Final regular season standings (13): Humber (22-2); Sheridan (22-2); Seneca (20-4); Fanshawe (17-7); Mohawk (15-9); St. Clair (14-10); Algonquin (11-13); Canadore (10-14); Durham (8-16); Centennial (7-17); George Brown (5-19); Cambrian (3-21); Conestoga (2-22).
Playoff non-qualifiers:
Algonquin Thunder: Mark McQuabbie, Jay Peak, Christie Wilkinson, Ken Williams, Dave Serafini, Trevor Costello, Colin Weekes, Ryan Rashford, Derek Pilon, Steve Visser, Peter Nesbeth, Craig McDonell, Mike Matsoukas, Roger Barr and Jeff Grosspietsch.
Cambrian Golden Shield: Jim Gautreau, Derrick Hartley, Mario Tullio, John Miller, Serge Desjardins, Wade Quesnelle, Marc Lesage, Merek Lehto, Luciano Valle, Kevin Deforge, Raymond Yelle, Luc Lemire, Richard Kilganon, Darren Beebe, Jeff Desbiens and Tony Sgueglia.
Centennial Colts: Prince Green, Ian McGowan, Adonis Palomini, Mike Friginett, Michael Francis, Kevin Williams, Chuck Chappus, Greg Tennant, Pete Deveaux, Martin Paul, Ian Europe, Anthony Chadman, Mark Delfosse, David Silva, Christophe Kennel, Kevin Harbison, Lloyd Wilson, Jeff Foster, Jean-Guy Martin, Michael Kerr, Sean Sobers and Richard Dwarika.
Conestoga Condors: Wayne Johnson, Jim Harley, Brad Osborne, Gord Chatha, Bob Yorke, Dennis Herakovic, James Kenny, Paul Bauer, Cory Halkbart, Kirk Rainford, Geoff Hewitt, Junior Riggan, Randy Jacobs, Mark Kilgour, Adam Boissonneault, Darren Richmond, coach Dave Lack, coach Marty King, therapist Doug Perkins.
Durham Lords: Leroy Brown, Marc Gottwald, Craig Newton, Corey Langdon, Andy Van Heuvelen, Jim Faragher, Terry Richards, Shaun Fraser, Shawn Stickle, Brian McDonald, Chris Stewart, Tim Huitema, Bob Lehr, Mike Bukator, Stu Willoughby, Rob Pearen and Darren Akey.
George Brown Huskies: Kevin Taylor, Alrick Hughes, Corey Niles, Horace Jones, Scott Hawes, Rod Zylstra, Bruce Rajotte, Sam Dixon, Steve Blake, Didy Adansi, Conrad Hamilton, Eddie Hawryszchuk, Chris Francis, Crosby McKenzie, Michael Richards, Michel Lamy, Jose Rodriguez, John Pridham, Earl Edwards, Carlos Wadley and Ulando Robinson.
Mohawk Mountaineers: Brian Bleich, David Griffin, Sean McKenna, Darren Bibby, Paul Maga, Lance Whittaker, Bill Broderick, Robin Bonk, Rob Otto, Simon Bonk, Jeff Waite, Chris Popadiuk, Keith Blair, Noel Sterling, Jason Morris, Mark Knuckle, Leo Laform, Vaheed Sharafbayani, Greg Evans, Brian Rowe, Shawn Reid, Paul Vleuten and Alex Paris.
In the challenge match, the Tier 2 champ St. Lawrence-Kingston Vikings defeated the 8th-place Canadore Panthers 86-77. A critical three-pointer by Brian White with 1:40 to play turned the tide for the Vikings. The Vikings had led 42-38 at the half but Canadore rallied, eventually cutting the margin to one on a trey by Mark Laronde. But White banked in a trey as the answer. “From that point, we sent five men to the boards and played our honest 2-3 zone and kept our hands in their face all the time,” said Vikings coach Ted Batchelor. Gerald Chidoze led St. Lawrence with 24 points. David Norris added 14 and White 19. Mark Laronde and Eric Johns each scored 22 to lead Canadore. The Panthers also included Bryan Loates, Pat Geoffrey, Len Pappano, Mark Yates, Jason Myles, Joe Basawa, Gord Lanin, John Toner, Derrick Ryan, Dave Toner, Kevin Benson, Mat Mossman, Bob Lamon, Nathan Lee and Bruce Rosevear.
In the quarterfinals, the St. Clair Saints stunned the third-place Seneca Braves 59-57 in double overtime. The enigma that has been the St. Clair Saints men’s basketball team this season added another chapter to the book. The Saints, who broke out of the gate in great fashion last fall only to collapse down the OCAA regular season stretch, battled their way into the league championship tournament by refusing to buckle under early pressure. The Saints won despite losing a lead in the final minute of regulation time. “We went in there planning to slow them down and we stuck to that plan,” St. Clair coach Scott Irwin said. “This is a remarkable achievement for these young guys,” added Irwin. “Anything above this will certainly be gravy.” Jazz Dhaliwill led the Saints with 16 points. Chris Coughlin added 15 and George Chaker 10. The Braves included Desmond Rowley, Constantine Stewart, Lascelles Henry, Anthony Marshall, Wayne Gibson, Glen Julien, Raymond Peddie, Lloyd Lawrence Jr., Robert Vacchiano, Dwight Richards, Carlton Grant, Arnaldo Foster, Pearon Fyffe, Everton Henry, Brodie Osome and Dean Kavanagh.
The Humber Hawks thrashed the St. Lawrence-Kingston Vikings 92-53. “They were a helluva lot better than we were tonight and probably on most nights “They were a helluva lot better than we were tonight and probably on most nights they’re better than us, but they’re not better by as much as they were tonight,” said St. Lawrence coach Ted Batchelor. “There’s a fair amount of pride at stake when a small school is playing a giant and I don’t in any way think that the score’s indicative of the differences between the two teams. I figure they may be 10 points, 15 points better, but there’s no way that they’re 30 points better.” The Hawks quickly dispatched the Vikings, building a 10-point lead within minutes and then ripping off a 28-4 run en route to a half time lead of 49-17. “I don’t think they did anything wrong,” said Vikings guard Jeff Montgomery. “Anything they wanted to do, they could do tonight.” With the Vikings awash in a sea of turnovers and bad shots, by the end of the first half Humber already had all but two of the points it would need to win. Vikings coach Ted Batchelor noted that “you have to be disappointed when you play that badly in a game like this. We were hoping that they’d come out tight but we let them get out of the blocks quick. If we could have hit the first couple of baskets, perhaps gotten a bit of a lead, they’re just like anybody else. Under pressure they can fold. But they got out running and they got loose pretty early and then they had all the confidence in the world.” Montgomery said a couple of early blocks by the Hawks intimidated the Vikings and then they tried to go up-tempo after relinquishing a big lead and failed. “We don’t want to do that against a club like this, that’s much quicker. We want to play more of a controlled game and for one reason or another we didn’t.” Gerald Chidowe paced the Vikings with 16. Mike Flaherty added 11 and Dave Norris 10. St. Lawrence shot 24-62 from the floor, while Humber hit 38-81. Fitzroy Lightbody and Larry McNeil each scored 13 for Humber.
In the semis, the Sheridan Bruins thrashed the Fanshawe Falcons 85-69. Mike Acton paced Fanshawe with 22.
In the other semi, the Humber Hawks thumped the St. Clair Saints 85-57. George Chaker paced St. Clair with 18 points. “It was just a case of a team that was too big, too strong, too deep, too fast and too talent,” said St. Clair coach Scott Irwin. “We’re a young team with nine rookies but the guys gave it all they had.” St. Clair fell behind by 10 quickly as Humber’s full-court pressure forced a raft of turnovers.
In the bronze medal match, the St. Clair Saints defeated the Fanshawe Falcons 55-48. “We wanted to come away with something,” said coach Scott Irwin. “It would have been disappointing to leave with nothing so our strategy was to get off to a quick start against Fanshawe.” The Saints took a 17-4 lead and never led by less than nine. Chris Coughlin paced St. Clair with 14. Dan Habuda added 12 and Tim Krushelniski 11. Mike Acton scored 10 for Fanshawe. The Falcons also included Joe Schembri, Doug Payne, Gary Mayers, John Beunen, Noel Bartley, Ken Farrow, Ervine Clayton, Alphonso Morgan, Roy Carvalho, Graham Stewart, Brian Jarvis, Goran Prgesa, Steve Hale and Andrew Curling.
In the final, the Humber Hawks nipped the Sheridan Bruins 80-78 as two-time All-Canadian Patrick Rhodd collected the ball in a mad scramble and drained a 15-foot baseline jumper with five seconds to play. The Hawks rallied from a 22-point deficit to pull out the win. “It feels good,” Rhodd told The Coven. “It feels good to win the basket that won it. We were down by a lot. We didn’t think we would be able to do it. I was missing all my shots inside. I started getting down on myself. I’m glad it went in.” Hawks coach Mike Katz noted: “I’ll say this. They beat us in every facet of the game from the beginning. I guess I was going to say ‘til the end, but somehow not. They executed well. They defended well. We couldn’t do a damn thing. But you know, sometimes in the game emotion counts for a lot and you don’t give up.” The Bruins opened the second half with a 15-4 run to take a 60-38 lead. The Hawks rallied to within 71-56 but Bruin post Mark Wysocki answered with another bucket in the blocks. Then the Bruins fell apart. Hawk Doug Lawrie hit a shot over the top of the backboard as he was falling out of bounds to ignite a 22-5 Humber run. Guard Tony Carvalho hit a 15-footer to trim the margin to 75-67. Fitzroy Lightbody added a bucket and then Larry McNeil notched five consecutive points to draw Humber within one at 75-74. Carvalho gave them their first lead with a bomb. Bruin Garnet Richards answered with a trey but Carvalho hit his 14th point of the game and then set up Rhodd for the winner. “I thought we were history,” Doug Lawrie said. “Down 22 in the second half, I honestly didn’t think we were going to do it. We kept-stabbing and stabbing at them and taking it bit by bit.” Hawks coach Mike Katz said his vets rose to the occasion. “The ball went in the hoop. Patrick makes (the winning shot). Our seniors came through. Tony Carvalho, he’s been inconsistent all year, somehow, he’s around for a day like today. I had a feeling about Tony and somebody once said go with your seniors when it counts, so we did. I don’t know, the game’s a funny one eh? It’s about heart and emotion.” Wysocki led the Bruins with 25.
The bronze medalist St. Clair Saints: George Chaker; Jeff Coles; Jazz Dhaliwill; Chris Coughlin; Dan Habuda; Tim Krushelniski; Rob Willock; Rami Chatley; Dudan Vucak; Ty Trainor; Jeff Tremblay; Mike Krayneck; Cameron Shreve; Brian Belland; Claudio Greco; Jay Bilyk; coach Scott Irwin
The silver medalist Sheridan Bruins: Justin Jones; Mark Wysocki; Sean Henry; Andrew Scharschmidt; Bertrand Boatswain; Garnet Richards; Nigel Williams; Francis Tyrell; Lloyd Newman; Mark Stoddart; Chris Miller; Carlos Joseph; Joel King; David Brown; Robert Adams;
The gold medalist Humber Hawks: Fitzroy Lightbody; Larry McNeil; Patrick Rhodd; Doug Lawrie; Tony Carvalho; Hugh Riley; Garfield Thompson; Kevin Dawkins; Karl Phillips; Gareth Broad; Richard Saunders; David Adams; Greg Chornomud; Deon Dwyer; Hopeton Sutherland; coach Mike Katz; manager Kearn Rose; athletic director Rich Bendera