Final regular season standings (4): University of Winnipeg College (9-3); Providence University College (8-4); Canadian Mennonite University (5-7); Red River College (2-10)
In the semis, the 4th-seeded Red River Rebels stunned the top-seeded University of Winnipeg College Wesmen 65-61 after leading 15-13, 34-30 and 51-41 at the quarters. The Rebels had started their season with 16 players but were reduced to 11 after ineligibilities and injuries plagued their team, the MCAC reported. But in January they returned Gliff Macalua, Taylor Brown and Ivan Griffiths, which solidified their leadership, said coach Scott Kirkpatrick. “Those three are all leaders, and they lead in different ways…but we lost all three of them to injury over the past six weeks. So we’ve had a real tough time being one unit and getting healthy, and this is the healthiest our team has been all year.” They proved the difference in the upset. Macalua was chosen player of the game for the Rebels, while Chris Demauleon-Bartolay earned the laurels for the Wesmen. Gliff Macalua paced the Rebels with 20 on 8-14 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 3 boards and 4 steals. Taylor Brown added 14 on 4-8 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 9 boards and 2 steals. Arsalan Zaheer notched 7 on 3-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Matt Dyck added 6 on 1-10 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 4-8 from the line, 4 boards, 7 assists and 4 steals. Nealon Almario added 6 on 3-5 form the floor and 2 boards. Ivan Griffiths scored 5 on 1-8 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 3 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Ezekiel Lerner added 4 on 2-4 from the floor and 2 boards. Briton Lewis scored 3 on 1-4 from the floor and 1-2 from the line, while Jordan Kelly was scoreless. The Rebels hit 23-59 (.390) from the floor, 1-14 (.071) from the arc and 18-28 (.643) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls. 9 assists, 22 turnovers, 2 blocks and 17 steals. Chris Demauleon-Bartolay paced the Wesmen with 19 on 6-15 from the floor, 4-10 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 5 boards and 3 steals. Mohamed Alor added 8 on 2-8 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 5 boards, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Akeen Tong scored 8 on 4-4 form the floor and 5 boards. Ali Ahmed added 7 on 2-5 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. Brandon Vidal added 7 on 3-4 from the floor and 1-2 form the line. Roan Van Eerd notched 4 on 1-6 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 9 boards. Ryan Wiebe scored 4 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 2 boards and 2 steals. Matthew Thomas added 2 on 0-1 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 3 assists. Sulaiman Jalloh added 2 on 1-1 from the floor and 0-2 from the line, while Daniel McMullin, Nicholas Friesen and Levon Kutcy were scoreless. The Wesmen hit 20-46 (.435) from the floor, 6-19 (.316) from the arc and 15-24 (.625) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 22 fouls, 9 assists, 35 turnovers, 2 blocks and 12 steals.
In the other semi, the 3rd-seeded Canadian Mennonite University Blazers stunned the 2nd-seeded Providence University College Pilots 67-66. The Pilots led 20-16 after one quarter and 33-32 at the half. The Blazers led 50-49 after three quarters. With two seconds left and Blazer Andrew Davison at the free throw line, Davison missed the first and attempted to intentionally miss his second but missed the rim giving the Pilots a time out and the ball midcourt. Cash Blanca was unable to get off a last shot in the face of a defender and the Blazers pulled out the win. Jon Hayter was chosen player of the game for the Blazers, while Cash Blance earned the laurels for the Pilots. Jon Hayter paced the Blazers with 20 on 10-26 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 12 boards, 3 assists, 4 blocks and 2 steals. Jacob Penner added 13 on 6-16 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 9 boards. Will Switzer scored 13 on 6-10 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 4 boards. Matthias Warkentin notched 9 on 4-11 from the floor, 1-2 form the arc, 8 boards and 2 assists. Andrew Davison added 8 on 4-4 from the floor, 0-2 form the line, 3 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Jasdeep Khangura added 2 on 1-2 from the floor. Jordan Neufeld scored 2 on 1-3 from the floor and 2 boards, while Josh Hebel-Allard, Zachary Stubel and Brett Friesen were scoreless. The Blazers hit 32-72 (.444) from the floor, 1-6 (.167) from the arc and 2-5 (.400) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 10 assists, 22 turnovers, 5 blocks and 7 steals. Cash Blanca paced the Pilots with 23 on 6-14 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 8-8 from the line, 4 boards and 2 steals. Richard Rodgers added 12 on 3-11 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 4-5 from the line and 4 boards. Daniel Dekleva added 11 on 4-12 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 6 boards. Braydon Ayotte scored 7 on 2-5 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Romeo KC added 4 on 2-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 0-1 from the line, 4 boards and 6 assists. Harold Memita added 4 on 1-3 form the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Anthony White scored 3 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 form the line, 4 boards and 2 steals. Donovan Miller notched 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 2 boards and 2 steals, while Justin Ducharme, Braxton Phommarath and Thomas Janzen were scoreless. The Pilots hit 20-58 (.345) from the floor, 6-24 (.250 from the arc and 20-24 (.833) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 10 fouls, 10 assists, 20 turnovers, 1 block and 9 steals. The Pilots (coached by Colten Gryba) also included Suede Brightnose and Nick Trelevean.
In the final, the 4th-seeded Red River Rebels dumped the 3rd-seeded Canadian Mennonite University Blazers 87-74 after leading 24-18, 36-33 and 61-46 at the quarters. Stars Gliff Macalua of Red River and Jon Hayter of Mennonite matched-up against one another, and each, in turn, got hot. The Rebels looked as if they were taking an 8-point lead into the lockers, but the Blazers stole the ball and found Jordan Neufeld on a runout, and one, trimming the margin the three at the half. The Rebels pulled away in the third quarter, leading by as many as 19. “The past few games against CMU were tight,” Rebel and tournament MVP Taylor Brown told The Projector. “We just had to stick to the game plan and execute better, and we did that.” Rookie coach Scott Kirkpatrick said “it was a real privilege to walk into a situation where winning has bred winning. This team made it easy for me.” Brown said Kirkpatrick “knows a lot about the game, so him coming in wasn’t much of a transition at all.” Kirkpatrick also credited alumni who came to practice with the team in the week leading up to the tournament. “That was tremendous. Those older guys coming in was a big reason why we were able to defend our title this weekend.” Gliff Macalua paced the Rebels with 26 on 12-24 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 1-1 form the line, 4 boards, 2 assists and 5 steals. Taylor Brown added 15 on 4-18 from the floor, 0-7 from the arc, 7-8 from the line and 6 boards. Ezekiel Lerner notched 14 on 5-15 from the floor, 4-6 from the line, 14 boards and 2 assists. Ivan Griffiths scored 10 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 5 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Matt Dyck added 10 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 7-10 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Briton Lewis added 7 on 2-4 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 5 boards. Arsalan Zaheer notched 5 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 2-3 from the line, while Nealon Almario and Jordan Kelly were scoreless. The Rebels hit 28-75 (.373) from the floor, 4-20 (.200) from the arc and 27-38 (.711) from the line, while garnering 50 boards, including 21 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 10 assists, 13 turnovers and 11 steals. Jon Hayter led the Blazers with 33 on 10-25 from the floor, 4-11 from the arc, 9-11 from the line, 12 boards and 2 steals. Jacob Penner added 12 on 6-8 from the floor, 0-2 from the line, 10 boards and 2 assists. Will Switzer added 11 on 3-7 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, and 5 boards. Brett Friesen added 6 on 2-6 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 4 boards. Matthias Warkentin added 4 on 2-8 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 4 boards and 2 steals. Andrew Davison added 3 on 1-8 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 3 boards. Jordan Neufeld notched 3 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-1 from the line and 3 boards. Jasdeep Khangura scored 2 on 1-2 form the floor and 2 boards, while Josh Hebel-Allard and Zachary Stubel were scoreless. Hebel-Allard dished 2 assists. The Blazers hit 26-71 (.366) from the floor, 5-20 (.250) from the arc and 17-25 (.680) from the line, while garnering 51 boards, including 20 on the offensive glass, 30 fouls, 5 assists, 25 turnovers, 3 blocks and 7 steals.
The silver medalist Canadian Mennonite University Blazers: Jasdeep Khangura; Jon Hayter; Josh Hebel-Allard; Nick Petterson; Matt Thiessen; Jacob Penner; Zachary Stubel; Brett Friesen; Kyle Booy; Adam Bergen; Andrew Davison; Matthias Warkentin; Jordan Neufeld; Will Switzer; coach Billy Isaac; assistant Dan Neufeld
The gold medalist Red River College Rebels: Aaron Balingit; Chilolwa Simunyola; Abdi Sheikh-Hassan; Christian Lozano; Taylor Brown; Briton Lewis; Arsalan Zaheer; Garnett McLeod; Nealon Almario; Ezekiel Lerner; Donathan Penaranda; Gliff Macalua; Ivan Griffiths; Jordan Kelly; Benjamin Thevenot; Matt Dyck; Daniel Penaranda; coach Scott Kirkpatrick