| (1) | Champlain-St. Lambert | 83 | ||||||
| (8) | Thompson Rivers | 75 | Champlain-St. Lambert | 64 | ||||
| (4) | Fanshawe | 49 | St. Thomas | 63 | St. Thomas | 81 | ||
| (5) | St. Thomas | 58 | ||||||
| —–FRASER VALLEY | ||||||||
| (2) | N.A.I.T. | 110 | ||||||
| (7) | Vanier | 105 | N.A.I.T. | 80 | Fraser Valley | 88 | ||
| (3) | Fraser Valley | 78 | Fraser Valley | 93 | ||||
| (6) | Sheridan | 62 |
In the quarterfinals, the 5th-seeded St. Thomas Tommies, making their fifth straight national appearance, defeated the 4th-seeded Fanshawe Falcons 58-49. The Tommies withstood a furious Fanshawe comeback in the second half. They’d guilt a 35-16 lead at the break with their ball-control offence and disciplined defence. The Falcons rallied to within 50-49 with 30 seconds to play but a critical block by Tommie all-Canadian forward David Robson turned the tide as the St. Thomas squad wrapped up the victory on the foul line with Steve Lawrence going 6-for-6 from the line in the final minute. Fanshawe rallied despite losing Chad Lofthouse and Kyle Wilkinson to fouls in the third guard and despite a leg injury to Andrew Jones that had kept the point guard on the bench for a quarter. Steve Lawrence and Andrew Robson each scored 15 for the Tommies. Lawrence was 11-12 from the line, while Robson was 6-13 from the floor and grabbed 7 boards. David Robson scored 10 on 4-8 from the floor and seven boards. Jason Comer scored 8 on 4-4 from the floor. Jordan Al-Assadi added 6, while Chester Eatmon notched 4 off the bench. Allison MacKay, Barrett Williams, Brent Sokoloski and Alex Doley were scoreless. The Tommies shot 19-40 (.475) from the floor, 4-12 from the arc and 16-22 from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 5 on the offensive glass, 14 fouls, 10 assists, 27 turnovers, 4 blocks and 10 steals. Falcon player of the game Adrian Pytka led the Falcons with 15 points on 4-10 from the arc (including a trio in the second half), 3-4 from the line, 5 boards and 4 steals. Andrew Jones scored 14 on 4-14 from the floor and five boards. Tony McAleese scored 8 on 4-14 from the floor, while James Falconer scored 6 and Chad Lofthouse 2. Damian Costello, Kyle Wilkinson and Bryan Colbridge each added 2 off the bench, while Stephan Chan, Adam Stacey and Jason Van Looy were scoreless. The Falcons shot 19-62 (.306) from the floor, 8-25 (.320) from the arc and 3-10 from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 23 fouls, 9 assists, 20 turnovers, 1 block and 13 steals.
The 2nd-seeded NAIT Ooks defeated the 7th-seeded Vanier Cheetahs 110-105 in overtime. The Cheetahs played catch-up the whole game against the defending national champs but forced overtime when Gambian forward Jerreh Saidybah swished a 35-foot trey with four seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 95-95. NAIT had been nursing a nine-point lead in the final two minutes, but inconsistency from the foul-line down the stretch allowed Vanier to claw their way back point by point. For Vanier, the necessity to take late fouls also led to an increasing war of attrition as two players fouled out in the final two minutes and two more in the overtime when all-Canadian forward Loren Balon scored six points for NAIT, four of them from the line, while Jason Damery had five points. Jason Damery and Loren Balon each scored 30 for the Ooks. Damery was 11-17 from the floor, 8-12 from the line and grabbed 5 boards. Balon was 10-12 from the floor, 10-16 from the line and grabbed 12 boards. Slav Kornik scored 13 on 6-10 from the floor, John Pilz 6 on 3-4 from the floor and Nathaniel Schaefer 3. Sean Wragg added 15 off the bench on 6-13 from the floor and 6 boards, while Mark Dorado scored 11 on 11-15 from the line. Shane Leman scored 2, while Jim Huffman was scoreless. The Ooks shot 37-65 (.569) from the floor, 0-5 from the arc and 36-59 (.610) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 23 fouls, 21 assists, 18 turnovers, 5 blocks and 13 steals, including a trio apiece by Schaefer, Kornik and Damery. Dwayne Buckley led Vanier with 26 on 8-17 from the floor, 8-11 from the line and 11 boards. Jerreh Saidybah added 25 on 8-15 from the floor, 8-11 from the line and 13 boards. Paget Berridge scored 15 on 6-18 from the floor, Damian Buckley 10 on 4-7 from the floor and 5 boards, while Mark D’Agostino notched 1. Adrian Sapp scored 14 off the bench on 5-9 from the floor. Colson Senat added 7, James Lee 4 and Mathieu Lord 2, while Patrice Noel was scoreless. The Cheetahs shot 37-81 (.457) from the floor, 6-18 from the arc and 25-35 (.714) from the line, while garnering 48 boards, including 20 on the offensive glass, 34 fouls, 11 assists, 25 turnovers, 4 blocks and 7 steals.
The top-seeded Champlain-St. Lambert Cavaliers nipped the host and 8th-seeded Thompson Rivers (then the Cariboo Sun Demons) 83-75. The Cavaliers jumped out to a sizeable early lead as Maurice Joseph swished three treys in the opening five minutes, and though Cavaliers were never headed, they did see a game opponent battle back to close to within six, keyed by the work of all-Canadian guard Skye Buck, who had two last minute treys. The Cavaliers led 45-32 at the half. Negus McKenna led St-Lambert with 28 points on 8-11 from the floor, 10-10 from the line, 13 boards and 4 assists. Maurice Joseph added 22 on 8-18 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc and 3 boards. M. Paulhus-Gosselin scored 10 on 5-9 from the floor and 7 boards. Oliver Lamoureaux scored 6 and Junior Nicolas 3. Pierre Cespedes added 8 off the bench, while B. Visotzky-Bernier scored 6 and Philippe LeTourneau was scoreless. The Cavaliers shot 28-56 (.500) from the floor, 8-18 (.444) from the arc and 19-26 (.731) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 12 assists, 19 turnovers, 3 blocks and 11 steals, including 3 by Visotzky-Bernier. Skye Buck led Thompson Rivers with 25 on 6-17 from the floor, 4-10 from the arc and 9-9 from the line, while grabbing 5 boards. Jeff Friesen added 18 on 7-9 from the floor, 4-5 from the line and 5 boards. Sean Garvey scored 12 on 5-12 from the floor, 5 boards and 5 assists. Robert Haugland scored 9 on 4-5 from the floor and Brent Traxel 4, while grabbing 4 boards. Michael Veldhuisen notched 4 off the bench, while Jeff Serle scored 2 and Jon Turner 1. The Sun Demons shot 27-58 (.466) from the floor, 4-15 (.267) from the arc and 17-20 (.850) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 9 assists, 18 turnovers and 6 steals.
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Fraser Valley Cascades defeated the 6th-seeded Sheridan Bruins 78-62. It wasn’t pretty, but Cascades led essentially from start to finish in a full-contact affair. The Cascades led 33-27 at the half, after jumping out to a big early lead, with Sheridan lacking one prominent scorer to take charge and close up the deficit. U.S. recruit Lee Jackson from Olympia, Washington scored 17 for the Cascades on 7-9 from the floor and 5 boards. Jeff O’Brien added 17 off the bench on 5-5 from the floor and 7-8 from the line. Jason Reeve scored 13 on 5-9 from the floor. Jamie Vaughn scored 6 on 2-7 from the floor and 7 boards. Mike McLaverty scored 4 and grabbed 12 boards, while Kevin Dieleman scored 3. BCCAA playoff MVP Mark Turner added 15 off the bench on 5-10 from the floor and 3-5 from the line. Brad Van Dolah scored 2 and Brian Smith 1, while Brent Sedo was scoreless. The Cascades shot 26-49 (.531) from the floor, 2-8 from the arc and 24-37 (.649) from the line, while garnering 50 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 25 fouls, 19 assists, 31 turnovers, 3 blocks and 6 steals. Bashir Musse and Kevin Dennis each scored 11 for Sheridan. Musse was 5-9 from the floor. Conference scoring champ and first-team all-star Dennis was 4-16 from the floor and grabbed 5 boards. Louis Moore scored 9 on 4-8 from the floor, Wayne Jones 7 on 2-10 from the floor and Geoff Proctor 3, while grabbing 8 boards. Dwight Taylor added 10 off the bench on 5-9 from the floor. Andrew Foster scored 6, Omar Henry 4 and Jerome Robinson 1, while Maurice Smith, Sean Douglas and Leroy Bascombe were scoreless. The Bruins shot 25-75 (.333) from the floor, 2-12 (.167) from the arc and 10-24 (.417) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 30 fouls, 17 assists, 19 turnovers, 1 block and 14 steals, including 4 by Moore.
In the bronze quarterfinals, the 8th-seeded Thompson Rivers Wolfpack clipped the 4th-seeded Fanshawe Falcons 82-66.
In the other bronze quarterfinal, the 6th-seeded Sheridan Bruins dumped the 7th-seeded Vanier Cheetahs 72-66.
In the semis, the 5th-seeded St. Thomas Tommies nipped the top-seeded Champlain-St. Lambert Cavaliers 64-63 on a pair of free throws by guard Jordan Al-Assadi in the final two seconds of play. The Tommies rallied from a seemingly insurmountable 44-34 Cavaliers lead at the half. They never quit, never got rattled and waiting patiently for their breaks, finally getting a major one in the third quarter when the Cavaliers went scoreless, while the Tommies rattled off a 13-0 run. The final 15 minutes were a see-saw nailbiter. In the final seconds, Cavalier star Negus McKenna took an inadvertent foul diving for a loose ball off a Tommie shot and colliding with Tommie guard Jordan Al-Assadi. In the bonus, Al-Assadi went to the line needing both foul shots to win and Champlain coach John Dangelas called a pair of timeouts after he tied the score on the first foul, trying to ice the little Tommie guard who had just two points until he went to the line. Tommie teammate Jason Comer wrapped an arm around Al-Assadi as encouragement for the final foul-shot, then Al-Assadi swished the winner and the underdog Tommies were in near tears as they reached the national finals. Champlain were clearly dominant in the first half as great team speed and leaping ability saw them seemingly score at will, especially all-Canadian guard Pierre Cespedes who canned three treys in the second quarter, swishing from 35-feet or even in the face of tight checks. Jason Comer paced St. Thomas with 23 points on 10-15 from the floor and 7 boards. Steve Lawrence added 18 on 4-6 from the floor, 9-10 from the line and 7 boards. David Robson notched 11 on 4-10 from the floor and 4 boards. Andrew Robson scored 6 and Jordan Al-Assadi 2. Chester Eatmon scored 2 off the bench, while Allison MacKay, Barrett Williams and Brent Sokolski were scoreless. The Tommies shot 23-43 (.535) from the floor, 2-5 from the arc and 16-21 (.762) from the line, while garnering 27 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 12 fouls, 12 assists, 21 turnovers, 1 block and 9 steals, including 3 by Robson. Negus McKenna scored 19 for Champlain on 9-12 from the floor, 7 boards and 3 steals and 3 kangaroo blocks. Pierre Cespedes added 18 on 6-17 from the floor, 4-5 from the arc and 7 assists. Maurice Joseph notched 15 on 4-13 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 3 steals. M. Paulhus-Gosselin scored 2, while Oliver Lamoureaux was scoreless. Philippe Letourneau added 4 off the bench, while Junior Nicolas scored 3 and B. Visotzky-Bernier 2. Champlain shot 24-52 (.462) from the floor, 8-15 (.533) from the arc and 7-8 (.875) from the line, while garnering 20 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 11 assists, 17 turnovers, 4 steals and 9 blocks.
In the other semi, the 3rd-seeded Fraser Valley Cascades defeated the 2nd-seeded NAIT Ookpiks 93-80. The first half was a battle in the trenches. The Cascades contested every inside basket with swarms of two and three defenders, led by 6’6” Mike McLaverty, who combined a deft basketball touch with a football body and mentality to intimidate at both ends of the court and a sizzling shooting display from the perimeter by BCCAA playoff MVP Mark Turner, especially in the third quarter. All the contact and in your face defence seemed to rattle the highly experienced NAIT shooters in the first half. NAIT was also without all-Canadian forward Loren Balon, an all-purpose leader who sat most of the first half after taking three early fouls. After leading 21-10 after a quarter and 39-22 at the half the Cascades seemed to put a lock on the outcome midway in the third-quarter when Mark Jackson scored three treys and 11 points in a span of three minutes, mixing them up from all quadrants of the court, even including an acrobatic base-line drive in traffic for two. BCCAA MVP Mark Turner paced Fraser Valley with 27 points off the bench on 9-19 from the floor, 5-7 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. He scored 12 in the third-quarter splurge. Player of the game Jamie Vaughn scored 23 on 9-16 from the floor, 5-6 from the line and 7 boards. Mike McLaverty scored 18 on 6-12 from the floor, 5-7 from the line and 6 boards. Lee Jackson scored 4, while Kevin Dieleman notched 1. Jeff O’Brien added 8 off the bench, while Brad Van Dolah scored 6, Jason Reeve 3 and Brent Sedo 3, while Brian Smith was scoreless. The Cascades shot 33-69 (.478) from the floor, 8-15 (.533) from the arc and 19-28 (.679) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 26 fouls, 27 assists, 18 turnovers and 11 steals, including 3 by Vaughn. Jason Damery led NAIT with 27 points on 9-18 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 6-11 from the line and 7 boards. 2003 nationals MVP Slav Kornik added 16 on 5-11 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 4-6 from the line and 4 boards. Loren Balon scored 9 on 4-6 from the floor before fouling out. Nathaniel Schaefer and John Pilz each scored 4, with Pilz grabbing 5 boards and Schaefer dishing out 4 assists. Mark Dorado added 9 off the bench on 7-7 from the line and 4 assists. Sean Wragg scored 9 on 3-6 from the floor and 4 assists. Kyle Morrison scored 2, while Shane Leman and Jim Huffman were scoreless. The Ooks shot 27-60 (.450) from the floor, 5-20 from the arc and 21-32 (.656) from the line, while garnering 33 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 15 assists, 21 turnovers, 3 blocks and 6 steals.
In the bronze semis, the 6th-seeded Sheridan Bruins crushed the top-seeded Champlain-St. Lambert Cavaliers 78-49.
In the other bronze semi, the 8th-seeded Thompson Rivers Wolfpack stunned the 2nd-seeded NAIT Ookpiks 84-73.
In the bronze medal match, the 8th-seeded Thompson Rivers Wolfpack edged the 6th-seeded Sheridan Bruins 83-82 in overtime.
In the final, the Fraser Valley Cascades defeated the St. Thomas Tommies 88-81. Depth proved the difference as the Cascades dominated the third quarter and took command by 20 early in the final frame. Although the Tommies scored 37 in the final frame, they never seriously threatened. Tournament MVP Jamie Vaughn scored 11 of his 19 points in the second half to ensure the win. The Tommies had battled back from a 14-5 deficit to start the game and led late in the first half 36-32, before Mark Turner and Brad Van Dolah popped a pair of treys that propelled the Cascades to a 40-38 lead at the half that was never relinquished. Fraser Valley held a clear advantage in shooting percentage from the field, 3-point line and the free throw line. Fraser Valley came out flying early in the second and built a 20-point lead with 8 minutes to play. But St Thomas refused to quit and got back in the game behind the shooting touch of Steve Lawrence. Fraser Valley coach Pat Lee told the Abbotsford News that “every single kid played their best when it counted most. … Without (James McLaverty) on the floor, we’re a different team. He’s the anchor of our defence and made sure nobody got any easy baskets.” McLaverty said “it was up and down this year and we’re a young tema. But we managed to click at the right time. … Pat’s a great coach. He’s not afraid to change things if they’re not working.” St. Thomas coach Dwight Dickenson was elated with the medal, the highest finish ever for the Tommies. “I think the players had a lot more heart. There was a lot more team chemistry this year and that speaks well. The results that we got were through the character of the players.” Lawrence said “it was all about our defence. In the championship game, the two best defensive teams were there and we pride ourselves on that. That is how we got there.” Dickenson said Comer “played the tournament of his life.” The Tommies fell behind 14-4 early but went on a 10-0 to tie it with 13:25 remaining, thanks to four points from Andrew Robson and buckets from Anderson, David Robson and Lawrence. The teams played even up the rest of the half, with the Tommies taking a 36-32 lead on Lawrence’s jumper with 2:16 left before the Cascades finished on an 8-2 to lead 40-38 at the break. The Cascades opened the second half on a 22-6 run to lead 62-44 with 9:28 remaining. “It means a lot to me and I hope it means a lot to the university that we are able to take the young men out and accomplish such a great feat in Canada,” said Dickinson. “We were the surprise of the tournament. The spectators, the committee and the other coaches were all commenting on the way we play the game, the team concepts that we use. They said it so difficult to beat us because of how we play our defence. People are bummed out about not winning gold. But we are not bummed out in a bad way, maybe a greedy way. Silver is excellent. We are so happy with it. No team in Atlantic Canada has done that and we are so pleased.” Jamie Vaughn led Fraser Valley with 19 points on 5-9 from the floor, 9-13 from the line and 10 boards. Mike McLaverty added 17 points on 7-10 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 10 boards and 5 assists. Lee Jackson scored 15 on 6-9 from the floor and 3-6 from the line. Jason Reeve scored 14 on 8-10 from the line and 7 boards, while Kevin Dielman scored 2. Mark Turner added 12 off the bench on 4-11 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Brad Van Dolah scored 5 and Jeff O’Brien 4, while Brent Sedo was scoreless. The Cascades shot 30-53 (.566) from the floor, 3-8 (.375) from the arc and 25-35 (.714) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 27 fouls, 17 assists, 22 turnovers, 1 block and 6 steals. Jason Comer led St. Thomas with 20 points on 8-12 from the floor, 4-8 from the line and 9 boards. Steve Lawrence added 16 on 4-10 from the floor, 6-7 from the line and 4 steals. Jordan Al-Assadi scored 15 on 6-11 from the floor, David Robson 12 on 5-14 from the floor and 9 boards, and Andrew Robson 8 on 2-10 from the floor and 5 boards. Brent Sokolski scored 6 off the bench, while Barrett Williams and Alex Doley each scored 2, while Chester Eatmon and Bruce Colwell were scoreless. The Tommies shot 29-66 (.439) from the floor, 4-16 from the arc and 19-32 (.594) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 25 fouls, 12 assists, 14 turnovers, 2 blocks and 23 steals, including 4 by Lawrence and 3 by David Robson.
The all-tourney team featured: MVP Jamie Vaughn (Fraser Valley); Mike McLaverty (Fraser Valley); Mark Turner (Fraser Valley); Jason Comer (St. Thomas); Steve Lawrence (St. Thomas); and Skye Buck (Cariboo)
The second team featured: Slav Kornik (NAIT); Maurice Joseph (Champlain-St Lambert); Sean Garvey (Cariboo); Bashir Musse (Sheridan); and David Robson (St. Thomas)
The bronze medalist Thompson Rivers Sun Demons: Skye Buck; Sean Garvey; Michael Veldhuisen; Jeff Friesen; Brent Traxel; Adam Barker; Jon Turner; Robert Haugland; Braedon Jones; Jeff Serle; Gabe Bergen; coach Nevin Gleddie; assistant Will Smith; assistant Scott Marr; trainer Bree-Anne Mailloux
The silver medalist St. Thomas Tommies: Steve Lawrence; Jordan Al-Assadi; Andrew Robson; Jason Comer; David Robson; Allison MacKay; Chester Eatmon; Barret Williams; Brent Sokoloski; Alex Doley; Bruce Colwell; coach Dwight Dickinson
The gold medalist Fraser Valley Cascades: Jamie Vaughn; Mike McLaverty; Mark Turner; Jeff O’Brien; Lee Jackson; Jason Reeve; Brent Sedo; Matt Francisco; Kevin Dieleman; Brand Van Dolah; Brian Smith; Ed Lefurgy; Paul Morris; Kyle Graves; Lloyd Green; coach Pat Lee; assistant Tom Antil; assistant Devin Reeve; manager Jason Prince; trainer Mike Lee; athletic director Mark Kosak