Final regular season standings (9): Lethbridge (13-3); Mount Royal (13-3); Medicine Hat (12-4); Grande Prairie (11-5); NAIT (10-6); Augustana (5-11); Grant MacEwan (4-12); Red Deer (4-12); SAIT (0-16)
Augustana (formerly Camrose Lutheran) Vikings: Andy Moldowan, Rob Page, R Kalinka, Kyle Larson, Jody Watson, B Aalhus, C Masters, B Morisback, D Schiltroth, Byron Johnson, W Skeels, E Goehner, S Hollingsworth
Grant MacEwan: Jules McNeil, D Buss, Trent Edwards, M Lovatt, R Stef, T Rumpel, Kurtis McGeachy, H Quach, D Wolsey, K Day, A Ebrahim
NAIT: Rob Hansuk, Chuck Royer, Richard Jory, Moe Amery, James MacDonald, C Roadram, Christian Kuharic, C MacDonald, Don Grapentine, Powell Maxfield, Garrett Gray, Kevin Lockhart, J Lasychuk, Trevor Dupras, Don Davidge, Clint Boodram, Kevin Lockhart (left midseason), coach Dave Hoy
Red Deer: Kevin O’Brien, S Dezutter, Shane Olmstead, Jason Langelaar, P Keogh, A Richard, Justin Holton, D MacDonald, J Spelsberg, Brent Anderson, K Averil, Darryl Mitchener, K McHale
SAIT: Louis Johnson, Len Timmer, R Loewen, Keith Christensen, K Courtice, D Vigilance, S Glanville, K Jana, D St. Onge, C Kerr, D Purnell
In the semis, the Medicine Hat Rattlers defeated the Mount Royal Cougars 68-75; 93-89; 88-78 (2g-1). …………………………………………………… In game one, Mount Royal prevailed 75-68. Craig Shanholtzer paced the Rattlers with 21. Jeremy
Rattai added 12. …………………………………………………… In game two, Medicine Hat prevailed 93-89. …………………………………………………… In game three, the Rattlers took the series with an 88-78 win. Craig Shanholtzer paced the Rattlers with 33, including 6-10 from the arc. Jeremy Rattai added 20 and Rabo Nifenhuis 10. Winston Turpin paced the Cougars with 28. Peter Knechtel added 16. The Cougars also included Ray Raymond, Erin Furnell, Shane Forrer, John Yvon, M Murphy, L McMaster, C Look, K Reed, Eric Bastiaanssen and K Seaman.
In the other semi, the Lethbridge Kodiaks defeated the Grande Prairie Wolves 78-71; 73-89; 83-69 (2g-1). …………………………………………………… In game one, Lethbridge prevailed 78-71 as Dewey Rowland scored 26 and Carlos Maffia 13. Greg Sale led the Wolves with 19. Rob Morris added 10. “Dewey has great two step quickness. He had a big game for us tonight,” said Kodiaks’ coach John Jasiukiewicz. Rowland dominated the blocks. “I think I’m quicker now than I was in the first part of the season, but I’ve lost about 35 pounds and am playing around 260 at the moment,” said Rowland, who effectively contained Wolves star Rob Morris. “He is probably the toughest big man I have faced in the league this year,” said Rowland. The Kodiaks outshot the Wolves 52% to 32%. “Defensively we had a few lapses tonight, but overall I was happy with the effort and besides Rowland we also got a big effort from Bruce Babiuk (starting point guard). He was hurting with a pulled muscle in his leg but he controlled things and ran the offence,” said Jasiukiewicz. The Kodiaks led 40-36 at the half after squandering an early 24-14 lead. …………………………………………………… In game two, Grande Prairie prevailed 89-73 as Keith Hampe scored 17, Evan Mueller 15 and Greg Sale 13. The Wolves dominated the boards. Mike Hirsch led the Kodiaks with 20. Carlos Maffia added 17 and Dewey Roland 13. …………………………………………………… In game three, Lethbridge took the series with an 83-69 win. Coach John Jasiukiewicz noted told the Endeavour that the Kodiaks “came out and played defence for us and that was the big key. The bench was also a big, big factor for us today.” The score was knotted at 33 at the half, although the Wolves were without star Greg Sale, who injured his ankle in game two. “They just wouldn’t go away,” said Kodiak coach John Jasiukiewicz. “We never played that well, but today we played with a lot of guts. We played with the desire we needed to win. So, I’m pleased we came back.” The Kodiaks capitalized on a series of ill-advised Wolves fouls in the second half, including an intentional and a technical for having six men on the floor after a time out. Four free throws later, they got possession of the ball, hit a bucket and stretched a seven-point lead to 12. They also received solid contributions off the bench from Kelsey Caldwell and Lance Schultz. “Lance came out and played unbelievable defence and Kelsey did exactly what we expect of him — penetrating and getting big baskets,” said Jasiukiewicz. “Our starting lineup did a good job, but the bench did it for us. … They are so physical and they go after the glass and knock people around. It’s hard to play against a physical team like that.” Mike Hirsch paced the Kodiaks with 20. Bruce Babuik added 14, Carlos Maffia 13 and Kelsey Caldwell 8. Evan Mueller paced the Wolves with 19. Jamie Fitzpatrick added 14. The Kodiaks hit 41% from the floor, 1-12 from the arc and 71% from the line. The Wolves hit 7-21 from the arc. The Wolves also included H Schellenberg, Ivan Brkich, Ian Perry, C Outhet, V Mueller, J Readman, W Lawrence, G Gillingham and W Hicks.
In the finals, the Lethbridge Kodiaks defeated the Medicine Hat Rattlers 72-73; 91-75; 63-52 (2g-1).
In game one, Medicine Hat nipped Lethbridge 73-72. The Rattlers went on a 6-0 run to open the second half and never again trailed. “The right team won as far as we’re concerned,” Rattlers coach Jim Bonin told the Medicine Hat News. “They know us pretty good and we know them pretty good.” The Kodiaks committed 27 turnovers. “We just came out flat in the second half. It sometimes happens,” Kodiaks coach John Jasiukiewicz told the Lethbridge Herald. Jeremy Rattai paced the Rattlers with 21 on 9-14 from the floor. Kevin Grandberg added 16, Dean Harrison 13 and Craig Shanholtzer 11. Mike Hirsch led the Kodiaks with 20 on 7-18 from the floor. Dalton Rowland added 18 on 7-18 from the floor, while Carlos Maffia scored 11. The Kodiaks had a chance to win it at the buzzer but Carlos Maffia’s 25-footer bounced off the rim. “Defensively we were just a little off and offensively we were a lot off, but I feel good about the next game in Medicine Hat (Saturday). We play well there and we have been a better team on the road all season,” said Kodiak coach John Jasiukiewicz. Rattlers coach Jim Bonin said “I thought we controlled almost the whole game, but they stepped up their defence at the end, forced a lot of turnovers and we missed a lot of late free throws that enabled them to get close. … Both these teams take the ball to the hole and draw fouls, as a result both teams had people in foul trouble.” Rattlers’ point guard Dean Harrison fouled out, while the Kodiaks lost Dewey Rowland and had all three guards (Bruce Babiuk, Pat Hicks and Paul Brown) playing with four fouls at the finish. The Kodiaks led 37-36 at the half but the Rattlers took a 10-point midway through the second half as the Kodiaks began throwing the ball away while trying to force the ball inside.
In game two, visiting Lethbridge evened the series with a 91-75 win as Carlos Maffia scored 29, including 17-19 from the line. Bruce Babiuk added 22 and Dewey Roland 19. “We took some of the errors we made in the first game and corrected them,” Kodiaks coach John Jasiukiewicz told the Lethbridge Herald. “We wanted to cut down Jeremy Rattai and Kevin Grandberg by five points each and I think we did it. Offensively, we pushed the ball inside and also hit the long shots when we needed them.” Jasiukiewicz told the Medicine Hat News “I don’t think there’s a home court advantage. We don’t consider Lethbridge a home court advantage. Medicine Hat brings just as many fans in there. It’s just who can play harder on that particular day. We just got the lucky jump tonight. They’re a helluva team, but so are we.” The Kodiaks led 48-32 at the half in the romp. “They stepped it up a little bit and our guys weren’t ready,” said Rattlers coach Jim Bonin. “They played a super game. Defensively they were out on our wings and we couldn’t get the ball inside. It was tough.” Jasiukiewicz said “every time we play each other it’s the same type of game. We felt in Lethbridge that we had 27 turnovers and we had to cut down on our turnover production to be competitive. It was important for us to gain some ground and control early in this second game. We also played tough defence. I’d say we were more ready to play this game.” Jeremy Rattai led the Rattlers with 24. Craig Shanholtzer added 16. The Rattlers rallied no closer than eight in the second half. The Kodiaks hit 34-40 from the line, 3-4 from the arc and 24-55 from the floor, while the Rattlers were 22-37 from the line, 3-9 from the arc and 22-41 from the floor. “We missed a lot of free throws,” said Bonin. “That was the difference. They hit their free throws and we didn’t.”
In the deciding contest, Lethbridge prevailed 63-52. Coach John Jasiukiewicz told the Lethbridge Herald that “we had to shut them down defensively and I think we did. I don’t think we gave them an uncontested shot in the second half. Our defence is back. … Guard Carlos Maffia added that “it was a good game, especially on defence. We did what we had to do to win.” The Kodiaks led 32-31 at the half despite 19 from Rattler guard Craig Shanholtzer. “At halftime, I told them not to let him touch the ball and if he touches it, make him dribble it and make him work,” said Jasiukiewicz. Rattlers coach Jim Bonin noted that “we were trying to go to him (Shanholtzer) a lot. I didn’t think anyone could handle him one on one. They played super defence on us.” The defence and depth proved the difference as the Rattlers appeared worn down in the second half, exploding for a decisive 7-2 run with about 10 minutes to play. “I don’t think there is a team in Canada that wants it like we do,” said Kodiak point guard Bruce Babiuk. “I had a torn quad that’s just getting better now and a broken finger from the start of Game 2 in Medicine Hat. It started to swell up right after that game so I wasn’t shooting much tonight.” The Kodiaks led 32-31 at the half. “The success of this team is all in the coaching. Our coaches stressed all year that we had to concentrate on defence,” added Babiuk. “At the half, John’s (Jasiukiewicz) big concern and discussion was about stopping Shanholtzer and in the second half. Carlos (Maffia), Lance Schultz and Pat Hicks took turns to do just that.” Coach John Jasiukiewicz said “we are the only team I’ve seen that plays in your face defence. I think our style is pretty unique and is going to surprise some people. Against Medicine Hat, they have two very good post players, but I think we wore them out by rotating five post players in and out of the lineup. In the second half Carlos did a good job on Shanholtzer and then Lance Schultz went in and did a great job, while Tyson Lybbert also was big coming into the game in the second half.” The Rattlers shot 43% from the floor and the Kodiaks 38%. Maffia led the Kodiaks with 20. Pat Hicks added 14 and Dewey Roland 10. Shanholtzer led the Rattlers with 23. Jeremy Rattai added 12 and Rabo Nijenjuis 9. Shanholtzer told the Medicine Hat News that “it’s hard to come up one game short.” Rattlers coach Jim Bonin said he put too much pressure on Shanholtzer for offence. “Maybe that pressure wasn’t a good idea, but it worked in the first half. In the second half we had a tough time with it.” Shantholzer said “I’m glad he did that. I thought I had a good first half and in the second I had the opportunities there but things just didn’t fall for me. Things were going good for awhile but then they got out of sync.” Medicine Hat jumped out quickly in the second half edging ahead 35-34, but it was the last time they led as cold shooting by Jeremy Rattai, Dean Harrison and almost no offence from Kevin Grandberg caused an offensive rut — it forced Shanholtzer into low percentage shots. “We had to shut down Shanholtzer in the second half because we let him have so many uncontested shots in the first half,” said Jasiukiewicz. “Second half we got out on him and forced him to shoot a couple of bad ones which took him off his tempo. It worked in our favor. We felt that if we were in a close game we would win. We just couldn’t get behind. We felt that if we got behind that we would be in trouble against a team that is as explosive as they are. They consequently only led three times during the game.” Bonin said “defensively we did a great job by holding them to just over 60 points. Offensively, we couldn’t put it in the ocean.”
The silver medalist Medicine Hat Rattlers: Kevin Grandberg; Jeremy Rattai; Craig Shanholtzer; Corey Harrison; Rabo Nijenjuis; L. Weaselhead; Dean Harrison; Andrew Lawson; B Nygard; B. Place; P. Tietz; coach Jim Bonin
The gold medalist Lethbridge Kodiaks: Carlos Maffia; Dalton Rowland; Mark Hirsch; Pat Hicks; K Caldwell; P Brown; Bruce Babiuk; N Payne; Rob Lorenson; Tyson Lybbert; R Konynenbelt; Lance Schultz; J Jacobs; G Lock; Roland Dewey; coach John Jasiukiewicz