| (1) | Humber | 92 | ||||||
| (8) | St. Thomas | 51 | Humber | 57 | ||||
| (4) | Malaspina | 83 | Malaspina | 81 | Malaspina | 80 | ||
| (5) | Grant MacEwan | 64 | ||||||
| —–MALASPINA | ||||||||
| (3) | Douglas | 85 | ||||||
| (6) | Montmorency | 72 | Douglas | 84 | Douglas | 62 | ||
| (2) | Lethbridge CC | 81 | Lethbridge CC | 77 | ||||
| (7) | Briercrest Bible | 68 |
In the quarterfinals, held at Lethbridge CC, the top-seeded Humber Hawks, coached by Rick Dilena, whipped the Nova Scotia champ St. Thomas Tommies, coached by Dwight Dickinson, 92-51 as Steve McGregor scored 22. The Hawks took command with 16-0 and 10-0 runs in the first half and then opened the second with a 16-3 run. “We’ve played just about every type of team,” Hawks coach Rick Dilena told The Coven. “We didn’t think anything they could do would surprise us.”
The Malaspina University College Mariners, coached by Mark Simpson, dumped the Alberta runner-up Grant MacEwan Griffins, coached by Ken Larson, 83-64. Erick Johnson led the Mariners with 17. Billy Billman added 14, Gary Edgar 13, Rex McNally 12, Chris McClean 10 and Liam Sullivan 8. Mariners assistant Wayne Gauthier told the Nanaimo Daily News that “neither team could kick it in in the first half.” The Mariners had qualified for the draw by virtue of a “neighbouring province” clause, which granted a second berth to the province of the association hosting the tournament. Vern Gerhardt led the Griffins with 18.
The BC champ Douglas Royals, coached by Sean Beasley, defeated the Quebec champ Montmorency Les Nomades, coached by Guy Pariseau, 85-72. Onkar Hayre paced the Royals with 22. Didier Boucard paced Les Nomades with 18. David Brownrigg added 16.
In the last quarterfinal, the Alberta champ Lethbridge CC Kodiaks, coached by Jason Valgardson, thumped the Prairie Conference champ Briercrest Bible Clippers, coached by Stan Peters, 81-68. Spencer Holt paced the Kodiaks with 23. Alan Gibb added 15, Mike Hirsch 15 and Carlos Maffia 13, along with 11 boards. “Those guys are big game players,” said Kodiaks’ coach Jason Valgardson. “Carlos knows what it’s all about and he knows what to expect at a national tournament while Spencer’s just been so consistent. He’s done it all year for us.” Maffia said a good start was critical. “I really think the team was prepared but it’s always hard to play the first game at nationals, a lot of the guys were really nervous.” The Kodiaks took a big early lead but became “complacent,” Valgardson said. “We got a little flat and we lost our mental focus.” Briercrest closed to within 34-32 but a late 6-0 run gave the Kodiaks a 40-32 lead at the half. “That was the biggest point for us in the game,” Briercrest coach Stan Peters said. “At that point we stopped attacking and started to play tentative, and let them get the eight-point lead at the half.” The Kodiaks held the Clippers to six points in the first seven minutes of the second half as they stretched their lead to 57-38 and began emptying the bench. “We made some really good runs tonight. We looked great at limes, especially when we got the fast break going,” Valgardson said. Holt praised Maffia’s leadership. “Everyone looks up to him and he showed a lot of leadership out there, everyone looks to him and he sort of sets the tempo for us.” Stefan Da Silva led the Clippers with 19.
In the bronze quarterfinals, the Grant MacEwan Griffins dusted the St. Thomas Tommies 113-62 as Mark Humphrey scored 22 points and nabbed 11 boards. David Haley paced the Tommies with 21.
In the other bronze quarterfinal, the Montmorency Nomades whipped the Briercrest Bible Clippers 82-69 as Fritz Michel scored 20. Mark Neill led the Clippers with 25.
In the semis, the Malaspina Mariners crushed the top-seeded Humber Hawks 81-57. The Hawks led 27-25 at the half. Chris McClean led the Mariners with 23 points and 18 boards. Gary Edgar added 18, along with 8 assists, and Billy Billman 15. Steve McGregor led the Hawks with 17. The Mariners defensive pressure and speed befuddled the Hawks. Mariners assistant coach Tom Elwood, who was once an assistant with Humber, told The Coven “I know their stuff because I helped develop it and we do some of it here.” Elwood added that the Mariners were accustomed to playing five players for most of the game, rather than going into their bench. “We’ve played with these kind of numbers all year. It’s not a novelty for us. The emotion of the game feeds on itself and you start playing on adrenaline.” Hawks coach Rick Dilena said “I don’t think a team has played better against us. They had us figured out.” The Hawks, who’d won their previous 17 playoff games, were dumbfounded. “I’ve never had this feeling before,” said Hugh Riley. “I’m not used to losing.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Douglas Royals defeated the Lethbridge CC Kodiaks 84-77. The Royals led 39-35 at the half and 70-62 with five minutes to play. The Kodiaks responded with a 9-0 run but the Royals pulled out the win with clutch perimeter and free throw shooting and foul trouble for Lethbridge’s Spencer Holt and Mike Hirsche. “That was a very difficult ball game,” said Royals’ coach Sean Beasley. “They have a heck of a ball club. 1 thought our experience showed down the end.” Kodiaks coach Jason Valgardson said “the ball game was won or lost in about a minute down the stretched. Those were two tough ball clubs meeting each other, Douglas was a little bit better tonight. Chad Caldwell paced the Royals with 17. Scott Walton added 17 and Vern Knopp 13. Spencer Holt led the Kodiaks with 21. Allan Gibb added 19 and Carlos Maffia 18, along with 11 boards, and Mike Hirsch 12, along with 9 boards. Beasley said “we go 10 deep on any different night. It’s tough for other teams to prepare. We have so many alternatives. … What can you say about Carlos? He played excellent. I thought Mike played one of the best games he’s ever played.”
In the bronze semis, the Humber Hawks edged the Montmorency Nomades 66-58 after rallying from a 15-point second-half deficit. Dwayne Newman led the Hawks with 13. Didier Boucard led the Nomades with 19. The Hawks were listless, rallying only after coach Rick Dilena shifted them into a full-court press, which forced 26 turnovers.
In the other bronze semi, the Grant MacEwan Griffins clipped the Lethbridge CC Kodiaks 98-87. The Kodiaks led most of the match but faded down the stretch. Vern Gerhardt paced the Griffins with 23. Alan Gibb led the Kodiaks with 25. Carlos Maffia added 22 and Spencer Holt 17.
In the bronze medal match, the Grant McEwan Griffins clipped the Humber Hawks 75-64 as Mark Humphrey scored 19. Steve McGregor led the Hawks with 16. Hawks coach Rick Dilena told the Coven “there are some good teams out here. You gotta be lucky and you gotta be good and we just didn’t have enough of both.” The Griffins led by 10 early but Humber clawed to within 33-31 at the half. The Griffins rebuilt their lead to 10 in the second half and again, Humber rallied within 2 before tiring down the stretch. Dilena said “we’ve been on the good side for a while, and now I know how it feels on the other side.” Veteran Rich Saunders, pointing to his three championship rings, said “I think I’ve experienced something that a lot of guys would like to have experienced.”
In the final, the Malaspina Mariners dumped the Douglas Royals 80-62 to avenge a loss in the BC championship and give the province its first CCAA title. Tournament MVP Chris McClean scored 16 of his game-high 26 points in the first half as Malaspina raced to a 51-24 halftime advantage. McClean also gathered in 12 rebounds. “They were giving me lots of room beneath, and we did a good job of getting the feeds in,” said McClean, praising guards Liam Sullivan and Gary Edgar. “(Douglas) usually gave me lots of room, but before I couldn’t hit the shots.” Sullivan said “Chris was great. He had the hook going. All year, I don’t think we played as well as we could have, until we got here. We finally put it all together.” Gary Edgar added 16 points while Billy Billman scored 13 and Erik Johnson added 11. Scott Walton led Douglas with 14. Malaspina, with only eight players making the trip to nationals, shot 58% from the floor. “When we lost the B.C. final, I told the guys the sun doesn’t shine on the same dog’s butt every day,” said Mariner coach Mark Simpson. “We still had a chance at nationals. We practiced hard, played well when we got here, and before the game tonight, I said maybe it was time for the sun to shine on our butt.” The Mariners led 51-24 at the half as they blistered the nets. “I don’t know that it was our best half of basketball, but we made some shots,” said Simpson. “We made sonic unbelievable shots. But we were lucky, too. Our first shot of the game went off the side of the board for three points.” The teams were tied 5-5 early before Chris McClean sparked the Mariners to a 26-9 run and a 31-14 lead midway through the half. Sullivan said “I never expected this (easy win). They beat us three times this year. They played us tough, and they always seem to have a bit more composure. Rut I was glad to play them in the final. There’s no question we were the best two teams here.” Simpson said the television timeouts “helped us. We were able to maintain our focus, and rest some of our guys. It also stopped Douglas from getting any momentum.”
The all-tourney team featured: MVP Chris McClean (Malaspina); Gary Edgar (Malaspina); Vern Knopp (Douglas); Onkar Hayre (Douglas); Vern Gerhardt (Grant MacEwan); and Steve McGregor (Humber)
The bronze medalist Grant MacEwan Griffins: Kevin Moser; Darren Semeniuk; Mikel Schmidt; M. Humphrey; Vern Gerhardt; M. Smith; T. Rumpel; J. Beatty; R. Hines; R. Dunkley; D. Buss; Dave Newman; R. Popplestone; coach Ken Larson
The silver medalist Douglas Royals: Scott Walton; Vern Knopp; Tony Pomonis; Chad Caldwell; Onkar Hayre; coach Sean Beasley
The gold medalist Malaspina Mariners: Chris McClean; Gary Edgar; Billy Billman; Erik Johnson; Jason Koomen; Robin McNally; Curt Spaven; Liam Sullivan; Wendell Parke; coach Mark Simpson; assistant Tom Elwood; assistant Wayne Clouthier; athletic director Rick Bevis; sports information director Brent Dunlop