| (3) | Sheridan | 95 | ||||||
| (6) | Assiniboine | 61 | Sheridan | 78 | ||||
| (2) | Dawson | 71 | Douglas | 68 | Sheridan | 55 | ||
| (7) | Douglas | 78 | ||||||
| —–SOUTHERN ALBERTA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY | ||||||||
| N.S. Teachers | 89 | |||||||
| Sask. Technical Institute | 92 | Sask. Tech. Inst. | 41 | S.A.I.T. | 76 | |||
| (1) | S.A.I.T. | 70 | S.A.I.T. | 108 | ||||
| (8) | Fraser Valley | 65 |
In the opening round, held at B.C.I.T., the 5th-seeded B.C. champion Douglas Royals, coached by Steve Beauchamp upset the 2nd-seeded Quebec champion Dawson Blues 78-71 in a wild contest marred by the ejection of Blues coach Varouj Gurunlian. Coach Gurunlian had berated referee Brian Gullekson late in the contest for the fifth foul called against Dawson star Dwight Walton, the second Blues starter to foul out of the game. Gurunlian was hit with a technical, prompting him to storm back to the bench and hurl a chair halfway across the court, a la infamous Indiana University coach Bobby Knight. Gullekson promptly countered with a second technical against Gurunlian, resulting in his automatic suspension from the game. Gurunlian was later suspended for the balance of the tourney by CCCA officials. Tournament director Duncan McCallum dubbed Gurunlian’s actions “inexcusable.” Douglas guard Steve Betts rallied his team from a 41-33 halftime deficit, although he hadn’t played in nearly two weeks because of a hamstring injury. Betts finished with 16 points, 6 assists and five steals, while Bill Matthews added 14 points. Dawson was paced by John Dexter 22 and Stanley Paul 15. Betts scored three field goals late in the game to turn the tide. He later noted “the rankings don’t really mean much. But maybe it helped us a little bit to be rated so low. We were really loose, but also determined not to give the game away.”
The Ontario champ Sheridan Bruins thrashed the Manitoba champ Assiniboine CC, coached by Bob Nevill, by a score of 95-61 as Martin Johnson scored 25 and Rudy Donick 19. Assiniboine was led by Ramond Branch’s 37 points.
The Prairie champ Saskatchewan Technical Institute Beavers, coached by Dan Andrie, defeated the Nova Scotia Teachers College Hawks, coached by Peter Caulfield, 92-89 as Todd Whitehead scored 20, Lorne Busse 14 and Grieg Schutt 14. The Hawks were led by Kent McLeod 30 and Kelly Rambeau 18.
The Alberta champ SAIT Trojans, coached by Phil Allen, defeated B.C. runner-up and host Fraser Valley College Cascades, coached by Brian Fichter, by a score of 70-65 as Trevor Hamilton scored 16 and Wayne Gray 15. The Cascades were led by Ace Brar 17 and Nelson Spring 12. Fichter told the Abbotsford News that “it was a tough loss. We let the big one get away.”
In the bronze quarterfinals, the Fraser Valley Cascades defeated the Nova Scotia Teachers College Hawks 88-71 as Steve Trask scored 21, Nelson Spring 16, Ace Brar 15 and Bob Fehr 12. Kent McLeod notched 5 for the Hawks.
In the other bronze quarterfinal, the Dawson Blues stomped the Assiniboine CC Cougars 109-67. Ray Branch paced the Cougars with 21.
In the semis, the Sheridan Bruins defeated the Douglas Royals 78-68 after taking an 11-2 lead and keeping control through entire contest. Sheridan led 41-27 at the half. “They didn’t play 40 minutes, did they,” said Sheridan coach Wayne Allison. “I thought if we played well enough we’d beat them by about 10-14 points and if we didn’t it would be a dogfight.” Douglas coach Steve Beauchamp noted that “it almost seemed as if our guys were happy with yesterday’s win over Dawson College. They were riding on that and when you spot a team like Sheridan 10 or 15 points, it’s pretty hard to come back.” Sheridan was led by Hardley Scott 23, Eugene McCarthy 19 and Martin Johnson 15. Douglas was paced by Brent Henderson 15 and Bill Matthews 13.
In the other semi, the S.A.I.T. Trojans pasted the Saskatchewan Technical Institute Beavers 108-49 after taking a 52-20 lead at the half. S.A.I.T. was led by Ted Leslie 21, Wayne Gray 16 and Mark Holland 15. Curt Lorge led the Beavers with 10.
In the bronze semi, the Dawson Blues whipped the Saskatchewan Technical Institute Beavers 103-80.
In the other bronze semi, the Douglas Royals nipped the Fraser Valley Cascades 61-60. Steve Trask led the Cascades with 13. Phillip-Stewart added 11. The Cascades included Ace Brar, Nelson Spring, Bob Fehr, Wiebe.
In the bronze medal match, the Dawson Blues edged the Douglas Royals 91-86.
In the final, the S.A.I.T. Trojans avenged their 1985 title loss by defeating the Sheridan Bruins 76-55 as tourney MVP Wayne Gray scored 19 and Trevor Hamilton 22. Sheridan was led by Martin Johnson 17 and Hardley Scott 12. Sheridan coach Wayne Allison couldn’t understand why the team played so poorly. “It was strange; things that we had done well up to that point just left us. We didn’t shoot well, we couldn’t rebound and our pressure defence was terrible. I really can’t explain it. It was just one of those things. They did play a very strong game and they were ready for us. We played them last year and beat them badly in the finals. This year, it was their turn.” Sheridan players got into trouble early in the match, finding themselves down by five points at the end of the first quarter. Things got worse, with Southern Alberta pulling ahead by nine points with just three minutes to go in the first half and then finding themselves up by 13 points at the end of the half. Sheridan tried a small comeback early in the second half but then fell back again and couldn’t recover. “Our shooting percentage was just lousy; it was around 30 per cent. And we were very poor on the foul line and they were hot. It was really very disappointing to have come that far and to do that poorly.” Having to defend the title may have put added pressure on the team, Allison added. “There was a lot of pressure on us to repeat as Canadian champs and that may have had an effect. But I really don’t want to use that as an excuse; we just came up with a bad game. We can’t be too upset, because we did have such a good year. We had a very strong team and the players should be proud of their efforts.”
The all-tourney team featured: MVP Wayne Gray (S.A.I.T.); Ted Leslie (S.A.I.T.); Ray Branch (Assiniboine); Eugene McCarthy (Sheridan); Martin Johnson (Sheridan); and Astley Smith (Dawson)
The bronze medalist Dawson Blues: Dwight Walton; Astley Smith; John Dexter; Stanley Paul; Michael Smith; Alan Cox; Stan Paul; coach Varouj Gurunlian
The silver medalist Sheridan Bruins: Martin Johnson; Eugene McCarthy; Hardley Scott; Bruce Nelson; Rudy Donick; Lyndon Lowe; Lyndon Ricketts; Dwight Laughton; Hugh Anderson; Rohan Stephens; Wayne Ferguson; Jamie McIntyre; Mike Codner; coach Wayne Allison
The gold medalist Southern Alberta Institute of Technology Trojans: Wayne Gray; Ted Leslie; Kev Pettigrew; Trevor Hamilton; Mark Holland; Tim McLenahan; Lawrence Makortoff; Steve Hope; Dan Hamilton; Rae Fehr; Kris Moore; George Likoudis; Kevin Cornils; Paul Blaskovits; Brian Masikewich; Bill Guevin; coach Phillip Allen; assistant Jamie Thomas; assistant Avery Harrison; manager Pat Kornak
After the campaign, the Manitoba CAA became a CCAA member in abeyance. At that time, funding for intercollegiate athletics was withdrawn by the individual colleges and Manitoba was sanctioned by being refused entry into the national playoffs.