In the quarterfinals, held in Picture Butte, the host Sugar Kings stomped the Ashmont Falcons 67-18. The Sugar Kings led 24-4, 40-10 and 52-16 at the quarters. Kevin Reiter paced the Sugar Kings with 20. Boyd Nummi added 15. Reiter is “a good shooter and a good rebounder,” Sugar Kings coach George Hanna told the Lethbridge Herald. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s maybe the best ball player in this tourney. I don’t think it (the easy win) will hurt them a bit. We had a good run. The kids all got a good workout. I don’t think it hurts them because they know what they’ve got to do tomorrow. They played us man to man, but they really weren’t that strong defensively. On a man-to-man basis, we just threw everything at them we had. I thought Boyd Nummi and Gary Jensen really played well. Nummi shot well, and Jensen ran the offence well in the first quarter. That’s his job, and he shot well, too. I thought the subs played pretty well. I don’t think the game was that much different when they were out there.” Gary Jackson led the Falcons with 8. Lawrence Ulja added 6. The Sugar Kings hit 30-65 (.460) from the floor and 7-12 (.580) from the line. The Falcons hit 4-48 (.080) from the floor and 10-14 (.710) from the line. The Falcons also included Richard Durec.
The Calgary Springbank Phoenix dusted the Edmonton Concordia College Mustangs 47-30 as Kent Pearson scored 14, Mike de Graff 10 and Peter Bucher 8. Bryan Richardson led the Mustangs with 11. Randy Andrews added 10. The Phoenix led 18-9, 24-12 and 38-18 after the quarters. The Mustangs also included Jim Holtby.
The Bow Island Senator Gershaw Gators clipped the Slave Lake Roland Michener Lakers 62-52 after leading 9-5, 20-18 and 36-34 at the quarters. Jon Siggelkow paced the Gators with 30. Norman Smith added 17. Terry Karst paced the Lakers with 23. Brian Engebretson added 18.
In the last quarterfinal, the Rimbey Spartans dumped the Devon John Maland Wildcats 58-49 in overtime. The Spartans trailed 44-33 with six minutes to play but rallied back and forced overtime on a David Murray bank shot with six seconds to play. They opened the extra session with an 8-0 run. The Spartans led 14-10 after one quarter and 27-22 at the half. The Wildcats led 37-31 after three quarters. Earl Slack and Dave Huff each scored 13 to pace the Spartans. David Murray added 12. Rick Lasiuk paced the Wildcats with 20. Peter Yaro added 11. The Spartans hit 26% from the floor and 18-31 from the line. The Wildcats hit 45% from the floor and 5-14 from the line. The Wildcats also included Mike Sparks.
In the semis, the Picture Butte Sugar Kings dispatched the Rimbey Spartans 59-33 as Kevin Reiter scored 20, Gary Jensen 12 and Rod Malchow 10. David Murray and Rod Palm each scored 8 to lead the Spartans.
In the other semi, the Calgary Springbank Phoenix edged the Bow Island Senator Gershaw Gators 45-41 as Mike de Graff scored 15 and Wade Johnson 10. Harvey Reimer led the Gators with 12. Jon Siggelkow added 10.
In the bronze medal match, the Rimbey Spartans dusted the Bow Island Senator Gershaw Gators 71-59 as Dave Huff scored 26 and David Murray 15. Jon Siggelkow led the Gators with 26. Norman Smith added 19. The score was tied at 14 after one quarter. The Spartans led 33-28 at the half and 55-40 after three quarters. The Gators also included Harvey Reimer, Randy Moncks,
In the final, the Picture Butte Sugar Kings defeated the Calgary Springbank Phoenix 50-33 to avenge a loss in the 1977 title match and claim their third crown in four years. “I don’t think the score flattered us,” Sugar Kings coach George Hanna told the Lethbridge Herald. “I think it was a pretty good indication. I think we were 15 points better than that team. I felt from what I’d seen of Springbank that if the kids played the type of game they were capable of, we could beat them by 15 points. We didn’t want a squeaker. We had something to prove. We wanted to know for sure.” Kevin Reiter scored 7 as the Sugar Kings broke to a 9-2. Lead. But the Phoenix rallied within 17-14 after one quarter. The Sugar Kings led 28-19 at the half and 39-25 after three quarters in the romp. Allan Wocknitz paced the Sugar Kings with 16. Kevin Reiter added 14 and Greg Szteina 10. Mike de Graff led the Phoenix with 14. Peter Bucher added 11. “We both got into foul trouble,” Hanna said. “Reiter for us, and their number 44 (Peter Bucher). We had the better bench, I guess. Big number 40 (Szteina) came off the bench for us. He’s not polished, but he’s tough and he did what he had to do. You just don’t push him around. Reiter got us started. I think Gary Jensen played an absolutely super game this afternoon (against Rimbey Spartans) and then played well again tonight. We got 40 points inside from Wocknitz, Reiter and Szteina. We lived by scoring inside all year, and I guess it’s justice that we did it again tonight.” The Sugar Kings hit 19-58 (.330) from the floor, while the Phoenix hit 11-40 (.280). It was the Sugar Kings 26th consecutive win.
The bronze medalist Rimbey Spartans: Dave Huff; David Murray; Rod Palm; Earl Slack; Rod Palm; Derek Tona; Doug Kowaliuk; Reg Steele; coach Duncan Prescott
The silver medalist Calgary Springbank Phoenix: Mike de Graff; Peter Bucher; Wade Johnson;
The gold medalist Picture Butte Sugar Kings: Kevin Reiter; Allan Wocknitz; Gary Jensen; Greg Szteina; Rod Malchow; Boyd Nummi; Ned Jankunis; Bernie Loman; Arnie Bergen-Henengouwen; Terry Osko; Donny Jensen; Darwin Sauer; coach George Hanna