In the quarterfinals, held in Red Deer, the 5th-seeded Edmonton M.E. Lazerte Voyageurs dumped the 4th-seeded Calgary Lord Beaverbrook Lords 94-83 as Graeme Michaels scored 23, Randy Bretzer 19 and Stephen Parker 19. Kam Gill led the Lords with 19. The Lords (coached by Glenn Hauer) also included Mike Gaudet, Ross Jensen, David Sol.
The 2nd-seeded Edmonton Jasper Place Rebels clubbed the 7th-seeded Red Deer Hunting Hills Lightning 87-64 as Adrian Shirley scored 21. Chris McLeod led the Lightning with 20. Mike Peters added 13 and Ryan Diks 10. The Lightning (coached by Phil Penner) also included Mike Asmus, Dale Block, Brad Moon, Mike Peters, Kurt Vanhollen, Scott Letourneau, Ryan Diks, Ryan Luft. Penner told the Red Deer Advocate that “the difference was in execution. We worked hard but are not used to that type of intensity and quickness. … Their transition game was excellent and we’d turn the ball over and they’d take advantage of it. They got five or six uncontested baskets and when we have to work as hard as we do, that killed us. We also played tentatively at times and didn’t shoot that well.” Jasper Place coach Clint Burrows said “we have a great group of athletes who like to run. They don’t like to run set patterns.”
The top-seeded Cardston Cougars stomped the 8th-seeded Grande Prairie Totems 104-77 as Brock Walburger scored 21, Steve Scott 20 and Kevin French 20. Quinton Ohlauser led the Totems with 17. Craig Tyler added 16. The Totems also included Shelby Sawatzky, Quintin Williams, Cody Skopnick.
In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Lethbridge Collegiate Institute Rams dispatched the 6th-seeded Calgary Bishop Grandin Ghosts 97-90 as Aaron Low scored 21. Ryan Tanner, Nathan Erickson and Greg Roberts each added 18. Andrew Baird paced the Ghosts with 29.
In the semis, the 5th-seeded Edmonton M.E. Lazerte Voyageurs stunned the top-seeded Cardston Cougars 100-74 as Graeme Michaels scored 29. Stephen Parker added 12. Brock Walburger led the Cougars with 21. Kevin French added 19 and Chad Baker 12. Lazerte guards Theo Parks and Dukie Tugwell easily handled the Cougar pressure. “We didn’t’ expect to win by that much,” Voyageurs coach Thom Elniski told Canadian Press. “I was surprised we handled their transition game as well as we did. We were very focused today.” The Cougars had built a double-digit lead but Randy Bretzer drained a pair of treys to rally Lazerte within 36-33 at the half. Cougar star Kevin French was in foul trouble midway through the first half. Cardston coach Ken McMurray said “to have come this far and lose, we’re very disappointed.” The Cougars also included football star Steve Scott. Elniski told the Red Deer Advocate that “it wasn’t easy, not as easy as the score would indicate. We were able to take away their running game and not to let them have many easy baskets … Plus our kids played with a lot of confidence. We didn’t panic against their pressure and ran the offence.” Cardston coach Ken McMurray said “we usually play tough defence and generate a lot of offensive off it. Today, we didn’t have that defence, especially in the second half. Plus they played very good, tough defence and officials let them get away with the physical style of play.”
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Edmonton Jasper Place Rebels edged the 3rd-seeded Lethbridge Collegiate Rams 78-72 as Troy Arnet scored 28, Shane Williams 18, Andre Thomas 18, Mike Dirks 10 and Adrian Shirley 10. Greg Roberts led the Rams with 19. Aaron Low and Ryan Tanner each added 16. The momentum shifted early in the second half when Arnet drove the baseline for a dunk. The Rebels iced it at the line. Williams told the Red Deer Advocate that “when (Arnet) dunked it, it got us going, got us excited. We’re always looking for something like that to get us going … We start strong, let them take the lead, then blow them away.” Rebels coach Clint Burrows, whose troops trailed by 10 in the second half, said a dunk “does pump them up. I wasn’t sure they had the gumption to come back. They showed me something.”
In the bronze medal match, the 3rd-seeded Lethbridge Collegiate Institute Rams dusted the top-seeded Cardston Cougars 97-88 as Nathan Erickson scored 25, Ryan Tanner 21 and Aaron Low 20. Steve Scott and Brad Coon each scored 20 to pace the Cougars. Brock Walburger added 14. The Cougars (coached by Ken McMurray) also included Kevin French, Jim Olsen.
In the final, the 2nd-seeded Edmonton Jasper Place Rebels defeated the 5th-seeded Edmonton M.E. Lazerte Voyageurs in a 78-77 thriller when Rebel forward Troy Arnet hit a 15-foot jumper with two seconds in the game. With the Rebels leading 78-76 and 30 second remaining on the clock, Voyageur Graham Michael notched a layup off a Jasper Place turnover. In the mad scramble on the inbounds, Michael was fouled and went to line, hitting 1 of 2 to give the Voyageurs the lead with 12.1 seconds to play, setting the stage for Arnet’s heroics. Rebels coach Clint Burrows told the Edmonton Journal that he was a candidate for a stroke. “They were killing us on the boards so we told them at half time we had to control the boards better.” Voyageurs coach Thom Elniski said “we’re devastated. We did what we had to do to win but they hit the big shot. It was just two great teams playing great basketball.” Elniski told the Red Deer Advocate that “they happened to get the last shot. They deserve a lot of credit. They picked up their defensive intensity over the last 12 minutes it threw us off a bit.” Burrows said “these two teams are so close, it’s up for grabs whenever we meet. Today it was our game. We got the big shot when it was needed.” Arnet said the ball “just happened to come to me … that’s the way it worked out.” The Rebels were paced by guard Shane Williams’ 19 points. Arnet added 17, Andrae Thomas 14 and Adrian Shirley 12. Stephen Parker led the Voyageurs with 19. Theo Parks added 13.
The bronze medalist Lethbridge Collegiate Institute Rams: Greg Roberts; Aaron Low; Ryan Tanner; Nathan Erickson; Tyler Tanner; Mark Grant; Sam Dainard; Ryan Gash; Steve Viola; Austin Hornberger; David Low; Jeff Bulloch; Rod Holt; coach Rick Homan; assistant Kempt; assistant Steve Leger
The silver medalist Edmonton M.E. Lazerte Voyageurs: Stephen Parker; Graham Michael; Theo Parks; Dukie Tugwell; Randy Bretzer; coach Thom Elniski
The gold medalist Edmonton Jasper Place Rebels: Troy Arnet; Shane Williams; Andrae Thomas; Adrian Shirley; Tony James; Mike Dirks; coach Clint Burrows