Final regular season standings (9): Mount Royal (13-1); Grant MacEwan (12-3); Lethbridge (11-5); Medicine Hat (10-6); NAIT (8-8); Camrose (5-9); SAIT (5-9); Red Deer (2-12); Grande Prairie (1-15)
Schedule appears to have been an incomplete round-robin?????.
Playoff non-qualifiers:
Camrose: Gerald Weisbach, Gerald Couzens, Gary Roth, Paul Pidde, Gerald Weissbach, Brad Starcheski
Grande Prairie Nordic Wolves: Brian Burkhart, Randy Villeneuve, Greg Stogryn, Tom Vince, Brian Kuechle, Greg Marston,
NAIT Ookpiks: Doug Zutz, Len Parsons, Wayne Squires, Gene Gerwing, Doug Omichinski, Rick Davidson, Brent Burr, Dave Bowley, Al Edmunds, Terry Everitt, Roger Poon, John Kostaras, Mike Hanson, coach Dave Hoy, manager Wayne Dumont
Red Deer Kings: Ken Haskins, Jim Spiller, Kevin Williams, Don Klettke, Steve Simonis, Don Klettke, Nick Carbonaro, Cam Fagrie, Reg Steele, John Johnson, Rick McCullough, coach Wayne Lalor
SAIT Trojans: Wade Brillon, Gord Denton, Darcy Pratt, Tom Brown, Daryl Turko, Nigel Gainor, Frank Lilley Jr., Blair Gates, Brian Nadurak, Bobby Moore, Peter Scott, coach Phil Allen, manager Don Gammie
In the semis, the Grant MacEwan Griffins defeated the Lethbridge Kodiaks 71-69. Kodiaks coach Tim Tollestrup told the Endeavour that “we made only 45% of our foul shots, which is unheard of. We also had a night on the boards with rebounding problems. They were getting three or four foul shots while we were only getting one. Our fast break was shut down because we couldn’t get the ball off the boards to either (Don) Yuill or (Rob) Fiorine. It was just a tough ball game. We played good in spurts but always let them come back.” The Kodiaks struggled to resolve the Griffins zone, while Mark Williams and Mike Smith both fouled out. Tony Cuglietta paced the Griffins with 16. Del Rube added 12 and Randy Gusikowsky 12. Mount Royal shot 38% from the floor and 61% from the line. Don Yuill and Kevin Reiter each scored 16 to lead the Kodiaks. Mike Smith added 13. The Kodiaks shot 45% from both the floor and the line.
In the other semi, the Mount Royal Cougars defeated the Medicine Hat Rattlers 105-88. The Cougars ran up an earl 17-4 lead off crisp ball movement and extended the margin to 57-36 at the half. The Antelopes appeared unable to contain Cougar guards David Joseph and Ludlow Rodney, who bombed away from the perimeter. Their problem was magnified when Bruce Jones was tossed for an altercation under the boards, which shortened the thin bench even further, said Antelopes coach Brian Sanders. “They do have depth, which is the key to winning basketball games,” he told the Medicine Hat News. “You can’t win with five players any more. Mount Royal is very strong defensively and it’s very hard to play a controlled game against them.” Post Moose Ekkebus added that “they’ve got a lot of good shooters. Not just some. That’s what hurt us. They had a guy come in off the bench and get 20 points.” Jeff Gall paced the Cougars with 20. Tim Herr added 18, David Joseph 10 and Ludlow Rodney 10. Ekkebus led the Antelopes with 24. Frank Behrens added 20.
In the bronze medal match, the Lethbridge Kodiaks defeated the Medicine Hat Rattlers 99-85. Kodiaks coach Tim Tollestrup said “the pressure was off a bit for this game. We were able to capitalize on most of the turnovers. We just had a good, solid effort from everybody we put in. It was a hard-fought ball game and it wasn’t until the last five minutes that we got hot and were able to pull a lead on them.” Don Yuill and Mark Williams each scored 18 to pace the Kodiaks. Mike Smith added 13. The Kodiaks hit 58% from the floor and 85% from the line. Maurice Ekkebus led the Rattlers with 23. Frank Behrens added 20 and Dwight Dreger 19. The Rattlers hit 45% from the floor and 75% from the line. Lethbridge led 10-4 early and 17-6 after one quarter but the Antelope rallied within 38-36 at the half. The Rattlers (coached by Brian Sanders) also included Greg Czech, Greg Bumgarner, Miles Muzyka, Dan Andrie, Ward Hicken, Brent Singer, Bruce Jones, Doug Dirk and Doug Grimm.
In the final, the Mount Royal Cougars defeated the Grant MacEwan Griffins 100-76. The Cougars led 24-17 after one quarter and romped. Don Janzen and Dave Kakoschke each scored 20 to pace the Cougars. Ludlow Rodney added 14 and Jeff Gall 10. Randy Gusikosky led the Griffins with 20. Moses Poole added 12 and Tony Cuglietta 11. Cougar David Joseph told the Calgary Herald “it’s great. I love it … All of us have learned a lot since we got here. I used to be that wild playground player. Jack is the best coach I’ve ever had.” Cougars coach Jack Kenyon said he never tired of winning. “No, never. Winning beats everything else by a long shot.”
The all-tournament team featured MVP David Joseph (Mount Royal); Dan Janzen (Mount Royal); Ludlow Rodney (Mount Royal; Don Yuill (Lethbridge); Maurice Ekkebus (Medicine Hat); and Dale Rube (Grant MacEwan)
The bronze medalist Lethbridge Kodiaks: Don Yuill; Mike Smith; Mark Williams; Kevin Reiter; Brad Karren; Rob Fiorino; Al Dunbar; Leonard Boras; Bruce Olsen; Vince Bouwser; Don Sabo; Garth Van Gaalen; Wayne White; Greg Selk; coach Tim Tollestrup
The silver medalist Grant MacEwan Griffins: Del Rube; Randy Gusikowsky; Tony Cuglietta; Dave Garrity; Steve Interman; Moses Poole;
The gold medalist Mount Royal Cougars: Don Janzen; Dave Kokoschke; Ludlow Rodney; Tim Herr; David Joseph; Jeff Gall; Norm Murray; coach Jack Kenyon