Final regular season standings:
South (6): Sheridan (18-2); Centennial (11-9); George Brown (7-13); Seneca (7-13); Humber (7-13); Cambrian (4-16)
West (5): Fanshawe (17-3); St. Clair (16-4); Niagara (13-7); Mohawk (12-8); Conestoga (0-20)
East (8): Loyalist (14-1); Durham (12-3); Northern-Kirkland Lake (10-5); St. Lawrence-Kingston (10-5); Algonquin (9-6); St. Lawrence-Brockville (3-12); St. Lawrence-Cornwall (1-14); Canadore (1-14)
Playoff non-qualifiers:
Algonquin Thunder: Tim Anctil, Wayne Yeldon, Norm Ebrecht, Willie Schoenmakers
Cambrian: John Cristo, Gerry Duhamel, Tony Tomini, Doyle Anthony
Canadore: Rick Aarssen, Don Marsden, Doug McClelland, Bernie Hoffman, Mike Sikorski, Marc Gobeil, Gerry McCausland, Pete Lavoie, Clyde Russell, coach Gary Lumsden
Humber Hawks: Peter Kolar, Ray Knapp, Blake Bell, Rick DiCrese, Dino Teneglia, Anthony Tenaglia, Carlo Carcasole, coach Bob Garton
St. Lawrence-Brockville: Dave Culmer
St. Lawence-Cornwall: Al Campbell, Ken Smith, Gary Dexter, Bob Beaton, Mike Durivage, Duane Moak
Seneca Braves: R Lostracco,
In the East semis, the St. Lawrence-Kingston Big Blues upset the Loyalist Lancers 74-61 as Bruce Skeen scored 21, John McFarlane 16, Neil Campbell 15 and Harry Heikkila 12. Big Blues coach Ted Batchelor told the Kingston Whig-Standard that “it was the biggest win of the season for us. The whole team played extremely well … Campbell was the smallest player on the floor but he played a good solid defensive game. … (Garth Kelly) runs the offence extremely well and had the ability to hit the open man. That’s why we had four players in double scoring figures.” Daryl Broughton led the Lancers with 20. Jim Belfall added 14. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the Durham Lords easily handled the Northern-Kirkland Lake Huskies 71-52 as Joe Fitzpatrick scored 23, Jim Sexsmith 14, Mike Baker 8 and Vic Kneitas 8. …………………………………………………… In the bronze medal match, Loyalist defeated the Kirkland Lake-Northern Huskies 55-54 on a last-second bucket by Steve McKracken. The Lancers also included Daryl Broughton, Jim Belfall, Rick Labrash. The Huskies included Roy Green, Don MacRobert, Mitch Paquet, Dan Kelly. …………………………………………………… In the final, Durham defeated St. Lawrence-Kingston Vikings 68-59 to capture their second straight eastern division title. St. Lawrence coach Ted Batchelor said before the game the solution was to “limit (Joe) Fitzpatrick to as few points as possible and keep (Jim) Sexsmith away from the baseline.” St. Lawrence managed neither as Fitzpatrick and Sexsmith dominated. Fitzpatrick scored 19, Jim Sexsmith 14 and Mike Baker 8. Bruce Skein led the Vikings with 23. Mike Sequin added 15 and Harry Heikkila 11. The Big Blues also included Al Greig. Fitzpatrick was named the east tourney’s MVP. Joining him on the all-star team were Daryl Broughton of Loyalist; Don MacRobert of Northern, Dave Lapos of Durham and Bruce Sheen of St. Lawrence-Kingston.
In the south semis, the Centennial Colts defeated the George Brown Huskies 98-80. …………………………………………………… In the South finals, the Sheridan Bruins defeated the Centennial Colts 94-88; 78-65 (2g-0). In game one, the Bruins trailed 29-20 early but forwards Jerry Auger and Nick Maandag caught fire as they rallied to a 55-47 lead at the half. Maandag finished with 27 points. Auger added 19. Albert DaSilva led Centennial with 25. Tony DiRollow added 16 for the Colts. …………………………………………………… In game two, coach Dick Ruchiensky’s troops qualified for their first provincial tourney as Nick Mandaag scored 28, Jerry Auger 12 and Andre Graovac 12. Sheridan took an early 32-14 lead but Centennial rallied to within 37-36 at the half. “It was a combination of us not having any patience on offence and Centennial playing a real good man-to-man defence,” said Ruchiensky. “We didn’t control the tempo of the game. We took some shots that weren’t going on. They got hot. They just outhustled us for five, ten minutes of the first half.” Centennial inched ahead 40-39 early in the second half when Sheridan exploded with 17 unanswered points to take command. Centennial coach Jim Wolch said size and conditioning proved the difference. “We just didn’t have the height (to fight back). Pat Tulluch led Centennial with 16. Albert DaSilva added 12.
In the West semis, the St. Clair Saints defeated the Niagara Knights 86-59 as Henry Kochielski scored 33, Kevin Boutette 16, Darcy Colbreath 12, along with 15 boards, Bob Schwager 8, while George Derkers nabbed 12 boards. The Saints led 35-30 at the half and opened the second frame with a 6-0 run. They led 49-41 when Bob Schwager came off the bench and pilfered the ball on three consecutive possessions, all leading to runout layups by Kevin Boutette. They then turned a 61-44 lead into a blowout with an 18-0 run. Saints coach Al Hoffman told the Windsor Star that “we were sluggish in the first half but our running game turned it around thereafter. We showed good boards and good scoring. And our changing defences proved troublesome to them for most of the night. Ted Kicinski led Niagara (coached by Peter Rylander) with 17. Dan Rzadkowski added 11. …………………………………………………… In the West final, the Fanshawe Falcons defeated the St. Clair Saints 79-62. The score was knotted at 47 when Fanshawe shifted to a full-court press and ripped off 14 unanswered points. Fanshawe had led 38-25 at the half but Len Souliere and D’Arcy Colbreath had rallied the Saints to the tie. Saints coach Alex Hoffman told the Windsor Star that “they took the momentum away from us with a 1-3-1 press. The wrong guys went to the wrong spots. We should have called a timeout but we didn’t. We didn’t make the necessary adjustments. … The essence of the ball game was that we allowed them too many second and third shots. We really didn’t box out well.” Barry Brady led the Falcons with 20. Ron Bailey added 19, Gabe Roman o 15, Bob Horvath 12 and Bert Udema 10. Henry Kocielski led the Saints with 17. D’Arcy Colbreath added 16, Len Souliere 16 and Kevin Boutette 2 before being sidelined by a shoulder injury. The Saints also included John Herbert.
In the South finals, the Sheridan Bruins defeated the Centennial Colts 94-88; 78-65 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, Sheridan prevailed 94-88 as Nick Mandaag scored 27. …………………………………………………… In game two, the Bruins completed the series sweep to end their reign as perennial bridesmaids. “It’s the first time, Bruins coach Dick Ruchiensky told the Toronto Globe & Mail. “Last year we were second to Seneca, the year before that second to George Brown, before that second to George Brown and before that second to someone else.” Sheridan led 32-14 early but the Colts rallied to within 37-36 at the half. “It was a combination of us not having any patience on offence and Centennial playing a real good man-to-man defence,” Ruchiensky said. “We didn’t control the tempo of the game. We took some shots that weren’t going in. They got hot. They just out-hustled us for five, ten minutes of the first half.” The Bruins ripped off a 17-0 run early in the second half to take command. Centennial coach Jim Wolch said conditioning and height were key factors. “There were about two minutes in the first half and two minutes in the second half that we let them (Sheridan) get 14 points,” Wolch said. “It’s hard to fight back after such a turn of events. We just don’t have the height to do that sort of thing.” Nick Mandaag led the Bruins with 27. Jerry Auger and Andre Graovac each added 12 each. Pat Tulluch paced the Colts with 16. Albert Da Silva added 12. The Colts also included Jim Lovell.
In the Final Four semis, held in Belleville, the Durham Lords defeated the Loyalist Lancers 70-51. The Lords broke to a 23-6 lead and led 35-24 at the half. Joe Fitzpatrick paced the Lords with 25. Mike Baker added 15, Jim Sexsmith 10 and Vic Kneitas 10.
In the other semi, the Fanshawe Falcons upset Sheridan 79-50 as their zone defence completely befuddled the Bruins. The Falcons led 41-18 at the half.
In the bronze medal match, the Sheridan Bruins defeated the Loyalist Lancers 92-78 as Jerry Auger scored 35, Andre Graovac 25 and Mike Corcoran 11. Steve McCrachen led Loyalist with 34. Jim Belfall added 16.
In the final, the Fanshawe Falcons captured their first Russ Nantais Trophy by defeating the Durham Lords 69-43. “Nothing’s anticlimactic when you win it all,” team captain Harry Brady told the Globe & Mail. “It was a team effort all the way,” said Falcons guard Gabe Romano. “Let’s face it. Some of our guys wouldn’t even make half the teams around. They know it, too, and they’re the guys who come out every night even though they don’t play that much in the real close ones. It’s as much their team as anyone else’s. That’s what a team’s all about: 12 guys pulling together as opposed to five.” Fanshawe took an early 6-2 lead before getting their offence on track and racing to a 30-7 lead. The Falcons zone defence, which had earlier handcuffed Sheridan in the semi, was even more formidable against Durham. The Lords were forced strictly to the perimeter, where they struggled finding their range. Fanshawe led 41-18 at the half. “Fanshawe used their height well. They had good positional play with four guys to the boards at one time, limiting our shots,” Lords coach Dave Stewart told the Durham Chronicle. “Fanshawe was a much better team, man for man.” Falcons coach Glen Johnson said “we are a good rebounding team and we play tough defence.” Bert Udema led the Falcons with 14. 6-6 forward Ron Bailey added 12, Bob Horvath 11, Gabe Romano 11 and Barry Brady 11. Jim Sexsmith led Durham with 16.
After the season, Dave Stewart resigned at Durham to concentrate on his athletic director duties. He was replaced by assistant Ted Harrison, who’d been captain of the Lords in 1971-72.
The bronze medalist Sheridan Bruins: Nick Mandaag; Jerry Auger; Andre Graovac; Mike Corcoran; Ambrose Campana; Joe Wade; coach Dick Ruchiensky
The silver medalist Durham Lords: Jim Sexsmith; Dave Lapos; Joe Fitzpatrick; Mike Baker; Vic Kneitas; Travone; coach Dave Stewart; assistant Ted Harrison
The gold medalist Fanshawe Falcons: Ron Bailey; Gabe Romano; Bob Horvath; Bert Udema; Barry Brady; coach Glenn Johnston