(1) Algonquin  80            
(8) Edouard Montpetit  53 Algonquin 76        
(4) Dawson  72 Dawson 85 Dawson 84    
(5) Humber  62            
              —–NORTHERN ALBERTA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY  
(2) N.A.I.T. 110            
(7) Thompson Rivers  86 N.A.I.T. 77 N.A.I.T. 85    
(3) Capilano  86 Capilano 70        
(6) St. Thomas  67            

        In the quarterfinals, the Capilano Blues defeated the St. Thomas Tommies 86-67 as Tim Pershick scored 22 and grabbed 11 boards. Chris Porteus scored 18, V. Vidic 17, Jordan Yu 14 and 7 assists, L. Hrdlicka 9, M. Milkovich 4 and Scott Lawson 2, while J. Walker, S. Fadi-Alla, M Wassenaar and S. Yang were scoreless. The Blues shot 34-74 (.459) from the floor, 8-30 (.267) from the arc and 10-18 (.556) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 23 assists, 11 turnovers and 14 steals. Steve Lawrence led St. Thomas with 18 points. David Robson added 12 and 13 boards, Andrew Robson 11, Jason Comer 8, Jason McAleenan 7 and 10 boards, Jordan Anderson 7, Barret Williams 3 and B. Tozer 1, while J. Crain, Scott Foster, J. Cann and C. Fudge were scoreless. The Tommies shot 24-56 (.429) from the floor, 6-18 (.333) from the arc, 13-22 (.591) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass 16 fouls, 11 assists, 22 turnovers and 6 steals. Capilano led 36-35 at the half.

        The NAIT Ookpiks defeated Thompson Rivers (then the Cariboo Sun Demons) 110-86 as Matt Burton scored 26, Nathaniel Schaefer 16, Loren Balon 16, Slav Kornik 11, Mark Dorado 11 and 9 boards, Steven Garrett 10, Sean Wragg 8, Leif Puffer 7, Jarett Gravelle 3, and Andrae Thomas 2, while Kyle Morrison, Shane Leman and John Pilz were scoreless. The Ooks shot 33-67 (.493) from the floor, 6-15 (.400) from the arc and 26-38 (.684) from the line, while collecting 48 boards, including 24 on the offensive glass, 22 fouls, 18 assists, 12 turnovers, 2 blocks and 15 steals. NAIT led 55-40 at the half. Robert Haugland paced Thompson Rivers with 22 points. Mike Statford added 21, Andrew Sexton 12, Joey Farebrother 9, Skye Buck 8, Jay Finstad 4, Sean Dusdal 4, Brent Traxel 3, John Turner 2 and Scott Marr 1, while Aaron Spohr, Dan Bouchard and Michael Veldhuisen were scoreless. The Sun Demons shot 31-57 (.544) from the floor, 3-9 from the arc, 15-28 (.536) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 4 assists, 23 turnovers, 4 blocks and 7 steals.

        The top-seeded Algonquin Thunder pounded the host and 8th-seeded Edouard-Montpetit Lynx 80-53. “We turned up the intensity in the second half and our press forced a lot of turnovers leading to easy layups,” said assistant coach Dino Pezoulas. Jonathan Bell scored 16 for the Thunder, Dale Swift 13, Angel Medina 11, Scott Lelievre 9, Geoff Eisenstat 6, Tyrone Baugh 6, Devin Taylor 5, Ryan Bennison 5, Justin Essert 4, Adam Eisenstat 2, Owen Dias 2, and Mark Newman 1, while Bennie Greene, Achuil Lual and Richard Groniger were scoreless. The Thunder shot 28-77 (.364) from the floor, 3-18 (.167) from the arc and 21-37 (.568) from the line, while garnering 63 boards, including 30 on the offensive glass, 14 fouls, 16 assists, 17 turnovers and 13 steals. Babou led Edouard-Montpetit with 12. Victor added 10, Bonhomme 8, Pierre 6, Simard 6, Maignan 4, Boursiquot 3, Lagredelle 2 and Forrest 2, while Bergeron and Kankolongo were scoreless. The Lynx shot 25-73 (.342) from the floor, 2-20 from the arc, 1-6 (.167) from the line, while garnering 45 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 26 fouls, 14 assists, 17 turnovers and 7 steals.

        In the last quarterfinal, the Dawson Blues thumped the Humber Hawks 72-62 as Claude Delmas scored 23. Mario Joseph added 22 and 15 boards, along with 16-17 from the line. Greg Noel scored 10, Vic Aujula 8, Doug McCooeye 6 and Ric Noel 3, while Vikram Bhardwaj, Maradona Cerisier, Omar El Turk, Luckern Dieu and Chris Saltibus were scoreless. The Blues shot 21-63 (.333) from the floor, 3-13 (.231) from the arc and 27-33 (.818) from the line, while garnering 56 boards, including 23 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 14 assists, 23 turnovers and 6 steals. The Blues bigger, quicker guards proved a mismatch for the Hawks. Aron Bariagiabre led Humber with 18 and was chosen Hawks player of the game. Jeremy Walters added 12, Ray Morgan 9, Dejvis Begaj 7, Tamique Young 6, Roger Scott 5, Neriya Tsur 3 and Justice Rathwell 2, while Tegel, Brad Archer, Stinson, Samson Downey and Andrew Thompson were scoreless. The Hawks shot 23-73 (.315) from the floor, 5-28 (.179) from the arc and 11-15 (.733) from the line while garnering 42 boards, including 20 on the offensive glass, 25 fouls, 11 assists, 15 turnovers and 7 steals.

        In the bronze quarterfinals, the St. Thomas Tommies nipped the Cariboo Sun Demons 75-74.

        In the other bronze quarterfinal, the Humber Hawks dumped the Edouard-Montpetit Lynx 74-59 as Dejvis Begaj scored 24 and nabbed 11 boards.

        In the semis, the Dawson Blues defeated the top-seeded Algonquin Thunder 85-76 as Vic Aujula scored 25, Claude Delmas 24, Greg Noel 12, Mario Joseph 12 and 9 boards, Doug McCooeye 8 and Omar El Turk 4, while Vikram Bhardway, Maradona Cerisier, McNabb, Luckern Dieu, Ric Noel, Chris Saltibus and Claude Delmas were scoreless. The Blues shot 31-69 from the floor, 6-18 from the arc and 17-23 from the line, while garnering 48 boards, 18 fouls, 18 assists, 25 turnovers and 14 steals. Jonathan Bell led Algonquin with 26 points. Ryan Bennison added 12 and 8 boards, Dale Swift 12, Scott Lelievre 12, Angela Medina 6, Adam Eisenstat 5, Geoff Eisenstat 2 and Tyrone Baugh 1, while Bennie Greene, Achuil Lual, Richard Groniger, Mark Newman, Devin Taylor, Owen Dias and Justin Essert were scoreless. The Thunder shot 28-68 from the floor, 5-32 from the arc and 15-22 from the line, while collecting 40 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 24 fouls, 16 assists, 18 turnovers and 11 steals. Dawson led 38-33 at the half. The Thunder rallied from an 11-point deficit midway through the second half to cut the lead to 78-76 on a three-pointer by Scott Lelievre with 48 seconds to go but the Blues iced it in the final on a three-pointer by Vic Aujula, a pair of free throws by Mario Joseph and a dunk by Claude Delmas. The Blues entered the contest with a ‘win-one-for-the-Gipper’ attitude because of the pending departure of coach Olga Hrycak. Although Hrycak has been a veritable institution in the Quebec CEGEP coaching ranks, having been at the helm of a CEGEP unit for the past 24 years, including the last 15 at Dawson College, she has never captured a national title. The popular Hrycak is leaving Dawson next season to assume the helm of the new men’s basketball program at the University of Quebec @ Montreal, which will be joining the Quebec University Basketball League next season.

        In the other semi, the NAIT Ookpiks defeated the Capilano Blues 77-70 as Sean Wragg scored 18 and grabbed 12 boards. Leif Puffer added 15 and 13 boards. Loren Balon scored 15 and 11 boards, Slav Kornik 12, Matt Burton 8, Mark Dorado 7 and Nathaniel Schaefer 2, while Kyle Morrison, Jaret Gravelle, Shane Leman, Steven Garrett, Andrae Thomas and John Pilz were scoreless. The Ooks shot 23-59 from the floor, 2-11 from the arc, 25-30 from the line, while garnering 62 boards, 14 fouls, 25 turnovers, 14 assists, 2 blocks and 5 steals. Tim Pershick led Capilano with 19 points. Chris Porteus added 16, Jordan Yu 11, Scott Lawson 9, L Hrdlicka 8, V Vidic 5 and S Fadi-Alla 2, while J Walker, M Wassennar, M Milkovich and S Yang were scoreless. The Blues shot 24-52 from the floor, 6-26 from the arc and 4-11 from the line, while collecting 39 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 23 fouls, 16 assists, 13 turnovers, 2 blocks and 13 steals.

        In the bronze semis, the Humber Hawks defeated the Capilano Blues 86-79 as Ray Morgan and Jeremy Walters each scored 25. Morgan drained 5 treys.

        In the other bronze semi, the Algonquin Thunder defeated the St. Thomas Tommies 74-65.

        In the bronze medal match, the Humber Hawks defeated the Algonquin Thunder 85-68 to avenge a loss in the OCAA finals. “We got a bit of revenge today,” Hawks coach Mike Katz, who was also named Canadian college coach of the year, told The Coven. “Without question, we proved that we were the number one ranked team in Ontario’.” Post Justice Rathwell said that winning bronze at nationals was a “bigger accomplishment” than winning the Ontario title. Jeremy ‘Worm’ Walters, who led the Hawks with 21, along with 8 boards and 6 assists, said “we wanted to come out and work real hard. Our shots were falling, so we just stayed in our system and we never went astray. At times, they were crumbling a little, so we added a little more pressure and we never game up once.” Rathwell said “when we run our game and execute, there is nothing out there that can stop us. Rookie swingman Aron Bariagiabre, who scored 20, said “we just wanted to come out and take it to them and that is what we did.” Katz said “once we lost the first game, (third place) was our next goal and we achieve it. So, I’m pretty happy.” Hawks forward Tamique Young said “I had so much fun this year, it’s unbelievable. I love this team. There are jokes every single day. Everybody laughs and it just brings everybody that much closer together.” Rookie Brad Archer said “great season. Best team I’ve ever played for and I wish I have a team like this one next year and for years to come.” Katz said “this team was not as talented, but as good defensively as I’ve ever had. It was a team I enjoyed coaching.”

        In the final, the NAIT Ookpiks nipped the Dawson Blues 85-84 on the strength of excellent free throw shooting in the final minutes of play. NAIT took a 41-32 lead the half and eventually hit 25-30 from the line. Dawson was 13-17 from the line. Dawson roared back in the second half but the Ooks held on for the win. Post Leif Puffer led the Ooks with 24 points and 12 boards. Nathaniel Schaefer added 16 points, Sean Wragg 11, Mark Dorado 9, Loren Balon 9, Matt Burton 8 and Slav Kornik 8, while Kyle Morrison, Jarett Gravelle, Shane Leman, Steven Garrett, Andrae Thomas and John Pilz were scoreless. The Ooks shot 28-55 (.509) from the floor, 4-12 from the arc and 25-30 (.833) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 12 assists, 23 turnovers and 6 steals. Rookie Claude Delmas, a 6-4 guard, scored 43 for Dawson, while hitting four from beyond the arc, 16-23 from the floor and 7-9 from the line. Mario Joseph added 12 and 11 boards, while Vic Aujula scored 10, Greg Noel 9, Doug McCooeye 4, Ric Noel 2, Maradona Cerisier 2 and Omar El Turk 2, while Vikram Bhardwaj, Luckern Dieu and Chris Saltibus were scoreless. The Blues shot 33-66 from the floor, 5-10 from the arc and 13-17 (.765) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 24 fouls, 16 assists, 15 turnovers and 14 steals. Despite the loss, coach Olga Hrycak congratulated her troops on a hard effort. They’d been hoping to give her a storybook ending to her college coaching career but it wasn’t meant to be, she said. “My guys had no more to give,” she told the Montreal Gazette. “They played their hearts out.” The Blues trailed by nine after a lacklustre first half in which they allowed the Ooks to shoot .591 from the field. But Hrycak fired up the troops in the locker room and they came out breathing fire, led by Delmas, who hit 4-6 from the arc and 10-15 from the floor in the second half. “Claude just decided to take over,” Hrycak said. But NAIT had an answer in Leif Puffer who scored five points in the final minute of play. Joseph had a chance to tie it at the buzzer but his three-pointer fell just short.

        The all-tourney team featured: MVP Slav Kornik (NAIT); Loren Balon (NAIT); Claude Delmas (Dawson); Tim Peshick (Capilano); Mario Joseph (Dawson); and Jeremy Walters (Humber)

        The 2nd-team featured: Jonathan Bell (Algonquin); Andrew Sexton (Cariboo); Pierre-Alexander Victor (Edouard-Montpetit); Dejvis Begaj (Humber); Andrew Robson (St. Thomas)

The bronze medalist Humber Hawks: Ray Morgan; Jeremy Walters; Dejvis Begaj; Tamique Young; Roger Scott; Neriya Tsur; Justice Rathwell; Tegel; Brad Archer; Stinson; Samson Downey; Andrew Thompson; coach Mike Katz; assistant Darrel Glenn

        The silver medalist Dawson Blues: Vikram Bhardwaj; Maradona Cereisier; Claude Delmas; Vic Aujula; Omar El Turk; Luckern Dieu; Doug McCooeye; Mario Joseph; Ric Noel, Greg Noel; Chris Saltibus; McNabb; coach Olga Hrycak, assistant Jay Prosper

        The gold medalist Northern Alberta Institute of Technology Ooks: Leif Puffer; Loren Balon; Slav Kornik; Nathaniel Scheafer; Mark Dorado; Matt Burton; Jarett Gravelle; Shane Leman; Sean Wragg; Steven Garrett; Andrae Thomas; John Pilz; Sean Newman; Kyle Morrison; coach Marc Dobell; assistant Jason Harke; assistant Chuma Nwobosi; assistant Phil Allen; manager Colleen Penman