Final regular season standings:
North (5): Grant MacEwan (15-1); Red Deer (11-5); Augustana (7-9); Grande Prairie (6-10); NAIT (1-15)
South (5): SAIT (16-0); Mount Royal (10-6); Lethbridge (8-8); Medicine Hat (6-10); Prairie Bible (0-16).
Playoff non-qualifiers:
Grande Prairie: Kevin Outhet, M Paulsen, B Edgecombe, M Kildow, T Kazie, D Yakimchuk, M Baker, Shawn Montgomery, B Lea, W Hicks
Medicine Hat: Blake Foster, B.J. Melle, B Hardy, C Anderson, J Young Pine, V Kroeker, T Neufield, B Tattrie, R Algie, R Tiegrobe, J Bohnet, D Walsh
NAIT Ookpiks: Sean Wrobel, Rory Koska, Dennis Chapko, Brian Purnell, Robert Lambert, Jeff Noble, Brad Mills, Steven Kennedy, Cory Benedict, Jason Harke, Marty McLean, Jeff Neilson, Shane McLaughlin, Brad Seward, Randy Cardinal, Darren Satkunas
Prairie Bible: M Tatlock, C Amendt, Stan Keim, D Amendt, S Seifert, G Watt, Darren Andres, K Hislop, S Price, T Keen, M Bylsma, R Van Winkle, E Bailey, R Hummel, R Reed
In the quarterfinals, Lethbridge defeated Red Deer 78-70. Craig Dusterhof paced the Kings with 15. Kings coach John Johnston told the Red Deer Advocate that “you simply can’t play a half a game and expect to win games like this. We’ve been on this team all year to play 40 minutes of basketball. We do that tonight and we’d be in the semi-finals.” The Kodiaks led 41-29 at the half. The King’s roared back to take a 54-53 lead in the second half but Lethbridge’s Cassio Maffia hit a long trey to stem the bleeding. Johnston said “we had all the momentum at the time, then suddenly, they had it back.” Dusterhof said Maffia’s shot was irrelevant. “We saw it but I don’t think it put us down mentally. It was one of those things. What hurt us was the first half. We got ourselves into good position to shoot but the ball wasn’t going in. One the other hand, they were making everything.” The Kings (coached by John Johnstone, assisted by Kurtis McGeachy) included Derek Zaharko, Kevin DeJonge, James Kelly, Charlie Jorgenson, Aaron Theim, Craig Behan, Paul Guse, Craig Dusterhoft, S Hardy, Darcy Berggren, Darnell Frostad, C Hamilton, J Smith. Lethbridge iced the win by hitting 5-6 from the line in the final minute.
In the other quarterfinal, the Mount Royal Cougars mauled the Augustana 99-68 as Troy Gedlaman notched 15 and Jason Haycock 17. The Cougars led 55-37 at the half. “We’re supposed to win these games, based on what happened in the season,” said Mount Royal coach Ron Wuotila. “Those are tough games to play sometimes, but the guys were very focused all day long and for the most part executed pretty well.” Augustana coach Richard Pease said his troops from Camrose looked like they were making just their second playoff appearance in 20 years. “Before you win a championship, you’ve got to believe you deserve to be there. We were in awe of being here. We were standing around watching each other play.” Trevor Harrington paced the Vikings with 14. The Vikings also included Marc Croteau, J Callioux, C Kihn, S Cross, Darrin Horseman, J Averil, Kris Nelson, N Lemon, R Carrick, T Sorge, Jason Peterson and J Vandenburg.
In the semi-final, Grant MacEwan defeated Mount Royal 94-78 as Mark Filteau scored 33.
In the other semi, SAIT defeated Lethbridge 83-67. Cassio Maffia paced the Kodiaks with 26.
In the bronze medal match, Mount Royal nipped Lethbridge 87-80 after holding off a second half charge. “We wanted to make sure we finished the year on a strong note,” said 7-0 Cougars forward Brent Laycock, who scored 19. “I think we all went out and played as hard as we could to day.” Bob White paced Mount Royal with 20. The Cougars led 50-33 at the half. Cassio Maffia led Lethbridge with 27. Gino Rosarion added 22. The Kodiaks (coached by Carlos Maffia) also included Barry Sudo, C Firth, R Crouch, Kevin Rudolph, Alain Midy, J Roth, Gerald Marcoux, Craig McArthur, J Hansmeyer, R Purcell, N Flitton and R Twigg.
In the final, SAIT dumped Grant MacEwan 91-69. Montreal native, 6-5 forward and Trojans captain Trevor John said the squad was determined to get him to his home town for the nationals. “It’s going to be beautiful. It’s going to feel good. I’m going to call my parents in a couple of minutes to let them know.” P.J. Robertson paced the Trojans with 26. Brandon Jopp added 24. Coach Phil Allen was elated with the Trojans defensive rotations. “Defence wins championships. Offence wins fans but it’s the real purists who know the importance of defence.” SAIT led 47-33 at the half and held star Griffins guard Mark Filteau to a mere 16 points. “They played a whale of a game,” said Grand MacEwan coach Darren Ross. “They had everything going and we didn’t. I’ve got to give them all the credit. Whether Fiteau hits for 33 or 16, we should have had other guys doing the job for us.”
The bronze medalist Mount Royal Cougars: Troy Gedlaman; Tyler McVicar; Bob White; A. Weis; Brent Laycock; J. Haycock; C. Anderson; Travis Korella; C. Spence; C. Beaton; M. Watts; R. Scott; C. Bruno; R. Revoal; C. Nichol; R. Skierka
The silver medalist Grant MacEwan Griffins: Mark Filteau; John Hull; E. Polhill; D. Newman; E. Fidler; R. Vatkin; Pat Sasseville; N. Schneider; Richard Bezoyen; Vern Gerhardt; R. Baert; M. Grand;
The gold medalist SAIT Trojans: Brandon Jopp; P.J. Robertson; Shay Yellowhorn; Trevor John; Mark Knoppers; Clint Somerset; E. Ozcan; B. Koorbatoff; J. Corbell; S. Senft; M. Baraham; C. Leeper; Dave Kostecki; Jeff Landels; coach Phil Allen; assistant Ted Harrison