The three Manitoba teams again participate in the NIAC.
Prior to the NIAC postseason tournament, Red River, Providence and the Canadian Mennonite Blazers met for the MCAC title.
In the semis, the 2nd-seeded Providence College Pilots clubbed the Canadian Mennonite Blazers 105-76 after leading 21-4, 45-39 and 77-54 at the quarters. The Pilots dominated the boards in the absence of Blazer’s forward and leading rebounder Pacifique Jubilate. The Pilots broke to a 10-6 lead on the aggressive drives of Bryant Smith. But Kieran Baydock pilfered the ball for a Seth McKenzie runout and then Kalvin Mendez stole the ball for a Baydock runout as the Blazers rallied. Lucas Mack and Waedon Dueck countered with and-ones as the Pilots took the seven-point lead after a quarter. McKenzie drained four treys to keep the Blazers within reach for the remainder of the half, but the Pilots took thorough command in the second half as Jordan Lawson and Josh Armstrong ran amok. The Pilots led by as many as 32. McKenzie was chosen player of the game for the Blazers. Jordan Lawson paced Providence with 30 on 11-29 from the floor, 6-15 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 6 boards, 5 assists and 5 steals. Joshua Armstrong added 27 on 9-14 from the floor, 7-10 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Daniel Kilmartin notched 18 on 9-11 from the floor, 0-2 from the line, 13 boards and 2 assists. Waedon Dueck scored 10 on 5-12 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 10 boards and 3 assists. Bryant Smith added 6 on 2-14 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 8 boards, 7 assists and 3 steals. Glenn Pronteau notched 5 on 2-7 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 8 boards. Lucas Mack added 5 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-1 from the line and 2 boards. Blake Garing scored 4 on 2-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 2 assists, while William Dueck and Andrew Winslow were scoreless. The Pilots hit 42-97 (.433) from the floor, 16-36 (.444) from the arc and 5-8 from the line, while garnering 59 boards, including 27 on the offensive glass, 14 fouls, 23 assists, 16 turnovers, 1 block and 13 steals. Seth McKenzie paced Canadian Mennonite with 26 on 10-18 from the floor, 6-14 from the arc, 3 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Isaiah Cole added 17 on 8-17 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 10 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Kalvin Mendez nptched 14 on 4-17 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 8 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Kieran Baydock scored 8 on 4-10 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 0-1 from the line and 8 boards. Andrew Hutton added 5 on 1-1 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Javan Pries notched 4 on 1-2 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Binh Nguyen scored 2 on 1-8 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 8 boards and 2 steals, while Zach Van Walleghem, Logan Nyman and Seth Puddicombe were scoreless. The Blazers hit 29-75 (.387) from the floor, 12-37 (.324) from the arc and 6-9 from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 11 fouls, 8 assists, 22 turnovers, 2 blocks and 9 steals.
In the final, the top-seeded Red River Rebels dusted the 2nd-seeded Providence University College Pilots 90-73 after leading 22-20, 41-33 and 67-56 at the quarters. Rebels coach Scott Kirkpatrick said the game plan was to contain Pilot Jordan Lawson, who’d scored 52 against Red River during a midseason game. “Our whole game plan was really a process of wearing down Jordan Lawson today. … if we can wear him down and just keep making him score tough twos, then eventually we’re going to be able to make a run.” Kirkpatrick added that tournament MVP Torrez McKoy proved the difference. “I think you saw in some of the game today, when he [McKoy] wants to make a play, he has another gear that he steps into and he lives for these big moments.” McKoy said “I love a big crowd. It makes me play a lot better.” Lawson and McKoy kept trading shots early as the Rebels took a two-point lead after one quarter on a pair of free throws by Mark Ridd. They extended the martin to eight at the half and then iced the win from the free throw line down the stretch. Kirkpatrick said the undefeated season (to date) “feels great. I mean there’s no other way to say that. … You know when you’re 14-0, it’s not often you really look the coach’s way. You know you got a lot of talent on your roster at 14-0 and it shows.” Torrez McKoy paced Red River with 29 on 9-20 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 8-9 from the line, 3 boards, 2 assists and 4 steals. Trezon Morcilla added 16 on 4-12 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 6-9 from the line and 3 boards. J.C. Aaron notched 14 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 5-6 from the line and 5 boards. Francesco Tocci scored 12 on 4-15 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 9 boards and 6 blocks. Mark Ridd added 6 on 2-4 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 9 boards. Steven Williamson scored 4 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 6 boards and 3 assists. Kyle Queijo added 3 on 1-8 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 steals. Andrei Sansano notched 3 on 3-4 from the line. Jaired Garing scored 3 on 1-2 from the arc and 2 boards, while Keith Black, Briton Lewis and Antoine Leblanc were scoreless. The Rebels hit 27-73 (.370) from the floor, 8-27 (.296) from the arc and 28-36 (.778) from the line, while garnering 53 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 7 assists, 9 turnovers, 8 blocks and 10 steals. Jordan Lawson paced Providence College with 27 on 11-22 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 3-5 from the line, 8 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Joshua Armstrong added 14 on 6-23 from the floor, 2-11 from the arc, 0-1 from the line and 5 boards. Daniel Kilmartin notched 10 on 3-9 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 3-8 from the line and 11 boards. Glenn Pronteau scored 7 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 0-1 from the line and 3 boards. Lucas Mack added 7 on 2-9 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 4 boards. Waedon Dueck notched 6 on 2-5 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 5 boards. Blake Garing scored 2 on 1-3 from the floor and 0-2 from the arc, while Bryant Smith, William Dueck and Andrew Winslow were scoreless. Smith nabbed 7 boards and dished 7 assists. The Pilots hit 28-82 (.341) from the floor, 6-26 (.231) from the arc and 11-21 (.524) from the line, while garnering 55 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass, 28 fouls, 14 assists, 13 turnovers, 1 block and 5 steals.
Final regular season NIAC standings (schedule imbalanced because weather conditions precluded travel on a Red River trip to North Dakota in January): Red River (13-0); Sisseton Wahpeton (13-1); Turtle Mountain (8-5); Leech Lake Tribal (8-6); Turtle Mountain (8-6); Free Lutheran Bible (8-6); Providence University College (6-8); Canadian Mennonite (6-8); Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish (0-14); Oak Hills Christian (0-14)
In the NIAC quarterfinals, the top-seeded Red River Rebels pounded the 8th-seeded Canadian Mennonite Blazers 86-57.
The 2nd-seeded Sisseton Wahpeton Mustangs whipped the 7th-seeded Providence University College Pilots 104-86.
The 6th-seeded Trinity Bible College Lions shocked the 3rd-seeded Turtle Mountain CC Mighty Mikinocks 102-87.
In the last quarterfinal, the 5th-seeded Leech Lake Tribal College Lakers stunned the 4th-seeded Association Free Lutheran Bible School Crusaders 77-65
In the semis, the top-seeded Red River Rebels clubbed the 5th-seeded Leech Lake Tribal College Lakers 88-74.
In the other semi, 2nd-seeded Sisseton Wahpeton Mutangs dispatched the 6th-seeded Trinity Bible College Lions 96-83.
In the final, the top-seeded Red River Rebels defeated the 2nd-seeded Sisseton Wahpeton Mustangs 91-82.
The NIAC player of the year was Torrez McKoy of Red River, while the coach of the year was Scott Kirkpatrick of Red River. Joining McKoy on the all-conference team were: Isaiah Cole (Canadian Mennonite); Jordan Lawson (Providence); Mark Ridd (Red River); Frank Tocci (Red River). Honorable mentions included Waedon Dueck (Providence); Seth McKenzie (Canadian Mennonite); Trezon Morcilla (Red River); and Bryant Smith (Providence).
After the season, Red River announced that it was putting its sports program on hold for the 2020-21 campaign. “This decision was made in the interest of the health and safety of our students and as a result of ongoing funding pressures and reductions as a result of COVID-19, said manager of athletics and recreation services Shane Ray. “A decision regarding our 2021-2022 season will be made at a later date.”
The MCAC bronze medalist Canadian Mennonite Blazers: Seth McKenzie; Zach Van Walleghem; Nathan Rogalsky; Kieran Baydock; Javan Pries; Isaiah Cole; Binh Nguyen; Chance Leader; Pacifique Jubilate; Andrew Hutton; Logan Nyman; Seth Puddicombe; Zino Kerkouf; Kalvin Mendes; Graham Rasmussen; coach Scott Martin; assistant Joel Themmen; assistant Jason Au
The MCAC silver medalist Providence University College Pilots: Bryant Smith; Blake Garing; Joshua Armstrong; Jordan Lawson; Daniel Kilmartin; Glenn Pronteau; Waedon Dueck; William Dueck; Andrew Winslow; Lucas Mack; Diego Reimer; coach Pierre Dubreuil
The MCAC and NIAC champion Red River Rebels: Torrez McKoy; Keith Black; J.C. Aaron; Justine Ray De Leon; Andrei Sansano; Kyle Queijo; Steven Williamson; Trezon Morcilla; Kaz Manchur; Marc Ridd; Mark Montour; Briton Lewis; Antoine Leblanc; Francisco Tocci; Jaired Garing; coach Scott Kirkpatrick; assistant Terry Bobychuk; assistant Donny Hayes; assistant Matt Dyck; assistant Aaron Backe