In the opening round, held in Cardston and Raymond: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Edmonton Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds defeated the 16th-seeded Lloydminster Barons 91-40 as Jared Kahn scored 15 and Pavel Dundur 12. Trent Bloch-Hansen led Lloydminster with 14. Riley Young added 13. …………………………………………………… The 9th-seeded Raymond Comets edged the 8th-seeded Calgary St. Francis Browns 84-81 as Tim McMurray scored 43, Dale Stevenson 13 and Morgan Duce 10. Jared Laird led St. Francis with 23. Dani Adesegha added 16 and Mike Phone 12. “I was waiting for somebody to step up and McMurray did,” Comets coach Todd Heggie told the Lethbridge Herald. “I guess that’s what Grade 12s do, eh. It took a little while to realize the urgency of what we were facing. We needed to get some defensive stops too. Holy cow.” St. Francis led 47-42 at the half and for most of the affair. The Browns (coached by Francois Cousin) also included Jeff Carlos, Mike Lefferio. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans defeated the 12th-seeded Lethbridge Collegiate Institute Rams 91-69 as Teague Sherman scored 20 and Mathew Cardoza 17. Julian Spear Chief-Morris led LCI with 19. Andre Edwards added 8. The Rams (coached by Mike Hansen, assisted by Mike Mundio and Jeff Payne) also included Chance Lemisko, Byron Albeiz, Alex Luu, Devon Alexander, Clayton Willoughby, Jason Peterson, Matt Roberts, Matt Little, Jan Walicki, Ben Osmond, Will Lowry and Ben Krogman. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Calgary Bishop Grandin Ghosts edged the 13th-seeded Edmonton Austin O’Brien Crusaders 75-69 as Reed Siemeniuk scored 22 and Chase O’Neil 18. Peter Brumin led Austin O’Brien with 21. Carlo Caputo added 18. The Crusaders also included Corey Saban. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Medicine Hat Mohawks defeated the 14th-seeded Calgary William Aberhart Trojans 54-51 as Preston Sloan scored 15, Ben Schow 12 and Chris Unsworth 12. Drew Davis led Aberhart with 16. Sean Booth added 11. …………………………………………………… The 11th-seeded Grande Prairie Tomahawks stunned the 6th-seeded Sherwood Park Archbishop Jordan Scots 81-78 as Adam Shaw scored 28 and Derek Estabrook 14. Greg Frankwon led Jordan with 31. Brett Gaudreau added 17. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Cardston Cougars dumped the 10th-seeded Calgary Western Canada Redmen 99-88 in overtime as Travis Quinton scored 24 and Austin Boehmer 23. Tyler Fidler led Western Canada with 39. Tyronne Runns and Evan Rasmussen each added 12. The Redmen (coached by Steve Wiebe) also included Rob Mackie, Mike Mikutchyera. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Airdrie Bert Church Chargers defeated the 15th-seeded Red Deer Notre Dame Cougars 66-49 as Dominyc Coward scored 19 and Spencer Wenzel 13. Randy Davis led Notre Dame with 20. Eli Budwill added 16. The Cougars (coached by Rob Blais) also included Shawn Pyrah, Brandon Allen, Keegan Larsen, Jabin Binnendyk, Spencer Passman, Tyler Huebner.
In the quarterfinals, the 9th-seeded Raymond Comets dumped the top-seeded Edmonton Ross Sheppard Thunderbirds 101-91 as Tim McMurray scored 37 and Morgan Duce 25. Terrence Blake led Ross Sheppard with 37. Mangisto Arop added 34. The Thunderbirds (coached by Dave Youngs) also included Chris Tron, Jared Kahn, Pavel Dundur.
The 3rd-seeded Medicine Hat Mohawks clipped the 11th-seeded Grande Prairie Tomahawks 76-49 as Ben Schow scored 19 and Preston Sloan 18. Adam Schoe and Derek Estabrook each scored 11 to lead Grande Prairie. Bobby Lahoda and Mike Gregson each added 6.
The 5th-seeded Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans defeated the 4th-seeded Calgary Bishop Grandin Ghosts 81-63 as Teague Sherman scored 18 and Stephan Burke 16. Reed Siemieniuk led Bishop Grandin with 22. Connor Norman added 15. The Ghosts (coached by Kevin O’Neill) also included Peter Rogers, Chase O’Neill.
In the last quarterfinal, the 2nd-seeded Airdrie Bert Church Chargers defeated the 7th-seeded Cardston Cougars 88-76 as Dominyc Coward scored 31, Dallon Martin 20 and Zachary McKee 15. Travis Quinton led Cardston with 23. Austin Boehmer added 17. The Cougars also included Mitch Quinton, Mark Olsen, Travis Wilson, Desmond Rabbit, Robbie Low, Keston Merrill, Brandt Dewsbury, Alex Stephenson, Craig McMurray, Chris Hartley, Johnny Folson and Nick Barfuss.
In the semis, the 5th-seeded Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans defeated the Raymond Comets 108-95 as Teague Sherman scored 23, Nick Bober 17, Matthew Cardoza 17, Omar Mohammed 12, Stephan Burke 11 and Owen Jones 10. Tim McMurray and Morgan Duce each notched 27 to pace the Comets. Dale Stevenson added 23 and Carson Hill 10. The Titans led 61-44 at the half by bombing from the perimeter (eight treys) and dominating the glass. Raymond trimmed the margin to 65-57 in the second half but never seriously threatened. “We knew we had to get the ball inside and we had to get some second shots,” said Titans coach George Hoyt told the Lethbridge Herald. “We weren’t going to shoot with them all night.” Comets coach Todd Heggie said “I knew they were going to come firing on all cylinders and hoped we’d be able to withstand the charge, but they just kept on coming. They shot the ball extremely well. Down the stretch I thought every
time we’d close the gap, they’d get second- or third-chance points. They must have got 25, or at least 20 of them to the second half. I was happy with our boys. We had a great game this morning (beating No. 1 seed Edmonton Ross Sheppard
T-Birds). Probably one of the best team efforts we’ve had all year. Tonight, a lot of teams would have folded after that initial (Ainlay) charge, but we kept coming. I’m proud.”
In the other semi, the 3rd-seeded Medicine Hat Mohawks defeated the 2nd-seeded Airdrie Bert Church Chargers 74-63 as Ben Schow scored 25, Colton Ennis 17, point guard Preston Sloan 10 and Chris Unsworth 10. Dallon Martin paced Bert Church with 17. Spencer Wenzer added 12. “Our defence was incredible tonight,” Mohawks coach Bren Ennis told the Medicine Hat News. “We led by ten points for most of the game. Then, Bert Church started to whittle away and they got to within four. With about two minutes left (swingman) Colton (Ennis) got the ball with three seconds on the shot clock. He took two dribbles and then he slammed it. It deflated them. Ben Schow had a terrific game running and dishing.”
In the bronze medal match, the Raymond Comets defeated the Airdrie Bert Church Chargers 77-69 as Tim McMurray scored 19, Dale Stevenson 13 and Morgan Duce 12. Dominyc Coward led Bert Church with 23. Zachery McKee and Spencer Wenzel each added 15. “We’re happy to win third,” Comets coach Todd Heggie told the Lethbridge Herald. “Of course we’d rather be first but I have to be proud. We sat down in December, regrouped, set some goals and every game we brought it to a different level.” The Comets played the season without star Dalin Tollestrup, who was injured playing football. “They came in the dressing-room at half-time and just said, “We’re here to win it boys”,” said Heggie. “I thought we battled hard in the second half, everyone contributed tonight, everyone saw the floor.” The Chargers led 37-24 at the half. The Chargers (coached by Allen Gallup, assisted by Ryan Reed) also included Aaron Charlesworth, Josh deGraff, Nolan Grier, Jacob Hill, Kellen Mackenzie, Dallon Martin, Jason Neels and Mat Richards.
In the final, the 5th-ranked Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans defeated the 3rd-seeded Medicine Hat Mohawks 82-74. Teague Sherman paced the Titans with 23. Nick Baber added 16. “Late in the year, he put the team on his back and said, ‘we’re going to do this and I’m going to make sure it gets done,” Harry Ainlay coach George Hoyt told the Lethbridge Herald. “He made kept defensive plays and if we needed a rebound, he would come up with one. He did such a great job. … Teague, athletically, is special. He has great leadership qualities and physically, he’s one of the top athletes to ever walk the halls at Harry Ainlay.” Sherman said it “was a nice way to end grade 12. At the beginning of the year, everybody doubted us but I knew we were going to have to come together and play as a team.” The Mohawks led 32-28 at the half and 69-68 with two minutes to play. When Mohawks point guard Preston Sloan fouled out with under a minute to play, the big was up as Ainlay switched to a zone press and forced several turnovers. Hoyt told the Medicine Hat News that Hoyt said the defensive efforts of Stephan Burke, Matthew Cardoza and Steve Kennedy were exceptional. “We thought we were deeper and in better shape, so we were just trying to wear them down. They’re a very tough team. I thought their perimeter played very well, especially in the first half. We were so committed to stopping their posts.” Ben Schow led Mohawks with 26, including 7 treys. Colton Ennis added 16, Sloan 11 and Chris Unsworth 10. “I’m disappointed in the result but we played our hearts out,” said Mohawks head coach Brian Ennis. “We had a great year.” Hoyt told the Edmonton Journal that “depth was a big part of it. We were in better shape. We got good leadership from our Grade 12s. It’s been an up-and-down year but we have some athletes like Teague Sherman who was MVP of football and MVP of Edmonton Public basketball, too. When you have an athlete like that and the depth we had … we were capable of doing it. We were top 5 (in provincial rankings) all year and just had to play right at the right times, and we did that.” The Mohawks led 32-28 at the half and 69-68 with two minutes to play. Rookie coach Hoyt told the Herald “I’m really excited for the kids. I’ve played and coached at nationals and provincials before. I know this is a great experience for them.”
The bronze medalist Raymond Comets: Dale Stevenson; Tim McMurray; Morgan Duce; Justin Baker; Randon Ralph; K.C. Prince; Hunter Olsen; Trevor Olsen; Blake Newton; Mark Keeler; Carson Hill; Sam Fairbanks; Adam Depew; Dalin Tollestrup; coach Todd Heggie; assistant Rob Oliver; manager Shawn Heggie; trainer Brittney Heggie
The silver medalist Medicine Hat Mohawks: Ben Schow; Brandon Anhorn; Brian Drefs; Colton Ennis; Brady Pickett; Dragon Plujuco; Derek Schlenker; Preston Sloan; Chris Unsworth; Brian Hill; Brian Shaw; Matt Heninger; Rory Groom; Alex Doyle; Brandon Anhorn; coach Bren Ennis; assistant Lance Knodel; trainer Randy Pickett
The gold medalist Edmonton Harry Ainlay Titans: Teague Sherman; Nick Bober; Matthew Cardoza; Stephan Burke; Connor Fairbanks; Rhonny Iugoma; Owen Jones; Steve Kennedy; Sam Pankiw; Omer Mohammad; Chris Kroll; Tristan Locke; Darren Patterson; Arjun Suresh; Tommy Watson; coach George Hoyt; manager T.J. Deuchar-Fitzgerald; manager Ben Folarin