Final regular season standings: Maisonneuve (15-1);
The provincial playoffs were held one week after the CCAA national tournament. Maissoneuve earned a berth at nationals as regular season champs. The delay in holding postseason playoffs was explained as being a function of a one-month holiday break in CEGEPs from mid-December to mid-January.
Vanier Cheetahs: Rob Latter, Ron Penston
In the semis, the Dawson Blues clipped the Maissoneuve Vikings (who’d captured the national bronze medal a week earlier) 87-78. The Vikings (coached by Jean-Guy Morin) included Claude Levac, Benoit Plante, Francis Dion, Claude Levesque, Jacques Durocher, Daniel Brodeur.
In the other semi, the Trois-Rivieres Diablos dispatched the Vanier Cheetahs x-x.
In the final, the Dawson Blues clipped Trois Rivieres 90-77 as rookie Craig Norman came off the bench to score 34 on 16-19 from the floor. Ryan Burles added 24. Norman told the Montreal Gazette that “this was just a great team effort. The coach (Andy Mezey) deserves all the credit. He got us in shape for this championship with some tough conditioning. All we did was run.” Trois-Rivieres led 22-8 early. But Mezey called a time-out, switched to a zone to slow down the Diablos and Ryan Burles scored 16 as Dawson rallied to a 43-32 lead at the half. Mezey said “everybody had us buried at the start of the season. But look what happens. A rookie comes off the bench and takes control. That’s just incredible.” Norman said “never in my wildest dreams did I think something like this would happen. This is my biggest game ever and my greatest thrill.” Mezey announced before the final that he was taking a year off from coaching. He ultimately decided to return after the school was unable to find a suitable replacement.
The silver medalist Trois-Rivieres Diablos:
The gold medalist Dawson Blues: Craig Norman; Ryan Burles; coach Andy Mezey