In the opening round, held in Lethbridge: …………………………………………………… The 9th-seeded Calgary St. Francis Browns dumped the 8th-seeded Medicine Hat Mohawks 70-60. St. Francis fell behind by 15 early but rallied to a 10-point lead at the half. The Mohawks knotted the score at 48 but Oliver Sargeant took command down the stretch. Sargeant finished with 24. Stevens Kadiebwe added 14. “The guys kept battling. They refused to lose,” Browns coach Richard Svoboda told the Calgary Herald. “They have a 6-7 and a 6-6 post, so they outsized us inside but we ran the floor.” Chris Stevens led the Mohawks with 20. Chad Klaudt added 10 and Adam Huffman 8. “We also turned the ball over too much and missed a bunch of inside shots,” Mohawks coach Bren Ennis told the Medicine Hat News. “We only scored 60 points and we averaged 80-plus points all year. If we were able to make even half of our free throws, the game would have been closer.” The Mohawks hit 14-31 from the line. The Mohawks (coached by Bren Ennis, assisted by Lance Knodel) also included Derek Groves, Jared Martens, Jon Fry, Brad Holtz, Jordan Drefs, Kyle Prosser. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Magrath Zeniths dumped the 12th-seeded Red Deer Notre Dame Cougars 87-61 as Joe Schow scored 16. “We’re not used to someone like him,” said Cougars coach Scott Doan. “We didn’t see anyone like him in league play or even tournaments. Our big guy (Mark Salkeld) hasn’t had to play tough defence on a player as skilled as him.” McGrath opened with a 19-2 run and led 38-26 at the half as Schow dominated, scoring 16, including several perimeter jumpers, blocking 3 shots and nabbing 7 boards. “I’ve practiced a lot on my (outside) shot. I just don’t want to be a one-dimensional player. [I want to] be able to go inside and out,” said Schow. Zenith guard Dylan Alston kept draining treys on Schow kickouts as McGrath took a 44-28 lead early in the second half. “Normally it happens every game where they start doubling up on me and I swing it out. Our guards really stepped up when it came to clutch time, they hit their shots,” said Schow. As Salkeld continued to have fits guarding Schow inside, picking up four fouls even with the help of Sam Leszczynski rotating over, Schow continued to dominate, hitting a jumper to give the Zeniths a 55-33 lead. “We’ve worked with him on moves with his back to the basket but he’s not afraid to take that long shot and he’s also great at rebounding. It’s a luxury Magrath hasn’t had for too many years,” said Zeniths coach Phil Tollestrup. The cougars rallied no closer than 9. Alston added 18 for the Zeniths and Tollestrup 14. J.T. Baillie led the Cougars with 23. Salkeld added 12. The Cougars (coached by Scott Doan, assisted by Stef Lebrecque) included Andrew Askin, Mark Salkeld, Bryon Anderson, Brent Hamel, Garrett Lund. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Edmonton Archbishop O’Leary Spartans whipped the 10th-seeded Calgary Sir Winston Churchill Bulldogs 90-55 as Troy Headly scored 18 and Adrian Campbell 14. Tyler Pratt led the Bulldogs with 16. The Bulldogs also included Blake Adair, Mike Salmon. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Calgary Dr. E.P. Scarlett Lancers defeated the 11th-seeded Lloydminster Barons 83-71.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Calgary Lester B. Pearson Patriots whipped the 9th-seeded Calgary St. Francis Browns 78-67 as Emmanuel Chief scored 23 and Tanner Mitchell 10. Oliver Sargeant led the Browns (coached by Richard Svoboda) with 17.
The 4th-seeded Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans dumped the 5th-seeded Magrath Zeniths 63-50 as Alex Stelle scored 27 and Dorian Andrewes 14. Allen Tollestrup paced the Zeniths with 32. The Zeniths (coached by Phil Tollestrup) also included Matt Dillon, Dylan Alston, Dahlin Sabey, Joe Schow, Kevin Bullock, Booker Alston, Kyle Clifton.
The 2nd-seeded Taber W.R. Myers Rebels clipped the 7th-seeded Edmonton Archbishop O’Leary Spartans 75-63 as Henry Bekkering scored 27 and Dustin Francis 16. Troy Headley paced the Spartans with 18.
The 3rd-seeded Edmonton Strathcona Lords survived a 75-74 scare from the 6th-seeded Calgary Dr. E.P. Scarlett Lancers. Jefferi Wendu paced the Lords with 17, Colin Fryer added 14 and Cody Darrah 12. Rob Steed led the Lancers with 20. Josh Forster and Sean Elford each added 17. The Lancers (coached by Tom Bishop) also included Nabil Bushnaq.
In the semis, top-seeded Calgary Lester B. Pearson Patriots thrashed the 4th-seeded Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans 79-66. Pearson led 34-33 at the half and pulled away in the final minutes. Josh Feist paced the Patriots with 22. Emmanuel Chiek added 15 and Curtis Hornberger 12. Alex Steele led the Titans with 19. Jozzy Tendayi added 13 and Paul Lali 12.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Taber W.R. Myers Rebels clipped the 3rd-seeded Edmonton Strathcona Lords 68-56 as Henry Bekkering scored 31 despite playing with an injured ankle. “My ankle is good but it isn’t good. This is provincials, you have to suck it up,” Bekkering told the Lethbridge Herald. “We haven’t done anything yet, it’s just a step. We lost to Lester B. Pearson by two points earlier in the season and we want to get some payback.” Both teams kept tossing up bricks at the start before Telleri Wendu began nailing treys to give the Lords and 25-18 lead. But a late Rebel rally, keyed by Bekkering and a Brant Hanson trey with 1.6 seconds left in the first half, knotted the score at 36. “We really hadn’t played that well and we were still tied; it was a 0-0 game,” said Rebels coach Allen Matthews. “It came down to whoever plays tough basketball for 20 minutes was going to go into the final.” The Rebels began boxing out on the boards in the second half and ripped off an 11-2 run, capped by a Paul Garner interception of a long outlet pass from the Lords. Bekkering scored the next 10 points, including a pair of treys, as the Rebels took a 60-49 lead with 1:54 to play. “I told the boys it’s the little things that don’t get seen by people that win games and we managed to do a lot of them in the second half,” said Matthews. Post Dustin Francis saved a loose ball going out of bounds to Justin Steed, who swung it to a streaking Devin Bennett for an easy layup and a 62-51 lead with :16 on the clock to ice the win. “I’m proud of these kids. They respond to whatever you ask of them,” said Matthews. “You give them a challenge and they rise to the occasion.” Bennett added 14 for the Rebels. Cody Darrah paced the Lords with 23.
In the bronze medal match, the 3rd-seeded Edmonton Strathcona Lords nipped the 4th-seeded Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans 72-68.
In the final, the 2nd-seeded Taber W.R. Myers Rebels defeated the top-seeded Calgary Lester B. Pearson Patriots 65-58. The Rebels handed the Patriots their first loss of the season after 32 consecutive wins. Myers leads 9-8 early but fell behind 30-27 at the half. The Patriots moved ahead by as many as 9 in the second half but the Rebels rallied back to eke out the win. Grade 11 phenom Henry Bekkering paced the Rebels with 21 points. Point guard Josh Feist led the Patriots with 24. Emmanuel Chiek added 16. The Rebels hit 23-41 from the line, including a perfect 8-8 (4 apiece by Bekkering and Devin Bennett) in the final minute of play. “We were getting a little bit frustrated but both sides weren’t hitting their free throws. But when it came down to it Devo and Henry had ice for veins,” said Rebels post
Mac Clements. The Patriots were 5-14 from the line. Patriot Emmanuel Chiek hit a scoop layup to give the Patriots a 30-27 lead at the half. Rebels coach Allen Matthews noted that “although sometimes I wish we weren’t, they honestly feel like they are a second-half team where they just have that knack to step it up in the second. These kids play with emotion that’s for sure.” The Rebels went scoreless for the first four minutes of the second half as Patriot guard Josh Fiest got a runout layup to make it 39-29. But when Chief picked up his 4th foul with 12 minutes to play, the tide turned. Brant Hansen dished to Bekkering for a tomahawk slam to pull the Rebels within four with just over seven minutes to play. Bekkering drove for a layup to give the Rebels a 57-56 lead with two minutes to play. Hansen said “that’s what Allen was telling us was to get some ball movement going and pounding it inside to Dustin (Francis) and Henry. We never gave up and I just think this team has a lot of heart and never gets down on each other. We’re really
tight as a team.” Patriots coach Adam Dormer said “I just thought we got to playing two-man ball [Chiek and Feist] and not playing as a team. They started adjusting and adapting where they were sagging and it got too easy to defend us. 1
give all the credit to the Rebels.” Bekkering finished with 21 points. Bennett added 15. Josh Feist led the Patriots with 24. Chiek added 16. Dormer said of the undefeated season: “Sometimes that O can serve as a noose around your neck.”
The bronze medalist Edmonton Strathcona Lords: Cody Darrah; Jeremiah Toon; Tefferi Wandu; Barrett Long; Ronnie Johnston; Kyle Elkow; Mark Enge; Aron Balakrishnan; Peter Wagner; Jordan Clark; Andrew Simpson; Colin Fryer; Jon Haniester-Reise; coach Tim Martens; assistant James Resnau; assistant Dan Resnau; assistant Shandi Nicolette; manager Brett Kensorada
The silver medalist Calgary Lester B. Pearson Patriots: Josh Feist; Emmanuelle Cheik; Curtis Hornberger; coach Bill Mitchell
The gold medalist Taber W.R. Myers Rebels: Henry Bekkering; Brant Hansen; Nelson Porter; Paul Garner; Devin Bennett; Jaysen Barrows; Justin Steed; Dustin Francis; Mac Clements; Jon Harding; Brandon Bullock; Brian Steed; coach Allen Mathews, assistant Rob Rodgers; assistant B.J. Bajowa, manager Cory Matthews; statistician Angee Roberts; statistician Melissa Gough