Final regular season standings:
N (5): Grant MacEwan (16-0); Red Deer (11-5) NAIT (5-11); Grande Prairie (5-11); Augustana (3-13)
S (5): SAIT (13-3); Medicine Hat (13-3) Mount Royal (10-6) Lethbridge (3-13) Prairie Bible (1-15)
Playoff non-qualifiers:
Augustana: Marc Croteau, C Kihn, D Horsman, F Saunders, J Berg, S Cross, J Watson, C Nelson, N lemon, D Nakonechny, D Thomas, J Averil, R Lorenson, K Nelson
Grande Prairie: Grant Harder, Kevin Outhet, Marc Paulsen, B Edgecombe, Lee Huebert, M Gallagher, M Johnstone, C Foucher, M Kildow, J Harker, D Bennett, F. Mil-Homens, coach Kelly Ohlhauser
Lethbridge: Barry Sudo, Jason Cyr, Brad Davis, Ed Dawson, Jeff Jacobs, Rich Crouch, M Barton, B Workman, Alain Midy, C Anderson, Wes Merrill, S Hansen, Jim Shields, A Sui; coach Carlos Maffia
Mount Royal: Brady Layton, Tyler McVicar, Troy Gedlaman, N Noronha, Bob White, J Haycock, M Watts, A Weis, C Look, B Anene, C Anderson, C Gordon, K Jenkins, Chris Nicol, E Ozcan
NAIT: Dennis Chopko, Mo Amerey, Jeff Noble, Garret Gray, R Blauel, L Borschowa, Lee Ewasko, Rory Koska, C Rosenberger, Brad Mills, Randy Cardinal, Jeff Neilson, B Macdonald, Brad Steward, B Kossowski, coach Dennis Aughtry
Prairie Bible Pilots: Michael Tatlock, S Stetson, M Lee, M See, Ro. Van Winkle, J Velez, Ri Van Winkle, K Fitchett, S Seifert, K Vandenborre, M Pahl, J Heigh
In the semi-finals, Grant MacEwan whipped Medicine Hat 100-77. Jon Schenk paced the Rattlers with 27. Ryan Seeman added 17.
In the other semi, SAIT dumped the Red Deer Kings 91-77 as Lyle Bruno scored 20. Justin Holton paced the Kings with 17. Jamie Kelly added 14 and Kevin Dejonge 12. Kings coach John Johnstone told the Red Deer Advocate “we were extremely tight and didn’t get a field goal for the first six minutes. It looked like we were intimidated and weren’t ready to play.”
In the bronze medal match, Medicine Hat dumped Red Deer 103-91 as Jonathan Schenk scored 34. The Kings included Justin Holton, Andre Richard, Derek Zaharko, Kevin Dejonge, Jamie Kelly, S Leger, P Guse, C Dusterhoft, D Berrgren, D Frostad, T Yakiwchuk, D Orge and K Huertaas.
In the final, SAIT defeated Grant MacEwan 80-74. “Our guys played a complete 40 minutes,” said Trojans coach Phil Allen. Six Trojans notched double figures. The Griffins were awarded 35 free throws, while the Trojans got 12. “The more the calls were against them, the harder they played,” said Allen. “I’ve never seen a more gutsy performance.” The Trojans’ leading scorer broke his hand during the match.
After the season, Phil Allen retired at SAIT to become athletic director at Edmonton’s Grant MacEwan CC. During his 15-year tenure, he won 10 provincial titles, two national titles and made six national tournament appearances. Allen is replaced by assistant Ted Harrison. “I don’t intend to beat Phil’s record. I’d have to be around 20 years to do that,” said Harrison, 45. “If I worry about that, and become infatuated with it, I’m not going to be a good coach.” Harrison coached at Durham College in Oshawa for a decade.
The bronze medalist Medicine Hat Rattlers: Ryan Seeman; Len Schulz; Jonathan Schenk; Evan Mueller; Randy Skierka; Chris Franklin; B. Melle; K. Mathers; R. John; S. Fox; coach Jim Bonin; assistant Dean Harrison
The silver medalist Grant MacEwan Griffins: Vern Gerhardt; Mark Humphrey; M. Smith; R. Dunkley; D. Buss; Darren Semeniuk; T. Rumpel; R. Judge; B. Flesher; R. Popplestone; N. Schneider; D. Rosnua; R. Vatkin; K. Moser
The gold medalist SAIT Trojans: Sam Salter; Lyle Bruno; Tyson Lybbert; Deon John; Terrence Morris; Junior Palomino; Trevor John; John Cruz; Shawn Kennedy; Richard Hilchie; Wayne Savoury; Geoff Franks; Clint Sommerset; Craig Behan; Mohamed Barahim; Jose Gomez; P.J. Robertson; coach Phil Allen; assistant Kurt MacNeil; assistant James Clark; assistant Ted Harrison; assistant Dave Poon-Tip; manager Dwayne Vigilance; manager Shane Cameron; therapist Charlene Stark