In the quarterfinals, held in Calgary, the Calgary Western Canada Redmen whipped the Grande Prairie Tomahawks 101-35. “I’m not sure there’s much to say,” Grande Prairie coach Blaine Haines told the Calgary Herald. “Our guys haven’t seen defence like that all year. We knew enough to expect it and you can talk about it all you want, but seeing it and talking about it are two different things.” Matt Smith paced the Redmen with 23. Sean Foote added 22, including 14 in the first half. Western Canada coach Wayne Thomas was elated with the Manchester, England native. “He deserves all of the attention he gets. He’s a tremendous kid and he’s dedicated himself to basketball. Even as head coach, there are still times when I’m inclined to just sit back and watch him play.” Warren Hill led Grande Prairie with 11. The Tomahawks (coached by Blaine Haines) also included Darrell Amundsen, John Ewan.
The Calgary St. Mary’s Saints defeated the Lethbridge Collegiate Institute Rams 85-68 as 6-7 post Travis Stel scored 22 and grabbed 15 boards. Mike Evans led the Rams with 20. “Boy are they strong,” said Rams coach Joey Shackelford. “In the second half, St. Mary’s really pounded the boards and got a lot of inside baskets. I was hoping to be at least in the ballgame with them and for the most part we were.” Troy Sheets added 15 for the Rams, who also included Eric Herget, Jared Nelson, Troy Parker, Bernhard Lancailao, Shane Timmerman, Spencer Court, Scott McKenzie, Duane Cole, Seth Adler, Mike Evans and Brett Lacey.
The Raymond Comets defeated the Sherwood Park Salisbury Sabres 102-84 as 5-10 sensation Richard Bohne scored 33. Bohne picked up three quick fouls and struggled in the first half but turned it on the second frame. Scott Sheen added 17, Dustin Karren 17, Chayston Harker 16 and Jim Garside 12. “I was really happy with the balanced scoring,” said Comets coach Jim Ralph. “I thought Jim Garside played really tough on the boards; Scott (Sheen) had a good game as did Chayston (Harker); and Dustin (Karren) did what was asked of him.” Chris Harrison led Salisbury with 23. The Sabres (coached by Darren Ross) also included Dennis Defrancheschi.
In the last quarterfinal, the defending champ Edmonton Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds rolled over the Leduc Tigers 72-33 as Andre La Pierre scored 15. The Thunderbirds led 34-17 at the half and coasted to the easy win. Richard Jory paced the Tigers with 13.
In the semis, the Raymond Comets defeated the Calgary Western Canada Redmen 90-88 as Richard Bohne scored 42, Dustin Karren 17 and Scott Sheen 15. Sean Foote paced the Redmen with 27. The Comets trailed by seven with minutes to play but “we came down the stretch and made a couple of key steals. The kids really got mentally tough,” said Comets coach Jim Ralph.
In the other semi, the Edmonton Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds nipped the Calgary St. Mary’s Saints 55-54 as Andre La Pierre scored 17. Travis Stel paced the Saints with 19. The Saints (coached by Tom Sullivan) also included Pat Harrigan, Wayne Dawkins, Sean McLean.
In the bronze medal match, the Calgary Western Canada Redmen defeated the Calgary St. Mary’s Saints 75-68 to avenge a loss in the Calgary city finals earlier in the month. “Against St. Mary’s, we always come out strong,” Jason Nike, who led Western Canada with 22, told the Calgary Herald. “The game still meant a lot to us after losing to them in the city.” Travis Stel paced the Saints with 21.
In the final, the Raymond Comets, a 2A school playing 4A ball, defeated the Edmonton Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds 65-61. Richard Bohne, who later became a record-breaking scorer at the University of Calgary, tossed in 26. “I was a little off,” Bohne told the Calgary Herald. Bohne hit 9-24 from the field, including six from beyond the arc, including one that broke Ross Shep’s back in the final minute to give Raymond the 64-61 lead. “I hurt my leg in the semifinal but I’m not using that as an excuse or anything. The other guys picked it up when they had to and played great down the stretch.” The game was a complete contrast in styles, with up-tempo Raymond, seeking to fastbreak at every opportunity, trying to dictate tempo against the slow-it-to-a-crawl Thunderbirds. Dustin Karren added 17 for the Comets and Scott Sheen 11. Andre La Pierre led Ross Sheppard with 22. “It was a good thing for the (Southern Alberta) league,” said Raymond coach Jim Ralph. “Sometimes, we’re forgotten down here. All the hype was it was going to be an all-Calgary final. Calgary got to play each other again, but not in the game they expected to. … They really tried to slow the game down. We wanted to run and they wanted to use the 30-second clock. It wasn’t a great game to watch, but the kids did what they had to do to beat them.” The Comets led by nine twice but the Thunderbirds rallied to a lead in the second half. “That’s when the guys really dug in,” said Ralph. “It’s been a great year. We went through times with injuries and still came back. Richard (Bohne) is a great guy to have on your team. He wants the ball when the game is close. But he also had a heck of a supporting cast. We have kids on the bench that could be good players on other teams. It was the same thing with the Oilers and (Wayne) Gretzky. Richard’s handled the pressure well this year and he deserves everything he’s worked for.”
The bronze medalist Calgary Western Canada Redmen: Jason Nike; Sean Foote; Matt Smith; Blair McDermid; coach Wayne Thomas
The silver medalist Edmonton Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds: Greg Badger; Andre La Pierre; Clayton Pottinger; coach Bob Fowlis
The gold medalist Raymond Comets: Richard Bohne; Dustin Karren; Scott Sheen; Travis Tollestrup; Mark Tollestrup; Jim Garside; Chayston Harker; Jason Leavitt; Wayne Sugal; Kevin Swenson; Jeff Nelson; Drew Williams; coach Jim Ralph