In the opening round of the draw, held in Calgary: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Calgary St. Mary’s Saints defeated the 16th-seeded Grande Prairie Tomahawks 90-57. The Saints were led by the Sudan-born Thijin Moses, whose family emigrated to Canada when he was seven, and 7-1 Riiny Ngot, who learned to swim crossing a river infested with crocodiles, while he and others were escaping a war-ravaged Sudan when he was 11 years old. “We crossed the river to get to Kenya,” he says softly. “I saw people die from the crocodiles.” …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Calgary Bishop Grandin Ghosts defeated the 9th-seeded Edmonton M.E. Lazerte Voyageurs 81-65. The Voyageurs (coached by Ryan Dunkley) included Matthew Kallio. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Lethbridge Catholic Central Cougars nipped the 12th-seeded Airdrie Bert Church Chargers 67-65. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Calgary Lester B. Pearson Patriots thrashed the 13th-seeded Lloydminster Barons 86-60. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Edmonton Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds defeated the 15th-seeded Red Deer Lindsay Thurber Raiders 95-76. Raiders coach Dwayne Lalor told the Red Deer Advocate that his troops didn’t “play up to our level at all. Chris Bruno led the Raiders with 20. Tanner Allred added 14 and Dan Allard 13. The Thunderbirds took the early, extended it to 20 by the half and by as many as 30 in the second half. The Raiders also included Adrian Gosselin, Simon Eade, Evan Holstein, Aaron Abraham. …………………………………………………… The 10th-seeded Calgary Dr. E.P. Scarlett Lancers upset the 7th-seeded Raymond Comets 101-85. The Comets included Brad Holt, Scott Stevenson, Logan Mendenhall. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Cardston Cougars defeated the 14th-seeded Edmonton J. Percy Page Panthers 75-63. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Calgary Lord Beaverbrook Lords defeated the 11th-seeded Edmonton Archbishop O’Leary Spartans 77-68.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Calgary St. Mary’s Saints defeated the 8th-seeded Calgary Bishop Grandin Ghosts 76-58. The Saints had a narrow lead of 35-32 by the end of the first half, but as usual, they turned on the jets in the second half. “We always do better in the second half,” said Brett Kobe. “We knew we had a good chance of winning.” Kyle Landry scored 31 to pace the Ghosts. The Ghosts (co-coached by Kevin O’Neill and Gilbert Drefuss) also included Mark Scaman.
The 4th-seeded Calgary Lester B. Pearson Patriots dumped the 5th-seeded Lethbridge Catholic Central Cougars 77-65. The Cougars (coached by Dino Pasquotti) included Eric Dekens, A.J. Kennedy.
The 2nd-seeded Edmonton Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds defeated the 10th-seeded Calgary Dr. E.P. Scarlett Lancers 78-66. They led by 15, early and by 20 at the half. Although Scarlett started bombing from the perimeter to close the gap to 10 in the final minutes, the outcome was never in doubt.
In the last quarterfinal, the 6th-seeded Calgary Lord Beaverbrook Lords stunned the 3rd-seeded Cardston Cougars 74-54 as Jeff Price hit 5-5 from beyond the arc and scored 28. “Today, I was just feeling it,” Price told the Calgary Herald. “I was feeling off last night, so this morning I went into the gym and practiced.” The Cougars led 28-27 at the half but were held scoreless for six minutes to start the second half. They finally managed a free throw and didn’t score a field goal until nine minutes had elapsed. “It goes that way sometimes,” said Cardston coach Dallen Leavitt. “Beaverbrook was on fire and we couldn’t hit our shots.” Josh Watson led Cardston with 12. Guard Beau Lawlor, who scored 7 for the Lords, was elated. “Most of us are in grade 11 so this is the biggest thing we’ve experienced.” Beaverbrook coach Ray Raymond said his troops executed the game plan. “Cardston came out feeling really comfortable. They did everything they’re used to doing. We stepped our defence and they didn’t adjust to us.” The Cougars also included Dustin Sheen.
In the semis, the 4th-seeded Calgary L.B. Pearson Patriots upset the top-seeded Calgary St. Mary’s Saints 81-80 on a pair of free throws by Jermaine Cherry with 21.6 seconds to play. Patriots forward Josh Whyte took a final foul shot with 2.8 seconds left on the clock. He missed but the ball rebounded into his hands, giving no last-moment opportunity away. “I wanted to make the shot but if I had to miss, I wanted it to come back to me,” Whyte, who scored 26, told the Calgary Herald. “Our coaches tell us, ‘always follow your shot.’ “Friday’s game was a rematch of Calgary’s Division I final, in which the Saints beat the Patriots 89-75. The match was a classic confrontation between size (Saints) and speed (Patriots). “This game was really important to us,” said Patriots’ Robbie Sihota, who scored 25. “We knew we could beat them.” The Patriots led by as many as 20. ““I thought we had them for sure then,” said 16-year-old Sihota. “But we started slacking off.” About five minutes into the second half, the Saints began to close the gap. The team was led by Thijin Moses, a six-foot-seven forward who scored 33 points. He had two opportunities for three- pointers in the final seconds, and made one. “They (Patriots) came at us really hard and we fought until the end,” said Moses, who couldn’t help but smile after the exciting finish. “I’m just glad I made that last shot (three-pointer).” Max Ettinger boosted the Saints with a trio of timely three- pointers in the second half. “I was just trying to get our team back into the game,” said the 17-year-old. “We were definitely tired after playing two games but Pearson was tired, too. This was a tough game for us to play — Pearson had more motivation.” Saints coach Kevin Johnston agreed that the Patriots had more passion in the game. “We played not to lose and they played to win,” said Johnston. “But our kids played hard, we were tired.”
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Edmonton Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds defeated the 6th-seeded Calgary Lord Beaverbrook Lords 58-52 to revenge a midseason loss at a tournament in Kelowna. The T’Birds led by 10-15 points for the most of the first half. Beaverbrook rallied back in the second and took a four-point lead midway through the frame, when Jamaal Bucknor and Onsi Saley took command on the offensive glass and pulled out the Ross Shep win as the Lords began to suffer from severe foul trouble. Ross Shep led by 51-50 with two minutes to play but Andrew Champagnie drilled a pair of free throws. Jaamal Bucknor and Onsi Saleh each added singletons and then Jerome Bingham hit a field goal after a Beaverbrook turnover to ice the win. Beaverbrook coach Ray Raymond told the Calgary Herald that inexperience proved the difference. “We have a lot of talent. We just need to step up to the challenge and take the opportunity when it’s there. The fouls at the end showed our youth and immaturity.” Bucknor finished with 25 points for the T-Birds. Champagnie added 21. Taylor Glass notched 14 for the Lords.
In the bronze medal match, the top-seeded Calgary St. Mary’s Saints defeated the 6th-seeded Calgary Lord Beaverbrook Lords 73-51 as Thijin Moses scored 24, while playing for the first time in front of his mother Rebecca. Max Ettinger added 13. Lords coach Ray Raymond told the Calgary Herald that his troops had been playing with emotion for the whole tournament “and I think we were just coming down from it.” But he credits Saints coaches Kevin Johnston and Mike McFarland with “putting together a dream team.” Chase Greep led the Lords with 15. The Lords (co-coached by Ray Raymond and Brian Krasselt) also included Geoff Ewing, Greg Jacoby, Jeff Price, Taylor Glass, Beau Lawler, Calvin Worthen.
In the final, the 2nd-seeded Edmonton Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds defeated the 4th-seeded Calgary Lester B. Pearson Patriots 79-72 to capture their fourth provincial title in six years. The T-Birds took an early double-digit lead but Pearson rallied to within 42-40 at the half. The lead see-sawed in the second half and Ross Sheppard only took command 27.2 seconds to play when they capitalized on a long downcourt pass on an in-bounds feed to set up Jerome Bingham for a layup. “I was really glad to make that,” Bingham told the Calgary Herald. “Last game, I missed that pass.” Andrew Champaigne, who scored 22, added a pair of free throws to ice the win. “I wasn’t nervous,” said Champagnie. “My team calmed me down. All the work we put into this season, we deserved this.” Jamaal Bucknor led Ross Sheppard with 23. Josh White led the Patriots with 26. Robbie Sihota added 22. “At the end, we were just trying to get a quick steal,” said Sihota. “There was miscommunication when they made that pass down the court. That caught us off-guard.”
The bronze medalist Calgary St. Mary’s Saints: Thijin Moses; Brett Kobe; Riiny Ngot; Max Ettinger; Scott Strathern; Joran Kosterman; Brett Kobe; Mark Chin; Kevin Yeung; Kevin Lane; coach Kevin Johnston, assistant Mike McFarland
The silver medalist Calgary Lester B. Pearson Patriots: Jermaine Cherry; Josh Whyte; Robbie Sihota; Josh Minhas; Aaron Cain; coach Bill Mitchell
The gold medalist Edmonton Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds: Jamaal Bucknor; Onsi Saley; Andrew Champagnie; Chris Tron; Drew Hanson; Andrew Ironmonger; Jarrod Kerfoot; Blaine Sherman; Jamie Ostrikoff; Jerome Bingham; Terrence Blake; Mike Davis; Dayne Hodge; coach Dave Youngs; coach Powell Jones; manager Amanda McNabb; manager Jen Pawlowski; manager Anna Berthume