| (1) | Humber | 94 | ||||||
| (4) | Montmorency | 102 | Montmorency | 77 | Humber | 87 | ||
| (5) | N.S. Agricultural | 66 | ||||||
| —–HUMBER | ||||||||
| (2) | Langara | 90 | Langara | 81 | ||||
| (3) | S.A.I.T. | 63 | S.A.I.T. | 82 | ||||
| (6) | Mt. St. Vincent | 59 |
In the quarterfinals, held at Truro’s N.S. Agricultural College, the 4th-seeded Montmorency Nomades defeated the 5th-seeded host Rams, coached by Dean Schofield and Ben Robichaud, 102-66.
In the other quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded SAIT Trojans nipped the 6th-seeded Mount St. Vincent Mystics 63-59. Mystics coach Rick Plato described the loss as “brutal.” The Mystics trailed by a point with 28 seconds to play but missed a defensive board on a SAIT free throw, allowing the Trojans to get a putback bucket for a win. “Our biggest problem was that our shooting was disastrous,” said Plato. “They didn’t beat us. We beat ourselves.” The Mount missed 33-52 field goals and shot 15-28 from the line, while committing 15 turnovers. SAIT led 30-28 at the half. Paul Bromby led the Mystics with 17. Craig Miller added 15 and Todd Hirtle 11.
In the semis, the 2nd-seeded Langara Falcons defeated the 3rd-seeded SAIT Trojans 90-72 as all-Canadian Louis Johnson scored 36, Tony Poole 23 and Navi Sekhon 17. Tyson Libbert paced SAIT with 19. The Trojans had led by 10 after 10 minutes of play but the Falcons stormed back and quickly took command.
In the other semi, the Humber Hawks crushed the Montmorency Nomades 84-77 as Steve McGregor scored 33 and earned player of the game laurels. Didier Boucard led the Nomades with 21. Bobby Miller added 21.
In the bronze medal match, the Montmorency Nomades defeated the SAIT Trojans 88-82. Montmorency took a 43-39 lead at the half and never trailed. Lyle Bruno led SAIT, coached by Phil Allen, with 23.
In the final, the Humber Hawks defeated the Langara Falcons 87-81 to capture their fourth national title in five campaigns. Tournament MVP Steve McGregor paced the Hawks with 21. Jason Daley added 17. The Falcons were led by Simon Orr-Ewing’s 23 points and 17 rebounds. Hawks coach Mike Katz told The Coven that it was “one of the two greatest games I’ve ever coached in my life.” McGregor said “our team came together at the right time. This is not a one-man team. It’s just a team.” Daley said This is what we worked all year for. From six months, we were sweating, getting injuries. This the top – number one.” Warrick Manners aid “It feels very nice considering we were supposed to win last year but we had a really bad game. To win it this year, it’s a lot better because I felt more a part of the team. I played more and I wasn’t a rookie.” The Falcons led 28-18 in the first half but the Hawks retained their poise. “Everyone was confident that we were going to win because we’ve been number one all year,” said Manners. “I think we took the game for granted for a while, and we realized later on that we had to play to win. That’s when we pulled it together.” The Hawks began attacking the boards more aggressively, started hitting perimeter jumpers and playing better defence in transition. The score was knotted at 78 with less than two minutes to play but the Hawks prevailed down the stretch on the free-throw shooting of O’Neil Henry and Dwayne Newman.
The all-tourney team featured: MVP Steve McGregor (Humber); Simon Orr-Ewing (Langara); Louis Johnson (Langara); Tyson Lybbert (S.A.I.T.); Jason Daley (Humber); and Didier Bouchard (Montmorency)
The bronze medalist Montmorency Nomades: David Brownrigg; Marc-Leonce Volcy; Felix Desjardins; Paul Stephens; Alexandre Bougaieff; Bobby Miller; Anderson Pierre; Didier Boucard; coach Guy Pariseau
The silver medalist Langara Falcons: Simon Orr-Ewing; Louis Johnson; Tony Poole; Navi Sekhon; coach Kevin Hanson
The gold medalist Humber Hawks: Steve McGregor; Jason Daley; Everton Webb; Dennis Barham; Oniel Henry; Ken Prentice; Warrick Manners; Henry Garbrah; Mark Croft; Kevin Shand; Steve Nelson; Dwayne Newman; coach Mike Katz; assistant Rick Dilena