Final regular season standings:
North (7): NAIT (22-2); Concordia (18-6); Red Deer (15-9); Augustana (11-3); Grant MacEwan (10-4); Grande Prairie (6-18); King’s (2-22)
South (6): Lethbridge (19-1); Mount Royal (16-4) SAIT (8-12); Medicine Hat (8-12); Prairie Bible (6-14); Briercrest (3-17)
Playoff non-qualifiers:
Briercrest Bible: Taylor Armstrong, Jon Thiessen, Adam Robinson, Josh Mawhorter, Garth Nakogee, Gary Riemer, Chad Romanuk, Josh Kasper, Jerry Wolverton, Andrew Hansen, Caleb Knott, Cody Lockhart
Grande Prairie: Jeff Serle, Andrew Schurman, Carlos Martinez, Eric Cable, Keffery Johnson, Dan Kinvig, Emmanuel Idonije, Jonathon Yuill, Nebraska Kosy, Will Young, Brock Tokar, Geoff Brown, Simon Wiedorkehr, Dustin Bowman
Grant MacEwan: Nathan Coughlin, Keith Miller, Alex Mahary, Daryl Balog, Jake Maslowski, David Brimacombe, Ryan Hareuther, Jordan Mottl, Mike Gardiner, Jordan Fownes, Sasa Livancic, Jordan Mador, Kreston Ferris, Cody Vemeylen
King’s University College: Shane Smith, Jeremy Horlings, David McKinnon, Rob deJong, Sam Gaugler, Jay Duke, Dallas Brown, Sean Briegal, Joel Kelly, Jason Reedyk, Jeff Falk, Josh Butknecht, Michael Devries, Paul Graff
Prairie Bible: Jeremy Odland, Chauncey Evans, Jared French, Darryl Babe, Matthew Dykstra, David Song, Jon Fry, Randy Stewart, Eric Nielson, Corey Weir, Alex Weatherbee, Tim Sesink
In the quarterfinals, NAIT defeated Medicine Hat 73-54; 77-62 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, NAIT whipped Medicine Hat 73-54. “They’re really good,” Rattlers coach Brendan Lally told the Medicine Hat News. “They’re ranked number one in the nation for a reason and deserve it.” …………………………………………………… In game two, the Ooks completed the series sweep with a 77-62 victory. The Rattlers included Scott Coulthard, Tico Iron Shirt, Kurt Schoendorfer, Sini Atoa, Adam Huffman, Cale Rasmussen, Mike Humphrey, James Ritchie, Dave Cunningham, Steve Christie, Ian Bloch-Hansen and Kevin Day.
Concordia defeated SAIT 82-58; 71-62 (2g-0). The Trojans (coached by Peter Sambu, assisted by Josh Hughes and trained by Dave Nelson) included Raju Koratana, Brendan Johnson, Mark Slade, Jeff Knoblauch, Sean Paterson, Oliver Sargeant, Tory Sealy, Mike Raimbault, Andrew Morris, Trevor Purnell, Neil McFarlane, Houston Foote, Chris Stoltz, Adam Lukomski, Aideen Zareh, Ian Spriggs, Shane Perriera, Almir Camdzic and Almir Cedmirz.
Lethbridge defeated Augustana 81-70; 72-70 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game two, the Kodiaks pulled out a sweep with a 72-70 win as Mike Bartos scored 16 and Adam Baker 13. Kodiaks coach Craig Anderson told the Endeavour that “you have to give Augustana full credit. They were phenomenal. They hit a shot. We hit a shot. It just went back and forth and this was as good as it gets. We were down five with minutes to play and we never panicked and we have never panicked all year.” The Kodiaks ripped off a late 8-0 run to take a 36-33 lead into the lockers. “You have to give Augustana full credit. … This was as good as it gets,” Anderson said. “Their big man. We weren’t able to stop him and as for Zenon, he showed why he is leading scorer in the North Division.” Anderson added that player of the game Baker “works his can off every night and tonight he hit some clutch shots for us.” The Vikings included Zenon Wiebe, Graeme Bollinger, Layne Anderson, Andrew Ignatiuk, Cody Lowry, Truman Soop, Kory Payne, Bruce Carbert, Kris Augustson, Darrel Barclay, Jordan Abel, Cam Omae, Mark Danderfer and Travis Wagner.
In the last quarterfinal, Mount Royal defeated Red Deer 109-98 (3ot); 78-74 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, Mount Royal prevailed 109-98 in triple overtime as Kevin Dela Pena scored 24, Jordan Sulkers 16, Neil Collier 15, Cameron Hall 12 and Josh Feist 10. Paul Rabel led the Kings with 28. Nathan Tratechaud added 15, along with 10 boards, Bob Schurman 15, Jesse Osterman 13 and Franklo Crnkovic 11. Kings coach Craig Behan told the Red Deer Advocate that “it was crazy. What more could anyone ask for in a playoff game. I’m certainly disappointed we lost but not in the way we played. … The guys were a big tight in the first half and we struggled offensively. We did a better job in the second half but we did miss a lot of free throws.” The game was tied at 27 at the half, at 69 after regulation, at 83 after the first overtime and at 91 after the second overtime. Cougar Jordan Sulkers hit a pair in the pain, two free throws and another bucket in the third extra session. Behan said “they executed a bit better than we did at the end. We tried everything to stop them inside but they did a good job when they had to.” Cougars coach Stephen Price said “a couple of our big guys got into foul trouble, so we had to take them out, which hurt.” Red Deer’s Nathan Tratechaud hit three free throws late to force the second overtime, and then two free throws with 48.5 seconds to play to force the third extra session. …………………………………………………… In game two, Kelly Lundgren forced Red Deer to keep collapsing on him in the blocks and kept kicking the ball out to perimeter shooters as the Cougars pulled out a win. Jordan Sulkers notched 21 and fellow freshman Josh Feist 16. “We’re well balanced, 10 or 11 guys with about the same skill,” said Lundgren. “So we don’t get all hung up with our playing time. Instead, we recognize we’re much better off getting everyone in and, then running the floor on other teams.” Nathan Tratechaud paced the Kings with 19. Jessie Osterman added 12, Mike Provo 11 and Franjo Crnkovic 10. The Kings also included Paul Rebel, Bob Schurman, Jeremy Smith, Mark Salveld, Sean Weins, Brian Hemstreet, Rick Feser, Chris Capicia, Henry Tighe, Paul Sommerville and Lee Sprunger. Kings coach Craig Behan told the Red Deer Advocate that “we didn’t play well in the first half and had a couple of letdowns at key times but overall, battled hard. Possibly our inexperience hurt a bit, as some of the guys were tight.”
In the Final Four semis, NAIT defeated Mount Royal 98-80 as reserve Slav Kornik came off the bench to scored 18 and dish 12 assists, while Mark Dorado came off bench to score 13 points and hand out 9 assists. NAIT took command when Ooks coach Marc Dobell put guards Slav Kornik and Mark Dorado, both 5-7, on the floor simultaneously in a bid to unsettle the slower Cougars. “I’ve always said we were a quick team,” Dobell noted. Loren Balon led NAIT with 24. Matt Burton added 13. Balon noted it was a rough game. “There was a lot of reaching.” Kelly Lundgren led the Cougars with 17. Josh Feist added 13, Cam Hall 10 and Jordan Sulkers 10.
In the other semi, Concordia dumped the regular season champion (19-1) Lethbridge Kodiaks 66-54 as Andrew Parker scored 18, Graeme Reid 12 and Jim Huffman 10. Mike Nieboer led Lethbridge with 20. Mike Bartos added 19. Concordia built a 31-28 lead at the half. “I think we fatigued them,” said Thunder coach Brian Ross. “Lethbridge had to work hard to get shots in the first half and there was probably a bit of an effect on them in the second.” Ross also said his team’s defence against Liav Peled was exceptional. “We had to know where he was all the time. The job wasn’t easy but we got it done.” Kodiak assistant Steve Buesink said “they made an early run in the second half and led by six or eight points
most of the way. We were never able to get over the hump. We had trouble scoring, and we didn’t make any stops at key times.”
In the bronze medal match, Lethbridge defeated Mount Royal 74-68 after leading 41-13 at the half. Liav Peled paced the Kodiaks with 15. Rob Stirling added 14 and Mike Nieboer 14. Neil Collier led the Cougars with 15. The Kodiaks ripped off a 20-0 run to break open a tight 13-11 affair. “The boys played holding on down the stretch as the Cougars exceptionally well all season but unfortunately we came up a little short but I’m proud of them,” Kodiak coach Craig Anderson. “They are a little disappointed they couldn’t get the gold but these things happen. Hopefully whoever takes over next year can take that extra step.” Anderson told the Endeavour that “the boys came out and they wanted to win as individuals and as a team, and fortunately we came out with the bronze.” Guard Rob Stirling said “we came out, we were really relaxed and we had an extraordinary first half. Everything was going our way. Our shots were falling and we were getting the bounces. … They came out fired up and they up-tempoed the game. We got complacent with our lead, but fortunately we kept our composure like we have all year, and we fought through for the win.” The Cougars rallied within three on pair of treys by Jon Walker with three minutes to play. But Mike Nieboer countered with a layup to ice the win. The Cougars also included Kelly Lundgren, Josh Feist, Jordan Sulkers, Cameron Hall, Kevin Dela Pena, Carson Powell, Jamie Brown, Kevin O’Reily, Jon Walker, Mike Simpson and Adam Fleming.
In the final, NAIT dumped Concordia 87-78 as Mark Dorado scored 10 and hands out 10 assists. He also hit a pair of free throws to give NAIT a 38-36 halftime lead. Post and player of the game Leif Puffer took control in the second half after picking up his third foul. He finished with 16 points, including 12 in the second half, and 13 rebounds. Puffer’s dominance and timely perimeter shooting by Slav Kornik turned the tide despite valiant effort by Concordia guard Joel Allen, who finished with 18 points. “No excuses,” Allen Said. They speeded up and we slowed down. You can’t win a game that way.” Graeme Reid added 14 for Concordia. Kornik added 18 for Alberta, Loren Balon 18, Nat Scheafer 17 and Mark Dorado 10. “I was due” Puffer said. “I hadn’t played well in the last little while, so it was about time that I stepped up a bit.” Puffer told The Nugget “I can’t feel any better than this.” Kornik said “it’s just awesome. We worked six months for this. Now we’re going to nationals.” Kornik said the Ooks were determined to avenge a regular season loss to the Thunder. “We didn’t forget that loss. We didn’t forget how they were celebrating against us when they beat us at our home court.” Ooks coach Mark Dobell said “man, I’m just so proud of my guys. All year long from September first until now, we’ve had a goal in our mind and haven’t lost focus. Tonight, we get rewarded for it – just a great feeling.”
After the season, ACAC men’s coach of the year Craig Anderson resigned at Lethbridge to become head coach of the University of Victoria Vikings.
The bronze medalist Lethbridge Kodiaks: Liav Peled; Mike Nieboer; Mike Bartos; Adam Baker; Amron Gwilliam; Trevor Vant’land; Dustin Francis; Colin Sheen; Brandon Yuill; Sterling Hamilton; Rob Stirling; Pipon Moose; Terreno Butler, Jon Hamilton,
The silver medalist Concordia Thunder: Graeme Reid; Joel Allen; David Valdervelde; Jim Huffman; Chris Wilson; Matthew Hamilton; Travis Dawson; Andrew Parker; Neuville Wright; Adrian Shirley; Paul Kuperus; Jason Harvey; Sultan Mir; Jon Overing; Jon Stobey; coach Chris Nicol
The gold medalist NAIT Ooks: Nathaniel Schaefer; Slav Kornik; Loren Balon; Matt Burton; Leif Puffer; Mark Dorado; Kyle Morrison; Jarett Gravelle; Shane Leman; Sean Wragg; Steven Garrett; Andrae Thomas; John Pilz, Sean Newman; coach Marc Dobell; assistant Jason Harke; assistant Chuma Nwobosi; manager Colleen Penman