored twice
from under the basket, and an Eric reverse brought the Capers back to within 6,
then Thibault loaded up from outside with a long jumper and a three to put SMU
ahead by 10. Cole drove to the basket to make it 12. Eric’s layup and 4 points
from Paul Blake brought Capers back to down 6. Carvery crashed to the floor
while making a spin-jumper, putting the lead back to 8 with 3:18 to go. That
was SMU’s last basket. Carvery iced the game with a pair of free throws.
In the final, St. FX defeated Saint
Mary’s 82-72 as tourney MVP Garry Gallimore, a defensive specialist, scored a
team-high 20 points, including four-of-five from three-point range, as the
X-Men won their second straight Atlantic title and fifth in six years. Gallimore
and members of the Huskies were involved in noticeable verbal jarring in the
game’s final minutes. “It’s very satisfying to accomplish something you’ve had
in your sights all season,” said Gallimore, who drew a technical foul inside
the final two minutes. “Sometimes things happen and you get frustrated, but
it’s no big deal. It’s just the heat of the battle.” The Huskies had the upper
hand in the early going. Forward Nelson Carvery made several fadeaway shots as
part of a 13-0 run for the Huskies, who led by as many as nine points late in
the first half. The X-Men trailed by seven at the break. But St. F.X. guard
Zach Russell scored back-to-back three-pointers within a 30-second span to give
the X-Men a 42-40 lead with 15:37 remaining. The X-Men went on a 22-7 run and
led by no fewer than six points the rest of the way. Saint Mary’s head coach Ross
Quackenbush didn’t put too much stock in the fatigue factor. “We let them score
too many points and they got lots of quick attacks. Tired is just a state of
mind.” Russell said “there’s always some extra emotion when we play the Huskies.
We just like beating those guys.” Garry Gallimore scored 20 on 7-11 from the
floor, 4-5 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 4 boards. Zach Russell added 18
on 6-11 from the floor, 5-6 from the line and 5 assists. Jonathan Bell scored
13 on 4-8 from the floor and 3 steals. Edwin Reynolds scored 12 on 6-9 from the
floor and 13 boards. Neil Macdonald scored 9 on 3-9 from the floor, 4 boards and
4 blocks. Tyler Richards scored 8 on 2-3 from the floor and 4 assists. Michael
Baxter scored 2, while Alexander Stephen was scoreless. The X-Men hit 28-54
(.519) from the floor, 7-12 (.583) from the arc and 19-24 (.792) from the line,
while garnering 29 boards, 17 assists, 20 fouls, 11 turnovers, 10 steals and 6 blocks.
Jonathon Thibault paced Saint Mary’s with 25 points on 7-13 from the floor, 4-8
from the arc, 7-7 from the line and 6 boards. Nelson Carvery added 18 on 7-17
from the floor and 5 boards. Jerome Goodman scored 18 on 8-14 from the floor
and 13 boards. Mark Ross scored 9 on 2-5 from the floor and 6 assists. Damon
Cole scored 2 on 0-6 from the floor, while Geoff Williams, Mark Brien, Damian
Gay and Morgan Gallagher were scoreless. The Huskies hit 24-61 (.393) from the
floor, 7-16 (.438) from the arc and 17-24 (.708) from the line, while garnering
34 boards, 14 assists, 22 fouls, 12 turnovers, 5 steals and 3 blocks.
During the season, Tim Darling is released by Acadia and replaced by assistant Jeff Cummings. Following the season, 31-year-old Les Berry is named head coach at Acadia. Berry had been head coach at Brandon for two years, one year as head coach of the women’s program, and then one year at the helm of the men’s program, where he led the Bobcat to the nationals. Prior to that, Berry was an assistant at Saint Mary’s for x- years. “Les Berry is a great fit for Acadia’s Varsity basketball program. He was the unanimous choice of our selection committee and he was strongly supported by our current players and the extended basketball community of Nova Scotia,” said athletic director Dan McNally. “In addition to his excellent record as a head coach and his basketball knowledge, he has a reputation as a tireless worker and an excellent recruiter. We are looking forward to strong, principled leadership from Coach Berry and I know he is looking forward to the challenge of returning Axemen basketball to national prominence.” Originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, he was simultaneously the head coach of women’s basketball at the University of King’s College, and head assistant men’s basketball coach at Saint Mary’s University (SMU). In 2000, Berry was named Basketball Nova Scotia’s Coach of the Year. As one of Nova Scotia’s premier coaches, he led the Nova Scotia Provincial Basketball Midget team in August of 2003 to a Silver Medal at the Canadian Championships and won a Silver Medal in the 2002 Juvenile Canadian Championship. Berry’s Nova Scotia Midget teams were Eastern Canada Champions in both 2000 and 2001. “I’m extremely excited to be named the Head Coach of the Acadia men’s basketball program. The opportunity to be associated with such a terrific school is something our family is looking forward to. I look at this as a fresh new start for the program” says Berry. “My goal will be to continue to build on the great tradition and legacy of Acadia athletics.”
The runner-up Saint Mary’s Huskies: Jonathon Thibault; Nelson Carvery; Jerome Goodman; Mark Ross; Damon Cole; Geoff Williams; Mark Brien; Damian Gay; Morgan Gallagher; Jason Comer; Morgan Gallagher; Christian Pederson; Shawn Smith; Dean Jones; Clayton Erskine; Greg Young; coach Ross Quackenbush; assistant Jonah Taussig; manager John Landry
The champion St. Francis Xavier X-Men: Garry Gallimore; Neil MacDonald; Zach Russell; Jonathan Bell; Alexander Stephen; Edwin Reynolds; Tyler Richards; Michael Baxter; Mark MacKenzie; John Bustin; Devin Bennett; coach Steve Konchalski; assistant Brent Baker; assistant Denton Anthony; athletic director John McFarland; manager Joseph Mensah; therapist Tara Sutherland; therapist Kurt Stevenson; SID Pat MacGillivray