In the opening round, held in Lethbridge: …………………………………………………… The 9th-seeded Fort Saskatchewan John Paul II Patriots dumped the 8th-seeded Leduc Christ the King Chargers 67-59. John Paul II went up early and held a 38-22 lead at the half. In the second half it was all John Paul II until Brendin Huculak got hot (17 second half points) pulling the Chargers to within 5 points with 1:30 left. The Patriots then hit their free throws to seal the win and end the Chargers comeback attempt. Ryan Denbrader had 24 for the Patriots while Jeff Polanski added 18. Brendin Huculak led all scorers with 26 for the Chargers while Ian Learmouth added 13. …………………………………………………… The 12th-seeded Crowsnest Panthers stunned the 5th-seed Bawlf Wildcats 89-83. Crowsnest came out on fire and jumped to an early lead. The Panthers led by as many as 20. The Wildcats had a 10-point run late in the first half to cut the Panther lead down to 10 and the half ended at 52-42. Crowsnest appeared to take command in the second half but Bawlf rallied to knot the score at 80. The Panthers then regrouped and finished off their upset victory. Josh Kutcher and Steve Wilson each scored 33 points for Crowsnest, while Nic Ronsko scored 26 and Steve Enright added 15 for Bawlf. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seed Peace River Nomads defeated the 10th-seeded Black Diamond Oilfields Drillers 75-68. The largest lead was 10. Oilfields led at the half 37-32, but that lead vanished quickly in the second half and it was a 2-point game from there to the finish. Peace River hit their free throws in the last few minutes to ice the win. Curtis Haugan led all scorers with 31 for the Nomads while Jared Mayer added 29, Jason Hirsan 5, Nathan Friesen 2, Travis Moore 2 and Denver Krushel 1. The Drillers were led by Derek Temush who canned 26 points. Keyvan Wallace added 13, Dustin Hummel 9, Steven Parker 7, Jeremy Farewell 6, Cory Walker 3, Tony Kroeler 3 and Anthony Long 1. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Calgary Rundle College Cobras defeated the 11th-seeded Vermillion J.R. Robson Marauders 83-64. After starting slowly, the Cobras soon exploded to a 28-18 lead. The Marauders rallied to within 30-28 before Rundle move ahead 36-28 at the half. In the second half it was all Rundle with the Cobras establishing a 20-point lead and then maintaining it for the win. Rundle was led by Matt Droppo’s 21 points. Hussain Shivji added 16, Madim Jirjee 9, Billy DeJong 7, Jason Lammers 11, Wharren Blahey 6, Evan Brennan 6, Patel 6, Quaz Jiwan 4, Ryan Leung 2 and Russ Walker 2. J.R. Robson was led by Devin Mendenhall, who scored 21. Jesse Dorey added 12, David Pasey 10, Lance Elsenheimer 9, Brendan Braithwaite 4, Rayn Lampagnola 4, Tristan Feenstra 2 and Chris Walbaum 2.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Edmonton Christian Lions defeated the 9th-seeded Fort Saskatchewan John Paul II Patriots 72-59. The Lions controlled the play for most of the first half game, leading 39-23 at the break. After being down by 20, the Patriots made a run cutting the Lions lead to only 7 points. The Lions reestablished a 13-point lead only to see a Patriots run turn the contest into a 6-point match with 4 minutes to go. From there on it was all Edmonton and it ended 72-59 for the Lions. The game was highlighted by a huge Dykstra Dunk. Edmonton was led by Joel Buisman’s 22 points. Dave Schenk added 15, Mark Dystra 12, Pete Saik 10, Wes Vanderveen 5, Jeremy Arends 3, Dennis Lobert 2, Jeff Devries 2 and Ben Hertwib 1. John Paul II was led by Travis Letwin’s 18 pts. Jeff Polanski added 11, Ryan Denbraben 10, Gordon Lee 10, James Procyk 8 and Jeremy Manca 2.
The 4th-seeded Picture Butte Sugar Kings defeated the 12th-seeded Crowsnest Panthers 82-43. The Sugar Kings jumped out to a 10-point lead and they continued to increase the spread for the entire 40 minutes. At the half, Picture Butte led 44-19. Eli Fowler was the top scorer for Butte with 27, while Richard Doerksen added 20, David Murray 10, Cody Schooten 9, Tyler Russel 7, Marc Leclair 3, Michael Caruso 3, A.J. Bergen Henengouwen 2 and Rory McLeod 1. Crowsnest received 12 points from Steve Wilson and 9 from Steven Schwengler. Josh Kitcher added 8, Jeff Vastenhout 4, Dustin Gagnon 4, Duane Timms 2, Kevin Michalsky 2 and Adam Julin 2.
The 2nd-seeded Calgary Christian Cougars dumped the 7th-seeded Peace River Nomads 75-61. The Nomads started the game jumping out to a quick 7-0 lead before the Cougars hit the score sheet. They led by as much 10 in the first half, but before the first stanza ended Calgary grabbed the lead to head into the locker room up 43-32. In the second half, it was a tight game with both teams putting on some impressive scoring runs. The top scorers for the Cougars were Cameron Dodd with 25 and Lance Verhoeff with 14. Stephen Havinga added 8, Yemi Mareus 10, Brad Ulrich 5, Randy Hahn 5, Stefan Dykema 4, Scott Bruwman 3 and Trent Offeriens 2. The top scorers for the Nomads were Curtis Haugan with 40 and Jordan Relling with 10. Jared Mayer added 7, Travis Moore 2, Denver Krushel 1 and Richard Gish 1.
The 3rd-seeded Lethbridge Immanuel Christian Eagles whacked the 6th-seeded Calgary Rundle College Cobras 85-65. The Eagles led for most of the game, but every time they built up a 15 or 20 point lead the Cobras would fight right back, often cutting it to single digits. The Eagles led 41-33 at the half. Both teams scored primarily from the perimeter and scrapped for the boards. Steven Bekkering topped all scorers with 28 while Mark Lowen added a gutsy 17 for Immanuel. Bas Vanderkoovj scored 13, Watson 11, Veldman 10, Cam Love 3, David Vander keg 2 and Tim Selles 1. Rundle had balanced scoring from Billy DeJong and Matt Droppo, who each scored 14. Wharren Blahey added 13, Jason Lammers 11, Hussain Shivji 11 and Robin Patel 2.
In the semis, the 4th-seeded Picture Butte Sugar Kings stunned the top-seeded Edmonton Christian Lions 64-58. The Sugar Kings jumped out to an early 17-3 lead with some great shooting and intense defense. The Lions roared back with a 16-0 run to lead the game 19-17 before the Kings could score again. It was a 2-point game to the half with Butte up 31-29. The second half started like the first with Butte going on a big run to lead 51-37 with 11 minutes to go. Edmonton answered with a run and it was close down to the wire before Picture Butte pulled the upset. Richard Doerksen scored 26 for Picture Butte. Cody Schooten added 12, Michael Caruso 11, Eli Fowler 8, Marc Leclair 4 and Rory McLeod 3. Joel Buisman scored 21 for Edmonton Christian. Mark Dykstra added 16, Pete Saik 8, Ben Hertwig 5, Wes VanderVeen 5, Jeremy Arends 2, Dave Schenk 1, Jeff Devries 0, Kevin Visser 0, Darcy Arends 0, Tom Bodewitz 0 and Dennis Lobert 0.
In the other semi, 3rd-seed Lethbridge Immanuel Christian Eagles upset the 2nd-seeded Calgary Christian Cougars 73-60. The Eagles took a 44-28 lead at the half and then increased their lead to 20 early in the second frame. The Cougars would not quit and fought back to close the gap before the Eagles took command down the stretch. The Eagles won by a comfortable margin of 73-60. The Eagles were led by Ryan Veldman’s 19 points. Mark Lowen added 17, Nathan Watson 13, Stephen Bekkering 11, Bas VanderKooij 10, David Van Dyk 2 and Tim Selles 1, while Cam Lowen, Irwin Van Eeden Petersman, Dirk VanderKooij, Nick Van Grest, Reuben Kolk, Derek Slop and David Vanderberg were scoreless. The Cougars received 15 points from Lance Verhoeff and 10 from Cameron Dodd. Stephen Havinga added 9, Stefan Dykema 9, Randy Hahn 8, Scott Bruwman 4, Brad Ulrich 4 and Tim Ryskamp 2.
In the bronze medal match, the top-seeded Edmonton Christian Lions defeated 2nd-seeded Calgary Christian Cougars 85-64. Calgary Christian roared out to an early 15-point lead and led by almost 20 at various times in the first half. Edmonton trailed 31-42 at the half. In the second half, Edmonton scored 54 points to pull away for the win. The game was dominated by Joel Buisman who scored 39 for Edmonton Christian. Calgary was led by Lance Verhoeff (20 pts) and Cameron Dodd (12 pts.)
In the all-south final, the 4th-seeded Picture Butte Sugar Kings dumped the 3rd-seeded Lethbridge Immanuel Christian Eagles 57-50. The game started and ended as a low scoring affair. The defense from both teams never gave an open shot to anyone and the score reflected it. The halftime score was 22-18. In the second half Butte opened up a slight lead before the Eagles came back and tied it at 41-41. On the next possession, the Eagles missed 3 put-backs and the Kings capitalized on those misses scoring 6 unanswered points. The Eagles never recovered. Richard Doerksen and Cody Schooten led the Kings with 12 points each. Steven Bekkering led the Eagles with 14 points, while Mark Lowen, Ryan Veldman and Bas VanderKooij all had 12. Picture Butte finishes 37-6 on the season.
The bronze medalist Edmonton Christian Lions: Joel Buisman; Mark Dykstra; Pete Saik; Ben Hertwig; Wes VanderVeen; Jeremy Arends; Dave Schenk; Jeff Devries; Kevin Visser; Darcy Arends; Tom Bodewitz; Dennis Lobert;
The silver medalist Lethbridge Immanuel Christian Eagles: Mark Loewen; Stephen Bekkering; Ryan Veldman; Bas VanderKooij; Nathan Watson; Cam Lowen; Irwin Van Eeden Petersman; Dirk VanderKooij; Reuben Kolk; Nick Van Geest; Derek Slomp; David Vanderberg; Tim Selles; David VanDyk;
The gold medalist Picture Butte Sugar Kings: Shawn Vander Heyden; Rory McLeod; Tyler Russell; David Murray; Marc Leclair; Michael Caruso; Richard Doerksen; A.J. Bergen Henengouwen; Cody Schooten; Eli Fowler; coach Kevin Reiter; assistant Arnie Bergen Henengouwen; assistant Ted Johnson; manager Logan Reiter; manager Todd Bergen Henengouwen; manager J.P. Johnson; manager Randy Hayward.