Final regular season standings (9): SAIT (14-2); Lethbridge (13-3); Grant MacEwan (11-5); Grande Prairie (10-6); Medicine Hat (8-8); Mount Royal (6-10); Red Deer (4-12); Camrose (4-12); NAIT (2-14)
Playoff non-qualifiers:
Camrose: Guy Pallister, Brent Brady,
Medicine Hat: Dan Tudor, Todd Heggie, Robert Blais, Ian McDonald, Dean Harrison, Read Kalinka, Ron Davies, Scott Shren, Brad McKenzie, Kent Krikke, Jason Beamish, coach Mike Havey
Mount Royal: Bruce Crowle, Byron Moore, Kurt Pederson, coach Donavan Martin
NAIT Ookpiks: Lyndon Campbell, Moe Amery, Clayton Manhurst, Les Cselinary, Sandy Malhi, Rob Hansuk, Clive Williams, Cary Stalker, Mike Powell, Norm Barthel, Sean Henry, Chris Mantley, Steve Thompson, Neil Williams, John Tran, Modey Amery, coach Mark Bosworth, assistant Darren Aughtry
Red Deer Kings: Dan Vanhooren, Gareth Joels, Dan Schiltroth, Bern Ettinger, Steve Snyder, Shane DeZutter, Jim Struthers, Dan Strand, coach Bill Holdern
In the semis, the SAIT Trojans defeated the Grande Prairie Wolves 99-96; 95-74. …………………………………………………… In game one, John Fry scored 30 to lead the Trojans to a 99-96 victory. Vaughan Mueller led the Wolves with 16. Rob Wild added 15 and Len Schultz 15. …………………………………………………… In game two, John Fry scored 22 to lead SAIT to a 95-74 win. The Trojans led 42-40 at the half. Jason Fry led the Wolves with 22. Vaughan Mueller added 17. The Wolves (coached by Kelly Ohlhauser) also included J.P. Martin, Todd Dalke, Rob Wild, Len Schultz, Dan Brown, Keith Hempe. SAIT assistant Donald Sims told the Grande Prairie Herald Tribune that “our guys did what was asked of them.” Wolves coach Kelly Ohlhauser said “we’ve had a good seasons but it’s bitterly disappointing to lose, knowing you didn’t play your best.” After the series, Trojans coach Phil Allen was suspended for three games by the ACAC, while assistant Gerard Brand resigned rather than receiving a suspension, having become embroiled in an altercation with referee Dale King. During the incident, Brand had apparently shoved (fan?/Grande Prairie administrator?) Jennifer Henriksen into a wall. At halftime, Allen had claimed that SAIT was being “hosed” by the referees. Allen and King had become embroiled in a shouting match. Brand stepped in and slammed King into the lockers (according to the Herald Tribune). Henriksen told Brand to control himself. Brand grabbed her and told her to “shut the fuck up.” He then began shouting at spectators.
In the other semi, the Lethbridge Kodiaks defeated the Grant MacEwan Griffins 64-62; 84-75 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, Lethbridge prevailed 64-62. “This first game is a major hurdle,” said guard Rob Kruger. “It sets the tone for the rest of the series. We know what we can expect tomorrow. They’re a tough team. They play with a lot of heart.” The Kodiaks pulled out the win on the perimeter shooting of Kruger, Jason Valgardson and Andre Costa. “Our big guys aren’t sealing well, but I guess that could be the fault of the guards, too,” said Kruger. “We’re not getting the ball into them at the right place at the right time.” Kruger and Valgardson each scored 16 to lead the Kodiaks. Joe de Wit led Grant MacEwan with 23. Chris Neureuter added 15. Neureuter had a chance to tie the score when he was fouled in the act of shooting with two seconds remaining. But he missed both free throws and a putback rebound attempt by De Wit bounced off the rim. The Kodiaks built an early 21-9 lead but the Griffins rallied within 29-27 at the half. Kruger hit a pair of treys to give Lethbridge a 61-54 lead with 2:08 to play. But the Griffins rallied to within 63-62 with 23 seconds to go. Kruger’s free throw on an intentional foul gave the Kodiaks a two-point lead, but a charging call against the Kodiaks gave the ball back to MacEwan with four seconds remaining. They were unable to get off a good shot. “Defensively we were pretty good tonight, but we were standing around on offence a bit,” said Kruger. …………………………………………………… In game two, Lethbridge completed the sweep with an 84-75 win. The first half featured six lead changes as the Kodiaks built a 51-44 lead on a late trey by Robert Kruger. But the Kodiaks went ice cold for the first 12 minutes of the second half, scoring only periodically from the free throw line. Neither team had more than a three-point lead in the second half with six more lead changes and another six ties. Kodiak forward Jason Valgardson tied the game at 75-75 with 1:30 remaining and teammate Andre Costa went to the foul line seconds later after a steal and made both shots for a 77-75 lead. After Valgardson hit another shot with 22 seconds remaining, the Kodiaks iced the win on two free throws by Bob Quinton and a trey by Costa. Griffins’ coach Ken Larson, in protest of the officiating, pulled his team with Quinton on the line. Kodiak coach Tim Tollestrup said “we just got the breaks at the end and we were able to finish off well. … That’s one thing we’ve done against this team is having cold spurts, we end up with people standing around and taking tough shots.” Kruger paced the Kodiaks with 12. Valgardson added 18, Costa 15 and Quinton 11. Gavin Williamson and Chris Neureuter each notched 16 to pace the Griffins. Tollestrup said “Bob Quinton had a good weekend for us. When he’s active there’s not a better player at the forward spot when it comes to rebounding.” The Griffins also included Joe Dewit, Christopher Neureuter.In the final, the SAIT Trojans defeated the Lethbridge Kodiaks 97-94; 77-84; 91-81 (2g-1).
In game one, John Fry scored 23 to pace SAIT to a 97-94 win. “If we hadn’t had so many defensive lapses, we could have won the game,” said Kodiaks coach Tim Tollestrup. Sevan Hoekridge led the Kodiaks with 15. Jason Valgardson added 14 and Robert Kruger 14.
In game two, Lethbridge prevailed 84-77 as Andre Costa scored 20, Rob Kruger 15, Jason Valgardson 15 and Bevan Hockridge 13. The Kodiaks hit 58% from the field, while the Trojans hit 60% and led 44-40 at the half. Kodiaks coach Tim Tollestrup told the Endeavour that “we played good defence.” Pete Wright led the Trojans with 19. Dean Williams added 18 and John Fry 14. The Trojans led by as many as seven and by 44-40 at the half. “We realized our offence was a little shaky in the first half so we told the guys to get a better grip on the ball and wait a couple seconds longer before moving it,” said Kodiaks assistant coach Barry Mehew. The Kodiaks knotted the score at 57 on a pair of free throws by Bob Quinton. “The guys know defence wins the game,” said Mehew. “And the defence has to stay constant because the offence isn’t always 100 percent.” Jeff Steven came off the bench to give the Kodiaks their first lead with 11:35 to play, while Bruce Orr and Wes Herbert came off the bench to dominate the boards. “In the first half we did a good job of keeping Lethbridge off the boards and in the second half they pounded the boards and took it to us,” said Trojan interim coach Donald Sims. The Kodiaks extended their lead to eight but a Peter Wright trey in the final minute cut the margin to 79-75 before Jason Valgardson dropped in a baseline layup and hit a foul shot for the three-point play to put the game out of reach. “Offensively we stayed with one (offence) that gives us a lot of motion and we threw it at them in the second half and it generated a lot of offence for us,” said Mehew. The Trojans shot 42.4% from the floor and 45.4% from the arc. Peter Wright led the Trojans with 19. Dean Williams added 18 and John Fry 14.
In game three, Peter Wright scored 24, John Fry 21, James Clark 17, Donald John 13 and Stan Krawiec 6 to lead host SAIT to a 91-81 win. Jason Valgardson paced the Kodiaks with 20, Dewey Roland 16, Rob Kruger 13, Wes Herbert 8 and Bob Quinton 8. Kodiaks coach Tim Tollestrup told the Endeavour that “we played an impressive first half, good nip-and-tuck basketball.” The Kodiaks took a seven-point lead in the second half. “We thought we could build on this lead and hopefully go on and win but that was unfortunately in vain,” said Tollestrup. Kodiak Bevan Hockridge said the squad panicked against full-court pressure, while Andre Costa noted “they have a really good press. Their offence was very fast. We tried to make things happen fast but just couldn’t score.” Lethbridge guard Wes Herbert added that “we played well but had a mental lapse. They controlled the pace of the game.” The Kodiaks had led by 12 in the second half but Wright hit three consecutive treys and shut down Kodiak point guard Andre Costa, holding him to seven points. “Other than a few defensive lapses in the second half we played a strong game,” said Tollestrup. SAIT’s halfcourt traps undid the Kodiaks. The Trojans captured the crown despite having had coach Phil Allen suspended midway through the season for an altercation with a referee.
The silver medalist Lethbridge Kodiaks: Andre Costa; Jason Valgardson; Bruce Orr; Rob Kruger; Bevan Hockridge; Jeff Stevenson, Dewey Roland; Wes Herbert; Bob Quinton; coach Tim Tollestrup
The gold medalist SAIT Trojans: John Fry; Peter Wright; James Clarke; Donald Johns; Deshawn Holliman; Dean Williams; Stan Krawiec; coach Donald Sims; assistant Rick Pease
After the season, Mark Hogan is appointed coach of the Mount Royal Cougars. He earned Manitoba community college coach of the years honors in 1983 and was once selected Manitoba rural high school coach of the year.
Tim Tollestrup steps aside at Lethbridge to focus on his athletic director duties and is replaced by women’s coach John Jasiukiewicz.