Final regular season standings:
North (7): Grant MacEwan (21-3); Lakeland (20-4); Concordia (16-8); NAIT (11-13); Augustana (7-17); The King’s University College (5-19); Grande Prairie (4-20)
South (7): Red Deer (18-6); SAIT (18-6); Mount Royal (17-7); Lethbridge (14-10); Briercrest (10-14); Prairie Bible (5-19); Medicine Hat (2-22)
Playoff non-qualifiers:
Augustana: Cameron Omoe, Bruce Carbert, Tyrel Herder, Kristopher Augustson, Scott Hamilton, Tyler Hartshorn, Brendin Huculak, Kory Baldwin-Payne, Jonathan Honey, Leif Knutson, Lee Martin, Matthew Berezan, Nathan McElroy, Jeffrey Merkel
Briercrest Bible: Trevor Nerdahl, Jon Thiessen, Josh Mawhorter, Craig Jantzen, Gareth Makogee, Joel Luypen, Chad Romanuk, Justin Waddington, Adam Robinson, Michael Gartner, Graham Bergen, Justin Antonich, Miguel Gauthier
Grande Prairie: Jeff Sampson, Adam Jones, Mazin Farhat, Steve Wiebe, Peter Gardner, Shawn Kennedy, Austin Mueller, Ron Turner, Tyrone Pike, Jonathan Richot, Jason Irwin, Mitch Burton, Andrew Jansen, Mike McMeeken
King’s University College: Shane Smith, Sam Gaugler, Jay Duke, Dallas Brown, Joel Buisman, Jayson Burrows, Joshua Gutknecht, Joel Kelly, Vince Akinyde, Terry Seinen, Liam Fitzpatrick, David Schenk, Simon Doty
Medicine Hat: Adam Patola, Beau Pocza, Graeme Mitchell, Jordan Kluthe, Clive Atkins, Chris Stevens, Chris Kalesnikoff, Andrew Simpson, Brent Larson, Derek Groves, Colin Fryer, Dustin Getz, Jordan Drefs, Aron Balaknishnan, Eric Warnke, Michael Rasmussen
Prairie Bible: Troy Dornbusch, Randy Stewart, Eric Nielsen, Darryl Babe, Rob Thibault, Duff Zayonce, Jordan Cavanaugh, Dick Doerksen, Tim Sesink, Jeff Friesen, Jimmy Igbokoyi, Brock Groening
In the quarterfinals, Grant MacEwan defeated Lethbridge 90-82; 91-78 (2g-0). The Kodiaks included Matt Anderson, Brady Byam, James Thiessen, Gary Reimer, Luke Rodman, Jordan Reiter, Ryan Running Crane, Shan Bly, Brennen Hanna, John Whidden, Marlon Young Pine, Eli Fowler, B.J. Bajowa, Kevin Nelson, Henry Tighe and Paul Dhillon.
Lakeland defeated Mount Royal 90-72; 85-76 (2g-0). The Cougars included Jeremy Odland, Jordan Sulkers, Chuck Sterling, Mark Lynch, Jon Walker, Josh Forster, Neil Collier, Sean Newman, Kalem Edlund, Peter James, David Morris, Andrew Mirauta, Tanner Mitchell and Jason Schiechowski.
NAIT defeated Red Deer 64-61; 61-57 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, NAIT edged Red Deer 64-61 as Mark Dorado scored 22, John Pilz 18 and Shane Leman 11. Paul Rabel led the Kings with 16, along with 17 boards. Mark Salkald added 13 and K.J. Kazlauskas 12. Kings coach Craig Behan told the Red Deer Advocate that “we missed layups and free throws. That was the difference. Our defence was fine. NAIT didn’t do anything we didn’t expect them to do; but we simply didn’t shoot well.” Kazlauskas missed a layup with four seconds to play that would have tied the game. Behan said “it’s one of those things. I think we have been pushing a little too hard at times. The thing is we missed all those shots and still could have won.” The Kings played without Lee Spruinger (torn ACL) and Taylor Armstrong (broken bone in his foot). NAIT assistant? Chuma Nwoboski said “we’re fortunate in that we’re facing teams lately not playing at their full potential. This team is banged up.” Behan said poor perimeter shooting “hurt a bit but we also didn’t get the bounces, plus had a couple of key calls go against us at bad times.” …………………………………………………… In game two, NAIT completed the series sweep by clipping Red Deer 61-57. K.J. Kazlauskas paced the Kings with 25. The Kings (coached by Craig Behan) also included Lee Sprunger, Mark Salkeld, Jordan Brown, Paul Rabel, Nathan Trstechaud, Taylor Armstrong, Christopher Bruno, Charles McLean, Josh Bibbs, Adam Bowie, Chris Girvan, Dan Smith and Evan Holstein. Behan was suspended from coaching for one game after receiving a technical for complaining that Charles McLean was “hammered,” but didn’t receive a call. “We’re out just like a lot of people wanted,” Behan told the Red Deer Advocate. I realy believe we got the short end of the stick for much of the year in terms of injureis and the officials. You go back to the injuries and that was the difference. We didn’t have the horses to play that hard on back-to-back days. Yet these guys tonight were unbelievable. They gave it everything they had and more.”
In the last quarterfinal, Concordia defeated SAIT 69-66; 67-62 (2g-0). The Trojans included Aldin Smalling, Jamie McLeod, Emmanuel Chiek, Liav Peled, Fabian Warner, Nabil Bushnaq, David Wilson, Oliver Sargeant, Bryan Shields, Chris James, Glenn Manlig, Ryan McGavern, Mike Stevens, Dylan Surina, Matthew Fuhr and Cecil Israel.
In the Final Four semis, Grant MacEwan defeated Concordia 90-72. MacEwan took an early 10-4 lead but Concordia rallied to a 14-12 margin before the Griffins re-assert command to build a 43-35 half-time lead. They outscored Concordia 24-14 to open the second half and then quickly extended their lead to as many as 20 in the romp.
In the other semi, Lakeland whipped NAIT 100-75. Ooks coach Chumba Nwobosi said his troops were shell-shocked. “The Rustlers hit everything. Deep threes, hands in their faces, open threes.” Aaron Aman opened the scoring with a bucket and before NAIT could get settled, the Rustlers led 10-3. Sizzling shooting, quick transitions and an airtight defence allowed Lakeland to extend their lead to 18-7 after four minutes, 61-34 at the half, and they never looked back. “Our whole game plan was to play good defence,” said Mike Page, who led the Rustlers with 27 points and 11 assists. “I didn’t expect our offence to be that dominant at the beginning. But we have a lot of scorers and three-pointers are one of our strengths.” Lakeland coach Phil Allen said his troops were aggressive. “The start was better than I imagined but I’ll take it. It was a big win for our program. To be in the final in only our second year in the league.” Lakeland hit eight treys in the first half and led 61-34 at the break. NAIT trailed by at least 25 for most of the second half. “We’re a rookie team. We only have two or three veterans, guys who know what to expect,” said Ooks guard Mark Dorado. “At this stage, if you’re ready to play, it’ll kill you. They were making everything and we couldn’t answer back. We just got stuck in a hole. Nwobosi said his club “came out a little flat. I think our youth showed in the first half of the first half. It wasn’t for lack of effort. I think the guys were trying too hard.” The Rustlers hit 24-42 (.571) from the floor, 12-21 (.571) from the arc and 16-22 (.727) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass and 32 assists. Shane Leman was chosen player of the game for the Ooks after scoring 19 on 6-11 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 7-8 from the line, while nabbing 3 boards and dishing 7 assists. Ossie Hinds led the Ooks with 20 on 7-12 from the floor and 6-7 from the line. Shane Leman scored 9 on 0-2 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 3 boards and 7 assists. The Ooks hit 21-46 (.456) from the floor, 3-10 from the arc and 24-33 (.727) from the line, while garnering 33 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass and 19 assits.
In the bronze medal match, the Concordia Thunder dominated the paint as they rode to an 89-83 win over the NAIT Ooks. With Keith Miller and Mike Szinkowski controlling the boards and denying inside buckets, Concordia forced NAIT to the perimeter. The Thunder led 55-27 at the half and although NAIT rallied within 73-70 with four minutes to play, the Ooks couldn’t get over the hump. The Thunder ripped down two consecutive boards and Paul Kuperus drilled a trey to ice it for Concordia. Mark Dorado was chosen player of the game for the Ooks after scoring 20 and dishing 6 assists. The Thunder hit 31-52 (.596) from the floor, 2-17 (.117) from the arc and 21-33 (.636) from the line, while garnering 51 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass and 23 assists. The Ooks hit 29-58 from the floor, 5-16 (.312) from the arc and 10-19 (.526) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, and 20 assists. The Ooks (coached by Marc Dobell) also included Shane Leman, Ossie Hinds, John Pilz, Cory Allen, Joshua Melton, Keenan Fisher, Simon Mahary, Ashley Grewal, Adrian Campbell, Cody Vermeulen, Corey Clark, Kyle Schook, Michael Mackay and Daniel Lypian.
In the final, the Grant MacEwan Griffins defeated the Lakeland Rustlers 72-63. The Griffins contained high scoring 6-7 Rustlers forward Mike Page by putting diminutive speedball Jordan Fownes on him. “Sometimes it seems odd to put a little guy on him but Jordan is absolutely a heart and soul kid,” said MacEwan coach Darryl Cleave. Fownes said “you try to keep a hand in his fact. If you can contest half his shots, then you hope you make him miss. But he’s awfully tough to defence because he’ll shoot from anywhere.” The teams were tied at 26 at the half before the Griffins created a five-point bulge eight minutes into the second frame. “Then we played great defence,” Fownes said. “That was probably our best defensive game all year.” Alex Steel paced Grant MacEwan with 23. Robbie Valpreda added 10. Jeff Lander led Lakeland with 19.
Following the season, Three Hills Prairie Bible College withdrew from the ACAC, opting instead for participation in the Alberta Christian Colleges Athletic League on the proposition that it was a better fit for the institution and its budget.
The bronze medalist Concordia Thunder: Daryl Balog; Keith Miller; Kris Raymond; Justin Kelly; Jordan Mottl; Aidan O’Connor; Michael Szynkowski; Paul Kuperus; Jason Smith; Adnan Hajdarevic; David Kavanagh; Trevor Dreger; Spencer Dorward; Mark Wallen; coach Brian Ross; assistant Travis Davson; assistant Omari Lewis; assistant Josh McJannet; assistant Dan Skeppler; trainer Raeann Lefebvre
The silver medalist Lakeland Rustlers: Mike Page; Jeff Lander; Jordan Cossette; Gilbert Madsen; Brayden Elliott; Chris King; Thomas Harington; Jonathon Albert; Shane Sobus; Frederick Leibel; Christopher Pereira; Aaron Amann; Brendan McKay; Trevor Assels; Scott McKinney; Adam Troitsky; Bradley Moskalyk; Chase Morley; coach Phillip Allen; assistant David Brooks; trainer Robert Prevost
The gold medalist Grant MacEwan Griffins: Robbie Valpreda; Alexander Steele; Anthony Lange; Jeff Stork; Jordan Fownes; Brendan Bjarnason; Alex Conrad; Nii Ayi Ayi; Cam Smith; Mike Gardiner; Douglas Bennett; Mathew Kallio; Thomas Butlin; Juma Ajala; Kurt Walford; J Babur; coach Darrell Cleave, assistant Mike Lecavalier; assistant Matthew Bogda; assistant Don Phillips