Draw expanded to 10 teams.
In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Taber W.R. Myers Rebels dusted the 10th-seeded Grande Prairie Tomahawks 100-48 as Troy Hansen scored 16 and Sam Bennett 15. The Tomahawks also included Craig Tyler, Greg Stouffer. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Calgary Central Memorial Rams dispatched the 9th-seeded Red Deer Hunting Hills Lightning 101-84 as David Lee scored 25, Mike Meyers 21 and Jamie Frank 20. The Rams led 60-52 at the half. Mike Asmus paced the Lightning 23, Kurt Van Hollen 19, David Roth 15 and Jon Young 13. Lightning coach Phil Penner told the Red Deer Advocate that “our defence was soft all day. I called a timeout and we talked about getting tougher but we never did. At any time on the floor, there would be one or two or possibly three guys doing the job but never all five at once.” Rams coach Romel Raffin said “we were able to put a little more pressure on them which helped considerably. We were able to control the tempo better. We knew they like to move the ball quickly and we wanted to take them out of that.” The Lightning (coached by Penner) also included Jared French, Nat Diks, Sean Vaudry, Ryan Russell, Chad Towers, David Hardy.
In the quarterfinals, the 5th-seeded Edmonton J. Percy Page Panthers defeated the 4th-seeded Calgary Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs 76-58. Panthers coach Ernie Lotz said it was the best game his troops have ever played and a reward for years of trying to rebuild the J. Percy Page from scratch, after watching local talent bus off to powerhouses Harry Ainlay or McNally. The Bulldogs (coached by Mike Fullerton, assisted by former University of Calgary coach Gary Howard) included Ryan Anderson, Mike Card, George Hansen.
The 6th-seeded Calgary Bishop Grandin Ghosts stunned the 3rd-seeded Edmonton Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds 84-82. The Thunderbirds (coached by Dave Youngs) included Grayson Bahnuik, Wilson Wong, Andrew Jones.
The top-seeded Raymond Comets, who entered the tournament (36-1), defeated the 8th-seeded Calgary Central Memorial Rams 105-77 as Russell Bohne scored 24, Shawn Heggie 18, Derek Baldry 17 and Dustin Ralph 16. The Rams (coached by Romel Raffin) included Mike Myers, Dave Lee, Jeremy McGee, Shane O’Reilly, Konrad Robichaud, Jeremy Ball, Ryan Reid, Eldridge Abat, Sid Little, Wes Pitcher, James Frank and Nathan Miller.
The 2nd-seeded Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans dumped the 7th-seeded Taber W.R. Myers Rebels 71-57. Troy Hansen paced the Rebels with 19. Sam Bennett added 14. The Rebels (coached by Chayno Finnie) also included Steve Evanson, Eric Valgardson, Benson Porter, Lanny Layton, Colin Sheen, Kevin Fawns and Rick Bennett.
In the semis, the 6th-seeded Calgary Bishop Grandin Ghosts upset the 2nd-seeded Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans 84-82 as point guard Benny Wong scored a layup on a crossover dribble that left Titan Side Safo-Akowuah befuddled. Titans point guard Andrew Melnychuk had just drilled a three to rally the Titans within one. Ainlay fell behind 6-0 but rallied to a 47-39 lead at the half. Grandin rallied in the second to within one before Ainlay regained a 73-63 edge. But the Ghosts wouldn’t quit and the Titans panicked. Coach Rob Poole calls a time-out and it’s all business. “On half-court we’re running two-high …” Melnychuk hits a low percentage three-pointer — 83-82 Ghosts. Then Grandin botches the inbound, and it’s Ainlay ball with 10.2 seconds left. But Melnychuk threw the ball away trying to force a play and the Ghosts hung on for the win.
In the other semi, the 5th-seeded Edmonton J. Percy Page Panthers stunned the top-seeded Raymond Comets 96-86 in overtime. Raymond played run and gun, with point guard Dustin Ralph feeding Russ Bohne or Shawn Heggie for a three. But J. Percy Page coach Ernie Lotz tried to run with the Comets and it worked. Nabby Sylla forced overtime with a jumper to tie the game at 78 in regulation. In overtime, Sylla hit two threes and grabbed a critical rebound on a Dustin Ralph miss. Raymond led by 10 at the half. Shawn Heggie paced Raymond with 29. Richard Bohne added 17 and Matt Hoare 12.
In the bronze medal match, the 2nd-seeded Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans defeated the top-seeded Raymond Comets 70-64. Shawn Heggie paced the Comets with 14. Dustin Ralph added 11. The Comets (coached by Jim Ralph) also included Derek Baldry, Shawn Baldry, Brock Ralph, Clark Holt, Russell Bohne, Darryl Salmon, Matt Hoare, Bryce Coppieters.
In the final, the 6th-seeded Calgary Bishop Grandin Ghosts defeated the 5th-seeded Edmonton J. Percy Page Panthers 85-64. The Ghosts quickly moved ahead by double digits and maintained the margin throughout the contest. The Panthers took an early 9-3 lead on a trio from beyond the arc but the Ghosts kept pounding away and led 52-32 at the half. “I can’t explain how it even feels right now, it hasn’t kicked in,” Grandin’s Cliff Elarco told the Calgary Herald. “But I can’t get this smile off my face. `We knew we were the underdogs from the beginning, but we wanted to show everyone we could do it. Every game, every time we got out on the floor, we believed in each other.” Panthers forward Ben Christensen, who scored 17, said ““it was the best season I ever had, but it could have been better.” Teammate Tilton Reed add that “it means a lot to be here, but it hurts a lot to finish it off like this. … It’s not gold, that’s what’s going to go through my head. But the disappointment would be much greater if we were a team with basketball history, like Ainlay or Shep. But the pride we feel about this team kind of cancels that. We’re always going to have a tie to each other because we took a team from a non-basketball school and became a contender. That’s going to leave us with nothing but good memories.” Coach Ernie Lotz noted that “this was a much more physical game. They threw us off our game, but we had a bit of a run in the second half. I just told them there was only one half left, let’s just work hard. And they gave me everything they had. I couldn’t be prouder.”
The bronze medalist Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans: Aaron Konner; Nathan Humphrey; Andrew Melnychuk; Steve Miller;
coach Rob Poole;
The silver medalist Edmonton J. Percy Page Panthers: Naby Sylla; Tilton Reed; Ben Christensen; Travis Davson; coach Ernie Lotz
The gold medalist Calgary Bishop Grandin Ghosts: Bo Fric; Benny Wong; Mike Ryall; Luke Pachla; Jamie Elliott; Cliff Elarco; Jordan Morris; Brian Hargreaves; Kevin McKenna; Scott Campau; Andrew Olagundoye; coach Joe Petrone; assistant Cary Sabraw