In the opening round, held in Vancouver: …………………………………………………… The Victoria Oak Bay Bays opened with a 77-53 victory over the Vancouver Templeton Titans as Dave Kirzinger scored 34, Steve Pescod 10, Rob Paris 8, Tim Carlson 8, Brian Mann 7, Evan Jones 5, Dennis Trumpy 2 and Scott Noble 1, while Larry Dalziel and Mark Bonsor were scoreless. Mario Gorochin led the Titans with 12. Gennaro Magistrale added 11, Peter Novakov 9, Dennis Zaballero 7, Ralf Macek 6, Ed Soo 4, Gordon McCartney 2 and Dino Rosa 2, while Terry Burke, Andy Bigiolli, Hiro Yaggi and Terry Bingley were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The Kamloops Red Devils edged the Victoria Mount Douglas Rams 78-65 as Doug Tidball scored 22, Al Chapple 12, Kevin Powell 18, Homer Hamm 8, Mike Ledoux 6 and Jim Folk 2. John McManaman led the Rams with 15. Bruce Lubinich added 12, Doug Mosher 12, Gordon Wood 10, Mike Gains 8 and Rick Jones 8. “We weren’t aggressive enough. We’re not really eager to get the ball,” Rams coach Dale Bate told The Victoria Express. The Red Devils led 18-14 after one quarter and 38-35 at the half. They dominated the boards and capitalized on Ram foul trouble, particularly after John McManaman fouled out in the fourth quarters. “That (McManaman’s fouling out) hurt us,” Bate said. “We were starting to get momentum.” The Rams also included Marlen Horn, Tom Watson, Chris Grew, Bill Van Buskirk, Chris Baker and Robert Spanier. …………………………………………………… The Coquitlam Centennial Cougars clipped Grand Forks Secondary Wolves 67-53 as Arlen Cook scored 31, John Duda 11, Mike Thodus 8, Dave Forsyth 8, Dave Senay 5 and Greg Gehlen 4, while Scott Wren, Miles Mithrush, Fred Blewett, Terry Stocel and Eric Otterstrom were scoreless. Dale Darychuk led the Wolves with 22. Louis Posthumus added 13, Lorne Bartlett 10 and Brian Bartlett 8, while Ian Kishi, Doug Phillips, Tony Matthews, Calvin Starchuk, Ez Heninger and Stan Lawes were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The Burnaby St. Thomas More Knights clipped the Terrace Caledonia Kermodes 81-25 as Dan Davies scored 31, Don Commons 22, Pete Clarke 16, Mike Farrer 10 and Gene Sullivan 2, while John Spanjers, Lorne Bohn, Phil Sebellin, Bill Appleby, Pat Thierman and Dan Cahill were scoreless. Lorne Dakin led the Kermodes with 22. Rudy Embury added 20, Greg Ross 12, Bruce Johnstone 8, Willy Chemko 8, Andy Ruygrok 2, Larry Paulson 2 and John Hiemstra 1, while Jim Proctor, Scott Schooner, Kurt Houlden and Kevin Olsen were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The Vancouver Killarney Cougars crushed the Prince George Polars 82-55 as Dean Barkley scored 27, Arnie Dick 16, Don Schmidt 14, Phil Legentil 9, Joe Frank 8, Ken Osterreicher 4 and Rick Lee 4, while Terry Hreman, Dave Sparkes, Jim Herman, Bob Bosma and Brian Bion were scoreless. Wayne Ward led the Polars with 18. Doug Norberg added 11, Steve Cook 8, Dennis Dickson 6, Doug Webber 4, Blair Wilson 4 and Doug Higgins 4, while Rick Corrigal, Jack Kyrein, Bob Becott, Evan Rosen and Norm Dodson were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The Hope Mustangs dumped the Burnaby Central Wildcats 76-60 as Steve Ferguson scored 36, Neil McPhedran 14, Cye Blackball 10, Dave Miller 6, Ed Graham 6, Al Soltis 2 and Ryan Mulligan 2, while Gordon McPhedran, Rick Sumner, Cal Sadrak and Stuart Miller were scoreless. The Mustangs alternate use of a 2-3 and a 2-1-2 zone appeared to befuddle the Wildcats. Mustangs coach Gordon MacKay told the Vancouver Sun that “the lower we’re ranked, the better I like it. It gets the kids fired up.” John Haaheim led the Wildcats with 30. Steve Vandervelden added 14, Allan Greenword 10, Glen Lapthorne 10 and Russ Lawrie 6, while Tom Chapman, Hart Gupta, Darrell Decker, Bill Nexter and Ron Neufeld were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The West Vancouver Highlanders edged Courtenay G.P. Vanier (then Courtenay Secondary) Towhees 62-57 as Per Eskeson scored 17, Doug Andrews 13, Mike Brody 8, Bruce Clarke 8, Ian MacNeill 7, Dan Wark 6, Ray Lord 2 and Paul Langley 1, while Brock Greer, Tim Harrington, Tony Fraser and Don Littleford were scoreless. Jamie Newman led the Towhees with 18. Brian Shaw added 12, Randy Stanish 11, Rich James 4, Dave Lee 4, Dave Busse 3, Jim Burns 3 and Greg Ward 2, while Gary Leung and Grant Giles were scoreless. …………………………………………………… The North Surrey Spartans defeated the North Vancouver Argyle Pipers 58-50 as Bill Berzins scored 21, Jim Scanlon 16, Jim Gaspard 14, Glen Richardson 7, Dan Lawrence 6 and Frank Nicolette 2, while Ross Bentley, Rick Sqlewski, Grant Adkins, Dave Whyte, Doug Kunyk and John deKlerk were scoreless. Jamie Nicholson led the Pipers with 14. Peter Pierobon added 12, Bob Walter 10, Darrel Nordby 8 and Gord Atkinson 6, while Mike Keen, John Gannon, Brad Sharp, Chris Arcardi, Dean Cahan, Wayne Stewart and Matt Annan were scoreless.
In the quarterfinals, the Victoria Oak Bay Bays defeated the Coquitlam Centennial Centaurs 78-56 as Dave Kirzinger scored 26, Steve Pescod 20, Evan Jones 17, Robbie Parris 9, Brian Mann 4 and Mark Bonsor 2. Arlen Cook paced the Centaurs with 17. Greg Gehlen added 11, Dave Forsyth 6, Scott Wren 6, Dave Senay 6, John Duda 2, Miles Mithrush 2 and Mike Thodus 2.
The Kamloops Red Devils whipped the Hope Mustangs 85-60 as Allan Chapple scored 33, Doug Tidball 18, Mike Ledeux 14, Kevin Powell 10, Homer Hamm 4, Gary Cope 2, Harry Thomas 2, Lindsay Karpiuk 1 and Jim Folk 1. Steve Ferguson led the Mustangs with 25. Neil McPedran added 13, Cye Blackwell 11, Pat Kelley 3, Stuart Muir 2, Dave Miller 2, Ed Graham 2 and Allan Sottis 2. The Mustangs (coached by Gordon McKay, manager Gary Kawakami, manager Joe Sousa) also included Carl Soares, Gord McPhedran, Rick Sumner and Ryan Mulligan.
The Vancouver Killarney Cougars crushed the West Vancouver Highlanders 60-43 as Arnie Dick scored 27, Dean Barkley 13, Don Schmidt 10, Jim Herman 5 and Rick Lee 4. Doug Andrews led the Highlanders with 18. Dan Wark added 7, Bruce Clarke 6, Per Eskeson 6, Paul Langley 2, Ian MacNeill 2 and Ray Lord 2.
In the last quarterfinal, the Burnaby St. Thomas More Knights defeated the North Surrey Spartans 76-61 as Dan Davies scored 24, Pete Clarke 18, Don Commons 14, Gene Sullivan 8, Mike Farrer 6 and Dan Cahill 2. Bill Berzins led the Spartans with 28. Jim Gaspard added 12, Glenn Richardson 10, Frank Nicolette 4, John de Klerk 3, Jim Scanlan 2 and Doug Kunyk 2.
In the semis, the Victoria Oak Bay Bays nipped the Vancouver Killarney Cougars 54-53 as Dave Kirzinger hit a desperation bomb with three seconds left on the clock. “Somebody up there likes us,” a relieved Kirzinger told the Vancouver Sun. “Killarney deserved to win much more than we did.” Trailing by 13 in the third quarter, Killarney used a zone press to completely rattle Oak Bay and rally to within two. Killarney’s 6-4 Don Schmidt, who finished with 14 points, held Kirzinger to a single bucket in the final 10 minutes and hit two straight field goals late in the game to give the Vancouver squad a 53-52 lead. Killarney tried to stall out the game but Dean Barkley was called for charging and Oak Bay got the ball back. With coach Don Horwood screaming on the sidelines for a time out but drowned out by 3000 rabid fans, Parris passed the ball into Kirzinger, who dribbled to the side of the key and let fly with a 12-foot jumper. It went in. “We lost our cool and Killarney kept theirs,” Horwood later noted. “We didn’t deserve to win. I don’t think the refereeing has been that good and perhaps that’s what upset our players.” Oak Bay’s Evan Jones and Steve Pescod had spent most of the second half on the bench with four fouls. Robbie Paris paced the Bays with 16. Dave Kirzinger added 12, Evan Jones 8, Tom Carlson 6, Steve Pescod 6, Brian Mann 4 and Dennis Trumpy 2. Arnie Dick led the Cougars with 18. Dean Barley added 15, Don Schmidt 14 and Rick Lee 6.
In the other semi, the Kamloops Red Devils thrashed the Burnaby St. Thomas More Knights 76-51 as 6-11 post Allen Chapple scored 33, Homer Hamm 12, Doug Tidball 10, Mike Ledoux 10, Kevin Powell 6 and Jim Folk 5. Dan Davies led the Knights with 12. Don Commons added 12, Gene Sullivan 8, Pete Clarke 4 and Dan Cahill 1.
In the bronze medal match, the Vancouver Killarney Cougars dumped the Burnaby St. Thomas More Knights 78-61 as Don Schmidt scored 23, Arnie Dick 10, Rick Lee 10, Dean Barkley 10, Terry Herman 4 and Jim Herman 2. Dan Davies scored 20 to lead the Knights (coached by Rich Goulet). Pete Clarke added 15, Don Commons 10, Mike Farrer 8, Gene Sullivan 6 and Pat Herman 2.
In the final, the top-seeded Victoria Oak Bay Bays escaped with a 53-50 victory over the Kamloops Red Devils to win their second straight provincial crown. In the first half, 6-11 centre Allen Chapple scored 14 of his 20 points to lead Kamloops to a 34-25 halftime lead. Oak Bay star Dave Kirzinger spent most of the half on the bench with three fouls. He scored 8 of his 15 points in the first half. But in the second half, Kamloops abandoned the 3-2 zone that had proven so effective against Oak Bay in the first half, switching to a man-to-man defence. Chapple picked up his fourth foul with 3:14 left in the third quarter and was forced to bench. Oak Bay began to rally. “I gambled that Oak Bay wouldn’t make the necessary adjustments versus the zone,” Kamloops coach Jack Buckham told the Vancouver Sun. “They started cracking it in the third quarter so I went man-to-man. I should have stayed with a zone all the way.” Once Chapple returned to the game in the fourth quarter, Horwood instructed his players to drive directly at the Kamloops centre in hopes he’s pick up his fifth. “I knew we could come back if we kept our cool,” he noted. Indeed, 5-9 Tim Carlson hit a 15-foot jumper with 1:40 to go to cap the rally as Oak Bay took its first lead 50-49. Carlson, who shot 3-16 from the floor, later noted that “I wasn’t having what you’d call one of my classier nights. Kamloops was given me all kinds of room outside, figuring I’d try to pass off rather than shoot. But heck, when they give you that much room, you’d better take it.” Brian Mann added an insurance bucket. Oak Bay shot .290 from the floor, while Kamloops shot .400. Victoria Oak Bay became the first team in 23 years to win consecutive championships as they captured the provincial crown after surviving a buzzer beating semi-final desperation shot by Dave Kirzinger. Coached by Don Horwood, Oak Bay entered the tourney as the top seed with a 38-0 record on the season, despite having lost Chris Trumpy and Grant Boland from their 1973 title team. The 1974 edition featured 6-3 Dave Kirzinger, forwards Evan Jones and Steve Pescod, as well as guards Robbie Parris and Tim Carlson. Evan Jones added 14 for the Bays. Steve Pescod scored 8, Rob Paris 6, Tim Carlson 6 and Brian Mann 4. Doug Tidball added 4 for the Red Devils. Homer Hamm added 6, Kevin Powell 6 and Mike Ledoux 6.
The bronze medalist Vancouver Killarney Cougars: Don Schmidt; Dean Barkley; Arnie Dick; Dean Bailey; Rick Lee; Phil Legentil; Ken Osterreicher; Joe Frank; Jim Herman;
The silver medalist Kamloops Red Devils: Allan Chapple; Jim Folk; Doug Tidball; Homer Hamm; Kevin Powell; Mike Ledoux; Gary Cope; Harry Thomas; Lindsay Karpiuk; coach Jack Buckham
The gold medalist Victoria Oak Bay Bays: Dave Kirzinger; Evan Jones; Steve Pescod; Robbie Paris; Tim Carlson; Brian Mann; Larry Dalziel; Dennis Trumpy; Scott Noble; Mark Bonsor; coach Don Horwood; manager Dan Driedger; manager Western Higbie