In the quarterfinals, held in Edmonton, the 2nd-seeded Cardston Cougars crushed the 7th-seeded Grande Prairie St. Joseph’s Celtics 91-49 (also reported as 100-49) as Jamie Atwood scored 18, Dustin Payne 14, Derek Jacobs 14 and Kash Merrill 12. The Cougars led 48-13 at the half. Jason Viczko paced the Celtics with 13.
The 6th-seeded Drayton Valley Frank Maddock Warriors stunned the 3rd-seeded Calgary Queen Elizabeth Knights 78-59. The Knights led 35-34 at the half. Jamie Kelly paced the Knights (coached Tom Parker) with 23. Jeff Walburger added 22. The Knights also included S. Thompson, P Sundstrom.
The Sherwood Park Archbishop Jordan Scots dispatched the Camrose Composite Trojans 93-86 as Jared Zsombor scored 23. The Trojans included Bob Sherman, Trevor Boisvert, Noel Skogland, Cory Evanson, Marty Swanson, Shane Thompson.
In the last quarterfinal, the top-seeded Airdrie Bert Church Chargers pounded the Bonnyville Centralized Roadrunners 103-80 after leading 59-30 at the half. Brad Gallup led the Chargers with 22. Lance Hartwell added 17. Bruce Mawer paced the Roadrunners with 20.
In the semis, the 2nd-seeded Cardston Cougars defeated the Drayton Valley Frank Maddock Warriors 86-70 as Jamie Atwood scored 24 and Maurice Bennett 20.
In the other semi, the top-seeded Airdrie Bert Church Chargers defeated the Sherwood Park Archbishop Jordan Scots 92-63. The Chargers led 51-35 at the half.
In the bronze medal match, the Sherwood Park Archbishop Jordan Scots clipped the Drayton Valley Frank Maddock Warriors 74-60. The Warriors included B Martin.
In the final, the top-seeded Airdrie Bert Church Chargers defeated the 2nd-seeded Cardston Cougars 97-84 in overtime as Brad Gallup scored 43. Gallup hit a free throw with four seconds remaining to force the extra session. “I didn’t really think of anything, I just tried to concentrate. I was pretty confident,” Gallup told the Edmonton Journal. Gallup said “I didn’t really think of anything. I just tried to concentrate. I was pretty confident.” Teammate Jamie Benkie added that “I had no worries at all. He’s the kind of guy that if you put the ball in his hands, he’ll do something with it.” The Cougars built a 53-33 lead at the half on the marksmanship of Kash Merrill. But the Chargers rallied with tough defence. Gallup said the nerves were predictable. “This is a lot of the guys’ first time in a big game. We’ve played in big games before but you know, this was the provincial finals.” Chargers coach Allen Gallup, father of Brad, said that “We were a little panicky in the first half in the shooting sense. We weren’t patient enough. We weren’t playing our game. …We came out really cold. Nothing fell for us and just about everything fell for them. But we have some real leaders on our team and they just decided at halftime that we were better than they were.” Brad Gallup noted that the title was the goal the team had set at the start of the year. “It really feels good to have things work out the way you wanted them to.” The Rams were the only team in the province to defeat the 4A champ Magrath Zeniths during the season. Allen Gallup noted that it wasn’t difficult to coach his son. “He’s a very dedicated athlete. He always runs and trains and lifts weights. He does everything he can to be the best he can be. It’s not hard to coach someone who continually strives for excellence like Brad does.” Cardston coach Ken McMurray was furious with the officiating. “I’m really frustrated. I felt like they continually gave them a chance to come back and some calls near the end of the game were atrocious. I don’t like to leave my kids with a bad taste in their mouths because we felt we had a great year and I felt like we were the best team in the province.” Cardston had the lead and possession of the ball with nine seconds to play but were hit with a technical foul, sending Gallup to the line. Cardston led by 21 at the half but the Chargers opened the second half with a 14-1 run. Maurice Bennett led Cardston with 14. Nathan Pitcher added 13. Cardston coach Ken McMurray was angry with the officiating. “I’m really frustrated. I felt like they continually gave them a chance to come back and some calls near the end of the game were atrocious. I don’t like to leave my kids with a bad taste in their mouths because we had a great year and I felt like we were the best team in the province.”
The bronze medalist Archbishop Jordan Scots: Ryan Dunkley; Jared Zsombor; Barry Nestransky;
The silver medalist Cardston Cougars: Kash Merrill; Jamie Atwood; Nathan Pitcher; Kimbal Lacey; Paul Woodward; John Hardy; Maurice Bennett; Derek Jacobs; Scott Summerfeldt; Brett Nish; Doug Pitcher; Dustin Payne; coach Ken McMurray
The gold medalist Airdrie Bert Church Chargers: Brad Gallup; Andy McPike; Lance Hartwell; Jamie Benkie; Geoff Franks; Andrew Gustafson; coach Allen Gallup