Final regular season standings:
East (5): Algonquin (14-2); St. Lawrence-Kingston (13-3); Sir Sandford Fleming-Peterborough (9-7); Loyalist (3-13); St. Lawrence-Cornwall (1-15)
West (5): Mohawk (13-3); St. Clair (12-4); Fanshawe (10-6); Niagara (5-11); Lambton (0-16)
South (7): Seneca (13-2); Sheridan (13-2); Centennial (12-3); George Brown (8-7); Durham (4-11); Georgian (3-12); Humber (1-14)
North (3): Soo College-Sault Ste. Marie (12-3); Rouyn-Noranda (5-10); Cambrian-Sudbury (4-11)
Playoff non-qualifiers:
Cambrian-Sudbury: Neil Chmielak, Charles Recollet, John Smeltzer
Centennial Colts: Phil Reynolds, Perry Douglas, Hillar Talve, Bob Kovacs, Joe Pasquale, coach Bob Selkirk
Durham Lords: Bob Krawec, Chris Steager, Steve Ball, Al Gates, John Compton, Leo Baker, Bob Wing, Harry DeJong, Ted Harrison, Al Wakeford, Rod Fillier, Dean Little, Bentley, Dave Fitchett, Dupont, Woodward, coach Dave Stewart, assistant George Petit
George Brown: Peter Butryn, Jim McDonald, John Cooper, Marvin Snowden, Val Pozzan, Mike Asque, Coletta, Mallen, Peterdy, Dean, Palsilva
Georgian: Fred Haughton, Bob Greer, John Didabalis, Gary Montgomery, Ken Hannah, Greg Gurnett, Mike Larose
Humber Hawks: Glenn Moth, Rob McCormack, Joe Pitelli, Tony Pace, Gary Ferguson, Ming Wong, Henry Luszutko, Rudy Cooper, Abe Delange, Jim Rothwell, Luigi Greco, Gerhard Grosschadl, Rob Raymond, Stasys Tarvydas, Tim Brumby, Greg Stine, coach John Cameron, assistant Bob Hilton, assistant Bob Kaplan, athletic director Rick Bendera
Loyalist: Bill Kyle
Niagara: Rick Ludlow, Norm Caron, coach Peter Rylander
Sir Sandford Fleming-Peterborough: Richard Batten,
St. Lawrence-Cornwall Sharks: Harvey Sharpe, Jim Rorison
In the West divisional final, the Mohawk Mountaineers clubbed the St. Clair Saints 80-60 as Jim Russon scored 17, B Lindley 14, Dave Will 13, Larry Snaidero 10, Dick 9, MacDonald 7, Proc 5 and Sharpe 5. Fred Logan led St. Clair with 17. Tom Murphy added 16, Hugo Gatti 7, Brian Langlois 6, Jim Gecelovsky 5, tom Maloney 5 and Brian Boyd 4. Saints coach Alex Hoffman told the Windsor Star that “they have a more physical team and a fine bench and they really poured it to us in the rough second half. Some poor rebounding and the laxness of officials (also) hurt us.”
In the quarterfinals, held in Ottawa, the Mohawk Mountaineers defeated Rouyn-Noranda 99-52 as Bob Lindley scored 26, Mike Sharp 14, Larry Snaider 13, Jim Russon 12, Dave Will 12, Rod McDonald 8, John Proc 6, Bruce O’Brien 4, Rick Metcalfe 2 and Brian Dick 2, while Brian McLeish and Terry Smith were scoreless. Michel Charlebois paced the Gaillards with 12. Yves Belanger added 10, Gilles Bisson 8, Rock Verville 8, Berthie Desroches 6, Michel Myzakowski 4, Sylvain Charlebois 2 and Rene Corbeil 2, while Mario Bouchard was scoreless. The Mountaineers led 63-32 at the half. Mohawk coach Wes Hicks told the Ottawa Journal that “I thought our man-to-man defence, which we like to go with, was quite effective. We decided to lay-off a bit and go into zone once we got rolling. I was quite impressed with Rouyn’s fast-break. But I didn’t think they had the height to pull it off against us too often.”
The St. Clair Saints defeated Cambrian-Sault Ste. Marie (which eventually became Sault College) Cougars 82-79 as Fred Logan scored 22, Brian Langlois 18, Tom Murphy 11, Brian Boyd 11, Tom Maloney 10, Hugo Gatti 6 and Bob Scott 4, while Terry Burton, Tony Giacolone, Dusan Gecelovsky, Martin Cole and Duane Shadd were scoreless. Fred Lajambe led the Soo with 22. Bill Wiedienhoeft added 21, Jim Alton 17, Paul Linklater 13, Tony Kanzol 12 and Elmar Timusk 4, while Chris Bellamy, Mike Bonamico, Lloyd Laronde, Rock Ondari and Rick Hindermiere were scoreless. The Saints had a late 10-3 run to draw within 46-42 at the half as Hugo Gatti and Tom Maloney made several steals. Bob Scott came off the bench to score four and play “some great defence,” coach Alex Hoffman told the Windsor Star. St. Clair took the lead with 13 minutes to play. Fred Logan scored a field goal to give them a 58-57 lead and they staved off the Cougars down the stretch. With the Score at 78-77, Frank Lajambe missed a 30-footer. Logan rebounded and fed Maloney for the winning field goal. Brian Langlois later added an insurance bucket. Hoffman was “we never stopped running. We had a better bench and just wore them out.”
The Seneca Braves defeated the St. Lawrence-Kingston Vikings 82-67 as Duane Newby scored 26, Rick Morandini 16, Jeff Starr 16, Rick Maxwell 13, P Kelly 4, A Griffith 3, Griswald Liddie 2 and Paul Ronjeri 2, while T Halsey and M Benamou were scoreless. Bill McArthur led the Vikings (coached by Mort Morris) with 18. Mike Dowling added 15, David Campbell 14, Gary Kearns 10, Kim McKenzie 7 and Gary Dunlop 4, while Dave Noble, Wayne Bannister, Greg Campbell and Max Piribauer were scoreless. Seneca led 40-31 at the half.
The Sheridan Bruins defeated the Algonquin Thunder 68-64 as Mike Ireland scored 19, Damon Alyea 18, John Kostas 12, Jim Browne 10 and John Pike 9, while Steve Pilles, Peter Ross, Art Cooper, Craig Adams, Rob Combie and John Brandrick were scoreless. Brian Sutherland scored 27 to lead the Thunder (coached by Peter Benedak). Jim Norris added 17, Larry Trenholm 12, Bob Ward 4, Dave Bustard 2 and Ed Ayoub 2, while Robin Baich, Bill McKean, Bernie McKenna, John Wallace and Mike Sikorski were scoreless. The Thunder (coached by Peter Benedak) also included Bill McKee.
In the semis, the Seneca Braves defeated the St. Clair Saints 66-53. The Saints had leapt out 12-0 but cooled quickly. Seneca was ahead 29-27 at the half and took control in the second half. Duane Newby led Seneca with 22, while nabbing 15 boards. Rick Morandini added 20, Rick Maxwell 14, Jeff Starr 8 and Griswald Liddle 2. The Brave shit 31-75 from the floor and 4-9 from the line. St. Clair (coached by Alex Hoffman) was led by Fred Logan, who scored 16 and grabbed 14 rebounds. Tom Murphy added 9, Brian Langlois 8, Tom Maloney 8, Brian Boyd 6, Hugo Gatti 4 and Bob Scott 2. The Saints hit 22-61 from the floor and 9-14 from the line. Saints coach Alex Hoffman told the Windsor Star that “their work on the boards was the key to the game. We did a super job on Newby in the first half but he got going in the second half and we just couldn’t contain him.” The Saints also included Terry Burton, Tony Giacolone, Dusan Gecelovsky, Martin Cole and Duane Sheed.
In the other semi, the Mohawk Mountaineers defeated the Sheridan Bruins 89-57 as Mike Sharpe scored 20, Bob Lindley 14, Larry Snaidero 14 and Dave Will 10. “We don’t really have a great shooter this year so we’ve strived for defence,” Mohawk coach Wes Hicks told the Ottawa Journal. “There is no doubt about it. It’s been a most effective weapon, along with rebounding.” Mike Ireland led Sheridan with 16. Craig Adams added 7 and Damon Alyea 6. The Bruins (coached by Dick Ruschiensky) also included John Kostas, Rick Morandini, John Pike, Steve Pilles, Peter Ross, Jim Browne, Art Cooper, Rob Combie, Stephens, Stoyanoff, Hicks, O’Connor and John Brandrick.
In the final, the Seneca Braves ended the Mohawk Mountaineers three-year reign as OCCA champ with a 77-64 victory after trailing 37-35 at the half. Braves coach Neil Wilson told his troops before the game that “they had to control the boards, defend their own zone and get past Mohawk’s pressure defence.” They did exactly as asked in the second half. They’d trailed 34-23 early before rallying down the stretch. “We had a score to settle with Mohawk,” said Wilson. “They beat us in the final last year on our home court and have won 19 of the 21 games against us in the past five years.” The Braves managed the task although star 6-8 centre Duane Newby picked up three quick fouls in the first four minutes. Rick Maxwell led Seneca with 19. Jeff Starr added 16, Rick Morandini 13, Griswald Liddie 12 and Newby 10. Bob Lindley paced Mohawk with 17. Dave Will added 10.
The silver medalist Mohawk Mountaineers: Bob Lindley; Mike Sharp; Jim Russon; Larry Snaidero; Dave Will; Brian McLeish; Rod McDonald; Terry Smith; Bruce O’Brien; Rick Metcalfe, Larry Snaidero; Brian Dick; John Proc; coach Wes Hicks
The gold medalist Seneca Braves: Duane Newby; Griswald Liddle; Rick Morandini; Jeff (Jim?) Starr; Rick (Robert?) Maxwell; Pat Kelly; Andy Griffith; Paul Ronieri; T Halsey; M Benamou; Joe Taggio; Tony Dubinski; Gary Liddie; coach Neil Wilson