Final regular season standings:
North (8): NAIT (18-2); Lakeland (17-3); MacEwan (10-10); Concordia (10-10); Keyano (7-13); Augustana (4-16); Grande Prairie (3-17); King’s (0-20)
South (6): Lethbridge (17-1); Mount Royal (15-3); SAIT (10-8); Briercrest (9-9); Red Deer (8-10); Medicine Hat (6-12)
Playoff non-qualifiers:
Augustana: David Shantz, Taylor Foreman, Shayn Bruney, Simon Irving, Tony Nguyen, Michael Swampy, David Ness, Lee Danderfer, David Chytracek, Lee Martin, Joe Knight, Larry McEwen, Adam Lehners, Landon Vaneck, Logan Gray, Kurt Stangl
Briercrest: Christian Sacoman, Matt Dombowsky, Travis Krahn, Gianni Iradukunda, Hudson Isaak, Justin Wolverton, Matt Myers, Brody Wasmann, Gradyn Childerhose, James Wohlgeshaffen, Brandon Friesen
Concordia: Andrew MacDonald, Jeremy Barrows, Serge Kasinyabo, Rob Haack, Nathaniel Wojcicki, Brett Melnick, Mitch Jones, Reid Fralick, Mat Jones, Dallas Wright, Alex Butts, Milos Prijovic, Ethan Sir, Mike Vanson, coach Paul Sir
Grande Prairie: Josh Nicol, Ben Studen, Durayale Alo, Mike Brodie, Keffery Johnson, Logan Boehmer, Ky Wyllie, Dan Atwell, Travis Hunt, Andrew Burston, Clinton Johnson, Nigel Ottley, Devin Woodland, Tervil Brown, Tisaine Brown, Oswald Black
King’s University College: Henk Akkerman, Ben Battjes, Matt Price, Shawn Owen, Dillon Knoll, Sander Lekas, Mackenzie Andrews Stobat, Jarred Wenzel, Tyler Fournier, Evan Skutle, Anthony Skepple, Craig Batterham, Damian Yeboah, Dustin Drolet
Medicine Hat: Colby Bliss, Connor Hall, Tyler Courtney, Tyler Pierce, Justin Lee, Stew Moffat, Derek Tymchyna, Nairen Duncan, Nathan Printz, Kevin Larson, David Kohler, Jamar Coke, Nathan Yule
In the quarterfinals, NAIT defeated Keyano 95-74; 95-79 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, NAIT thrashed Keyano 95-74 as Clayton Crelin scored 21, Gerard Mozwa 21, Bol Kong 11, Shane Reece 10, Shane Cox 9, Reece Gavin 8, Roderick Iyekekpolor 4, Bruno Silvestrin 4, Nick Cupelli 3, Spencer Campbell 2 and Jawaun States 2. Demaine Nelson paced Keyano with 27, along with 17 boards. Louis Barham added 15, Calvin Christensen 11, Lance Wesolowski 8, Jesse Brave Rock 7 and Charles Leeson 6, while Cameron Smith was scoreless. …………………………………………………… In game two, NAIT completed the sweep with a 95-79 win as Gerard Mozwa scored 22, Bol Kong 21, along with 22 boards, Shane Cox 14, Corey Saban 12, Bruno Silvestrin 11, Jawauwn States 9, along with 10 boards, and Reece Gavin 6, while Spencer Campbell, Shane Reece, Roderick Iyekekpolor, Kevin Dia, Nick Cupelli, Clayton Crellin, Mitchell Troock, Daniel Perepeluk, Jahmol Samuels, Chris Neptune, Kadeem Scott, Clayton Bennett, Cyril Ashworth and Jesse Denscombe were scoreless. Demaine Nelson paced Keyano with 20, along with 14 boards. Charles Leeson added 16, Louis Barham 15, Jesse Brave Rock 10, Lance Wesolowski 8, Cameron Smith 7 and Calvin Christensen 3, while Paul Chou, Matt Burton, Saleem Farhat, Setitun Olawuyi and Corwin Benjamin were scoreless. The Huskies also included Moe Hamid.
Mount Royal defeated Grant MacEwan 89-73; 76-78; 87-70 (2g-1). …………………………………………………… In game one, the Mount Royal Cougars prevailed 89-73 as Cam Dodd scored 22, Oluwafemi Ogun 18, Jordan Hone 11, Ian Tomaszewski 10, Trent Offereins 9, Awet Abraha 5, Jerome Makasiar 4, Nick Loewen 2, Nick Wiebe 2 and Kyle Wilson 2, while Chase Rickaby was scoreless. Andrew Bates paced MacEwan with 29. Markus Shafer added 10, Aubrey Chalmers 9, Jeff Sampson 8, Mitch Lonsberry 7 and Jonathan Galan 2, while Adam Boyd, Jordan Elgert, Ryan May, Sheldon McKinney, Tommy Watson and Brett Whervin were scoreless. …………………………………………………… In game two, the Griffins evened the series by nipping Mount Royal 78-76 as Sheldon McKinney scored 24, Andrew Bates 23, along with 11 boards, Markus Shafer 12, Aubrey Chalmers 7, Mitch Lonsberry 3, Jeff Sampson 3, Gavin Bradley 2, Tommy Watson 2 and Brett Whervin 2, while Adam Boyd, Johnathan Galan, and Ryan May were scoreless. Cam Dodd paced Mount Royal with 14. Nick Loewen added 22, Jordan Hone 10, Ian Tomaszewski 8, Nick Wiebe 8, Oluwafemi Ogun 8, Awet Abraha 6, Trent Offereins 6 and Chase Rickaby 5, while Jerome Makasiar, Steve Trinidad and Kyle Wilson were scoreless. …………………………………………………… In the decisive game three, Mount Royal took the series with an 87-70 win. Cam Dodd and Ian Tomaszewski each scored 15 to pace Mount Royal. Nick Loewen added 14, Trent Offereins 11, Oluwafemi Ogun 11, Nick Wiebe 9, Jordan Hone 6, Awet Abraha 4 and Jerome Makasiar 2, while Chase Rickaby and Kyle Wilson were scoreless. Markus Shafer paced Grant MacEwan with 17. Andrew Bates added 15, Jeff Sampson 8, Sheldon McKinney 7, Adam Boyd 4, Aubrey Chalmers 3, Jonathan Galan 3, Mitch Lonsberry 2 and Brett Whervin 1, while Gavin Bradley, Tyrell Curtis, Ryan May, J.J. Russell and Tommy Watson were scoreless. The Griffins also included Donald Prensolo, Adam Boyd, Lindsey Hobson and Jeff Sampson.
Lakeland defeated SAIT 92-87; 85-80 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, the host Lakeland Rustlers edged the SAIT Trojans 92-87 despite training for most of the affair. “In the playoffs, against a team of this caliber, you’ve got to keep it up, and they put the clamps on us in the second half,” said fourth-year SAIT coach Mike Stevens. “Our advantage in the second half has been in the paint, and they outscored us 52-42 in the paint. They also outscored us 18-12 on second-chance points, and outscored our bench 35-30. Those are all categories that, in the second half, we’ve had a lot of success with. Tonight, we didn’t. But we’ve got to forget about this one and move on.” The Rustlers were coached by former SAIT coach Peter Sambu. The Trojans led 26-21 after one quarter, 51-49 at the half. But Lakeland rallied and then withstood a late 9-0 SAIT run. “At the end of the day, I thought the guys fought hard. But we lacked execution at some key junctures. We didn’t come up with the key play we needed at the key moment. That’s playoff basketball, you know? It can change on one possession,” said Stevens. Marcus McKnee paced Lakeland with 21. Adrian Curtis added 17, Doug Charlesworth 13, Chris Muir 10, Dominque Brown 9, Roshean Keen 8, Jordan Wynter 8 and Justin Bakuteka 6, while Jordan Ottaway was scoreless. Scott Peris paced SAIT with 18. Caleb Dowdy added 14, Josh White 11, Gabriel Diggs 11, Fabian Gordon 9, Aloysius Callaghan 9, Lanny McHugh 8, Zach McKee 5 and Martin Martyniak 2, while Addison Gough and Levi Lapierre were scoreless. …………………………………………………… In game two, Lakeland completed the series sweep with an 85-80 win. “We’ve talked about details, or what players tend to refer to as ‘little things’,” said Trojans coach Mike Stevens. “And that’s what cost us all year. Time and time again, we’ve talked about how we can hit the big shots, and this series was no different. But when it came down to making the little play, the simple play, we faltered. The key was in things like rebounding. We lost that one, 43-22. And we turned the ball over 25 times. Those turnovers were based on poor decisions. We were trying to make 30-foot passes with extreme pressure, getting cute and not making the simple plays.” The Trojans led 27-24 after the first quarter but trailed 43-42 at the half, then 62-60 after three quarters. The Rustlers stretched their lead to 10 points in the waning minutes but SAIT cut the lead to 83-80 with a minute left, before turning the ball over on their last gasp. Adrian Curtis paced the Rustlers with 19. Marcus McKnee added 17, Doug Charlesworth 16, Dominque Brown 14, Roshean Keen 9, Jordan Wynter 6, Colin LaPlante 3 and Chris Muir 1. Scott Peris paced the Trojans with 19. Aloysius Callaghan added 17, Lanny McHugh 10, Caleb Dowdy 7, Zach McKee 7, Fabian Gordon 6, Josh White 6, Addison Gough 4, Gabriel Diggs 2 and Martin Martyniak 2, while Levi Lapierre was scoreless. The Trojans also included Jamil Pierre, Sean Landry, Shawn Elliott and Ibrahim Aden.
In the last quarterfinal, Lethbridge defeated Red Deer 90-66; 91-64 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, Lethbridge clocked Red Deer 90-66 as Morgan Duce scored 29, Dom Coward 19, along with 18 boards, Jordan Reiter 14, Logan Reiter 12, Josh Watson 8, Spencer Wenzel 6 and Scott Bogdan 2, while Dallon Martin, Deng Awak, Alexi Frigon and Chris Thomson were scoreless. Richard Wells paced Red Deer with 22. Jason Lowe added 11, Adam Shaw 11, Jordan Stevens 8, Jacob Cusumano 6, Eric Bakker 4 and Kendell Boese 4, while Kyle Devine, Tyler Flaherty and Lloyd Strickland were scoreless. Kings coach Stef Labrecque told the Red Deer Advocate that “it’s like we were a bunch of deer jumping in the headlights. We were just all over the place. We didn’t play with a lot of composure and we struggled a lot in the first half. And then they got up and just put it in cruise control and we just couldn’t fight back to narrow the gap.” …………………………………………………… In game two, Lethbridge completed the sweep by dusting Red Deer 91-64. Jordan Reiter paced Lethbridge with 21. Dom Coward added 20, Josh Watson 13, Morgan Duce 11, Logan Reiter 9, Spencer Wenzel 7, Dallon Martin 5, Chris Thomson 3 and Alexi Frigon 2, while Deng Awak was scoreless. Richard Wells paced Red Deer with 22. Kendell Boese added 10, Jordan Stevens 10, Eric Bakker 9, Jason Lowe 9, Tyler Flaherty 2 and Adam Shaw 2, while Pedro Porto Alegre, Jacob Cusumano, Kyle Devine, Adam Glover and Lloyd Strickland were scoreless. The Kings also included Eric Dortman and Stason Golden. Kings coach Stef Labrecque told the Red Deer Advocate that “it just wasn’t meant to be. We just couldn’t find a key for the door. … We didn’t shoot the ball well – 33% from two and 26% from three. We just couldn’t develop any kind of rhythm. It was like there was saran wrap on the ball. It was tough. But they’re a good team.”
In the final four semis, NAIT defeated the Mount Royal Cougars 95-82. The Ooks led 22-18 after one quarter and then Bol Kong took control as NAIT extended its lead to 45-34 at the half and 63-58 after three quarters. Kong was chosen player of the game for NAIT, while Cam Dodd earned the laurels for Mount Royal. Bol Kong paced NAIT with 27. Clayton Crellin added 17, Shane Reece 16, Gerard Mozwa 11, Shane Cox 10, Reece Gavin 10 and Jawauwn States 4, while Corey Saban, Bruno Silvestrin, Roderick Iyekekpolor, Kevin Dia, Spencer Campbell, Nick Dupelli, Jahmol Samuels, Chris Neptune, Kadeem Scott, Clayon Bennett, Cyril Ashworth and Jesse Denscombe were scoreless. Cam Dodd led the Cougars with 24. Jordan Hone added 15, Jared Cornish 12, Ian Tomaszewski 10, Oluwafemi Ogun 8, Trent Offereins 6, Nick Loewen 5 and Awet Abraha 2 while Nick Wiebe, Jerome Makasiar and Kyle Wilson were scoreless.
In the other semi, the Lethbridge Kodiaks edged the Lakeland Rustlers 87-80 after leading 25-22, 51-39 and 68-55 at the quarters. Logan Reiter paced the Kodiaks with 20. Dom Coward added 18, Morgan Duce 18, Jordan Reiter 11, Josh Watson 10, Dallon Martin 4, Scott Bogdan 4 and Spencer Wenzel 2, while Rob Findlay and Alexi Frigon were scoreless. Adrian Curtis and Marcus McKnee each scored 16 to lead Lakeland. Dominque Brown added 11, Roshean Keen 11, Doug Charlesworth 9, Jordan Wynter 7, Justin Bakuteka 6 and Colin LaPlante 2, while Chris Muir and Jordan Ottaway were scoreless.
In the bronze medal match, the Mount Royal Cougars dumped the Lakeland Rustlers 91-81. Lakeland led 21-17 after one quarter. Mount Royal led 41-39 at the half. Lakeland led 60-58 after three quarters. Jordan Hone paced Mount Royal with 22 on 9-17 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 7 boards and 4 assists. Awet Abraha added 15 on 4-7 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc and 5-6 from the line. Oluwafemi Ogun notched 9 on 4-6 from the floor, 1-6 from the line and 5 boards. Jared Cornish scored 8 on 4-8 from the floor and 2 boards. Kyle Wilson added 6 on 1-4 from the floor, 4-4 from the line and 2 boards. Nick Wiebe scored 7 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. Trent Offereins notched 6 on 2-8 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-3 from the line, 3 boards and 3 assists. Ian Tomaszewski scored 5 on 2-2 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 2 assists. Nick Loewen scored 5 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 4 boards and 2 blocks. Cam Dodd scored 5 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 2 boards. Chase Rickaby notched 3 on 1-2 from the floor and 2 boards, while Jerome Makasiar was scoreless. The Cougars hit 34-77 (.442) from the floor, 6-13 (.462) from the arc and 17-28 (.607) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 9 turnovers, 4 blocks, 12 steals and 17 fouls. Dominque Brown paced Lakeland with 21 on 8-21 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 3 boards. Chris Muir added 14 on 6-7 from the floor, 2-3 from the line and 9 boards. Adrian Curtis scored 10 on 3-10 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Marcus McNee scored 10 on 2-11 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 6-9 from the line, 6 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Doug Charlesworth notched 9 on 3-8 from the arc. Roshean Keen added 6 on 2-7 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 12 boards and 3 blocks. Justin Bakuteka added 5 on 1-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 4 assists. Jordan Wynter scored 4 on 1-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 9 boards and 2 assists. Colin LaPlante added 2, while Jordan Rose was scoreless. The Rustlers hit 27-76 (.355) from the floor, 9-29 (.310) from the arc and 18-24 (.750) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 23 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 20 turnovers, 5 blocks, 8 steals and 19 fouls. The Rustlers also included Christian Harris, Daniel Faloon, Jordan Ottoway, Garrin Bulani and Nathan Loney.
In the final, the NAIT Ooks thrashed the Lethbridge Kodiaks 93-66. Bol Kong hit a pair of treys in the first quarter as NAIT built a 34-16 lead. The Ooks led 47-31 at the half after dominating the boards and then coasted to the win. “Our job is not finished,” said Ooks coach Don Phillips. “I’ve said all year that our biggest enemy is ourselves. When we’re serious, we can score against anyone and defend against anyone. At our best, I believe we are one of the best teams in the nation.” Lethbridge coach Mike Hanson said “we led the league in scoring and we were the best on defence. But we didn’t show up ready for this game. … We didn’t run as much as we can.” Shane Cox paced NAIT with 22 on 9-19 from the floor, 2-10 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Bol Kong added 19 on 7-11 from the floor, 5-9 from the arc, 0-1 from the line, 10 boards and 4 assists. Shane Reece added 15 on 6-14 from the floor, 3-8 from the line and 12 boards. Gerard Mozwa scored 12 on 5-15 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 5 boards and 4 assists. Corey Saban notched 9 on 3-7 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Reece Gavin added 6 on 3-3 from the floor, 2 boards and 2 assists. Jawauwn States cored 6 on 2-8 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 7 boards and 2 assists. Clayton Crellin added 2, along with 4 boards and 2 assists, and Roderick Iyekekpolor 2, while Kevin Dia, Spencer Campbell, Nick Cupelli, Bruno Silvestrin, Mitchell Troock, Jahmol Samuels, Chris Neptune, Kadeem Scott, Clayon Bennett, Cyril Ashworth and Jesse Denscombe were scoreless. The Ooks hit 36-83 (.433) from the floor, 9-30 (.300) from the arc and 12-22 (.545) from the line, while garnering 52 boards, including 25 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 12 steals, 15 turnovers, 2 blocks and 19 fouls. Jordan Reiter paced Lethbridge with 15 on 5-11 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 5 boards. Logan Reiter added 12 on 5-13 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 8 boards. Dom Coward added 11 on 4-15 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 3-6 from the line, 8 boards and 2 assists. Morgan Duce scored 9 on 3-10 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 2 boards. Spencer Wenzel added 8 on 4-6 from the floor and 0-2 from the line. Josh Watson added 4, along with 2 boards, Scott Bogdan 4, along with 3 boards, Alexi Frigon 2 and Dallon Martin 1, while Rob Findlay, Chris Thomson, Andre Moliterno and Deng Awak were scoreless. The Kodiaks hit 25-65 (.384) from the floor, 4-20 (.200) from the arc and 12-20 (.600) from the line, while garnering 33 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 7 assists, 7 steals, 19 turnovers, 1 block and 18 fouls.
In April, Grant MacEwan College names former Alberta Golden Bears assistant Pete Guarasci as their new head coach. MacEwan is one of several Western Canada colleges that are rumoured to be seeking CIS membership for basketball in the coming years. Originally from Niagara Falls A.N. Myer, Guarasci is a long-time member of Canada’s national team and played numerous professional seasons all over Europe as a 6’9” forward. Guarasci played several years on the National team.
The bronze medalist Mount Royal Cougars: Cam Dodd; Ian Tomaszewski; Nick Loewen; Trent Offereins; Oluwafemi Ogun; Nick Wiebe; Jordan Hone; Awet Abraha; Jerome Makasiar; Chase Rickaby; Kyle Wilson; Jared Cornish; Will Tallman; Dave Ferdinand; Steve Trinidad; coach Marc Dobell; assistant Tyler McVicar; assistant Peter James; assistant Craig Jantzen; assistant Richard Foggo; strength and conditioning coach Hidesh Bhardwaj; athletic therapist Jeff Roy; athletic director Karla Karch
The silver medalist Lethbridge Kodiaks: Morgan Duce; Dom Coward; Jordan Reiter; Logan Reiter; Josh Watson; Spencer Wenzel; Scott Bogdan; Dallon Martin; Deng Awak; Alexi Frigon; Chris Thomson; Rob Findlay; Andre Moliterno; Kevin Bond; coach Mike Hansen; athletic director Bill Dean
The gold medalist NAIT Ooks: Gerard Mozwa; Bol Kong; Shane Cox; Corey Saban; Bruno Silvestrin; Jawauwn States; Reece Gavin; Spencer Campbell; Shane Reece; Roderick Iyekekpolor; Kevin Dia; Nick Cupelli; Clayton Bennett; Clayton Crellin; Mitchell Troock; Daniel Perepeluk; Jahmol Samuels; Chris Neptune; Kadeem Scott; Cyril Ashworth; Jesse Denscombe; Kadeem Scott; coach Don Phillips; assistant Jeremy Posteraro; athletic director Linda Henderson