In the wildcard game, the North Vancouver St. Thomas Aquinas Saints dusted the Vernon Clarence Fulton Maroons 84-59. Jeff Danforth led the Maroons with 22. Mark Zaino added 10 and Ian Parker 10. Maroons coach Dale Olson told the Vernon Morning Star that “we led right through three quarters and then just ran out of gas. … They didn’t do anything differently against us. We just couldn’t put the ball in the hole.”
In the opening round, held at Vancouver’s PNE Agrodome: …………………………………………………… The Langley Brookswood Bobcats defeated the Terrace Caledonia Kermodes 74-59. The Bobcats almost squandered a 42-24 halftime lead after the Kermodes ripped off a 16-0 run to draw within 42-40. But the rally fell short when post Shawn Cross fouled out. “The reason we have been so up and down is because our team is so emotional,” Bobcats coach Mark Tamblyn told the Vancouver Province. “But so much of it is that we’ve never been in this facility before.” Neal Cranna led the Bobcats with 20. Wade Tamblyn added 16, Matt Toohey 12 and player of the game Chris Clapton 12. Clapton’s grandfather had died during the regionals. “I’m playing for him now,” Clapton told the Langley Advance. “He would have liked to see me play, so I’m putting in the best effort I can. I’m trying to play the best I can for him.” The Bobcats led 42-24 at the half. Joseph Dominguez paced the Kermodes with 22. Cross added 13 and Steve Critchley 12. The Kermodes (coached by Cam MacKay) also included Todd Kluss, Brian Demedeiros, Andy deHoog, Kelsey Hidber, John Crawley. Kermodes coach Cam MacKay told the Terrace News that his troops came out “really flat. They just weren’t going in for us.” …………………………………………………… The Vancouver Prince of Wales Walesmen defeated Courtenay G.P. Vanier Towhees 74-71. The Walesmen ripped off a 15-4 run over four minutes in the fourth quarter to pull out the win. Walesmen forward Damien Ross converted a Darcy Deutscher miss with 36 seconds left to break a 68-68 tie. The 5-11 Deutscher scored 29, hit 6-7 from the line, nabbed 4 boards, dished 1 assist and pilfered 4 balls. “Darcy consistently rises to the occasion in big games,” Walesmen coach Ross Marshall told the Vancouver Sun. “He’s not big physically, but the size of his heart can’t be measured. He has a terrific sixth sense of how to play the game, how to read certain situations. When you combine that with his exemplary work rate, he’s a complete player.” Deutscher said “we’re used to the underdog role — in fact we relish it. We can put the ball in the hoop but team defence is really what got us here. Total team defence is the key to our success in this tournament.” He added that the Walesmen effectively off the dribble and drew fouls. “We do that type of thing a lot as a team. We don’t have the height to compete with a lot of teams, so we have to devise other ways to make up for it.” Tasso Kanavos and Damien Ross each added 11 for the Walesmen. Geoff Kabush and Chris Corrigal each notched 17 to lead the Towhees. Joey Loukes added 15. The Towhees also included Nate Smith. …………………………………………………… The Vancouver Tech Talismen defeated the Cranbrook Mount Baker Trojans 84-47 as Adam Rattray scored 27, nabbed 11 boards and dished 3 assists. Cayle Rogers added 12. Mount Baker coach Rob Dowswell would have preferred not to have been in the tournament. “This wouldn’t have happened if I had the choice,” Dowswell said. “In fact, we had a meeting with a lot of the players and a lot them also said they didn’t want to come. I didn’t want to bring them down because I didn’t think they were ready. Quite frankly, you don’t want to come to something like this and get embarrassed.” Mount Baker is the only Triple A team in the Kootenays, so it doesn’t need to play a qualifier to advance. Dowswell worries if he declines his open invitation, it won’t be there next time he has a competitive team. “We are a total anomaly. We’re a Triple A school that is seven, eight or nine hours away from our nearest competition.” Coach Kevin Grant had agreed to shave his long, curly, brunette locks if the Talismen made it to the provincials for the first time since 1975, their only appearance in the draw. Chad Stager paced the Trojans with 18. The Trojans (coached by Rob Dowswell, assistant Al Davis) also included Kris Vogell, Ned Bouzaara, Jeff Lee, Eric Keil, Codey Hawke, Ryan Poizter, Brian Burton, Joe Delamont, Matt Palmer, Mike Martindale and Neil Ellingson. …………………………………………………… The Abbotsford W.J. Mouat Hawks tripped the North Vancouver St. Thomas Aquinas Fighting Saints 80-65 in its first trip to the provincials. Jordan Gervais, a 6-3 power forward, and teammate Josh Vanderheide, a 6-2 guard, showed up for class with fire-truck red hair, which angered Hawks coach Mark Loewen. He ordered them to bleach the red out before their 2:30 p.m. tip-off. “We were just trying to match our uniforms and help out team spirit, but he didn’t see it that way,” Gervais told the Vancouver Province. Gervais scored 22, nabbed 9 boards and dished 3 assists. Mouat built its biggest lead at 50-29 when Colin Inman hit 1-2 free throws with 6:57 left in the third quarter. The Saints drew no closer than 11. The Saints had elected to play Triple A after winning the past three provincial Single A titles. “We think now that our program is stable enough for us to make a good run in Triple A for the next four or five years,” said co-coach Chris Sumner. Mike Bartos led the Hawks with 23 points and 13 rebounds. The Saints included Jon Vendargon, Matt Hutchison, Damon Campbell, Mike Bartos.
In the second round: …………………………………………………… The unseeded Vancouver Tech Talisman stunned the top-seeded Port Coquitlam Terry Fox Ravens 56-46 in one of the biggest upsets of tournament history. “In terms of upsets, I guess this was a pretty big one,” Ravens co-coach Don Van Os told the Vancouver Sun. “I don’t know if it’s the biggest ever but it’s got to be close,” said co-coach Rich Chambers. Tech co-coach Gene Cormier wryly noted that “you wouldn’t want to make your living better on high school basketball. You wouldn’t have bet on us.” The Talismen did a remarkable job shutting down 6-3 Ravens forward Aaron Mitchell, containing him to 10 points and 4-20 from the floor using a diamond-and-one defence. “We put 5-10 Cayle Rogers on Mitchell and he did the job,” said Cormier. Rogers said that “I just face-guarded him the whole game. Today it worked like a charm. He was really frustrated. I like playing defence. It feels good.” Terry Fox led 29-18 at the half but Vancouver Tech rallied back on Adam Rattray’s 20-point second half to tie the game at 39 on the first play of the final quarter. Rattray finished with 24 points and 10 boards. Cayle Rogers added 10, Stanley Tom 8, Artur Szylowski 8, Kim Au 3 and Kyle Sanderson 2. “We didn’t get anything from outside,” said Van Os. “They were tough. They did a good job on defence.” James Carmichael paced the Ravens with 13. Aaron Mitchell added 10, Peter Morgan 7, Andrey Schmidt 6, Colin McDonald 4, Dan Jakovljevich 4 and Martin Plavcic 2. “At halftime the coaches read us the (tournament) program that talked all about the greatest upsets here,” player of the game Adam Rattray told the Vancouver Province. “We just said `Hey, let’s go out and go for it.” The Talismen shifted to a box-and-one after trailing 29-18 at the half and the Ravens went 0-17 from the arc in the second half. “You’ve got to hit some outside shots,” Chambers told the Province. “They just packed four guys in the paint and didn’t come out on our guys. Tech played a hell of a game. I guess we made their memories for life.” Cormier’s co-coach, Kevin Grant, shaved his head on the eve of the tourney after promising his players he would do so if they made the draw, told the Vancouver Sun that “We talked about the fact that there hadn’t been a huge upset in this tournament in the ’90s yet.” Co-coach Gene Cormier added that “we’ve only been here once before, in 1975. It’s tough to qualify for the B.C.’s in the Lower Mainland because there’s so many independent schools. They can pack their teams with talent that isn’t generally available to the public schools.” Rattray said “we just tried to keep things as simple as possible because we’re a pretty straight-forward team.” The Ravens (co-co-coached by Chambers and Van Os) also included Ben Simmons, Craig Takuno. ………………………………………………… The Vancouver College Fighting Irish defeated the Victoria Mount Douglas Rams 85-77 as Mike Franks scored 24 while ‘Mr. Whiz’ Jason Maher scored 22, Andrew Irving 17, Jatinder Rai 7, Suneel Gokhale 4 and Dan Lazzari 2. Lanny Burrows and Jamie McQueen each scored 17 to lead Mount Douglas. Dan Lauvaas added 16, Terry Outhwaite 16, Duncan Anderson 6 and Mark Beaty 5. “It was all tempo,” Irish coach Bob Corbett told the Vancouver Sun. “When we played our tempo, we scored. When they played their tempo, they scored.” The Irish defence forced a raft of turnovers and transition buckets. “We were definitely nervous,” the Rams’ Lanny Burrows, who scored 17, told the Victoria Times-Colonist. “We missed a lot of easy lay-ups.” Jamie McQueen added 17 and Dan Lauvaas 16. The Rams (co-coached by Gord Hoshal and Bob Burrows) also included Terril Outhwaite. …………………………………………………… The 9th-seeded Ladysmith 49ers nipped the 7th-seeded North Delta Huskies 83-80 as 6-6 forward Tony McCrory stepped up down the stretch, while Huskie Alex Zabori’s effort to duplicate the feat and force overtime with a trey at the buzzer bounced off the front rim. McCrory finished with 35 points and 9 rebounds, while 6-2 forward Steve Lidgate added 23, guard Darcy Kulai 11, despite playing with an ankle sprain, Jason Robillard 7, Daryl Rogers 6 and Chad Bastian 1. The 49ers used a 9-0 run to lead 79-69 with 3:57 remaining, but Husky Jeff Stebbings scored six of his team-high 24 points over a 1:41 span, the last a short jumper with 47 seconds left. With the 49ers up by two at 80-78, McCrory took the ball strong to the hoop while drawing the foul. Count the basket and foul shot, for an 83-78 lead with 59 seconds left. The Huskies cut it to 83-80 and then got the ball back, setting the stage for Zabori’s final shot. “I wanted the ball in the crunch,” McCrory told the Victoria Times-Colonist. “If it came down to the wire, I wanted to have the ball. I think we have a chance of winning the whole thing.” Huskies coach Bill Stebbings told the Vancouver Sun that “I guess you’d call it an upset. They came out and their two kids played really well. That was the difference. … Their big 11 (McCrory) hit a key bucket (two and a foul) right at the end. That was the winner.” Ladysmith coach Randy Steel added that “no foul trouble, that was the key for us. McCrory was big, big, big. He’s the type of player who can lift his teammates to a better game.” Jeff Stebbings led North Delta with 24. Assistant coach Al Haynes’ son Clarke added 17, Alex Zabori 14, Aaron Keay 14, Ian Petrov 8, Mandeep Gill 2 and Kevin Williams 1. Huskies post Clark Haynes told the Surrey Lead that “we knew this game was those three players, the guys that scored all their points. But McCory played a helluva game. … We were too focused on this game, no question. I guess it just wasn’t our day.” Stebbings said “I was worried (at the half), 49 points against is much too high. We didn’t play good man-to-man. We went to a triangle-and-two defence (in the second half) and maybe we should have done it a little earlier. It took (McCory and Lidgate) out of the game.” …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Richmond Colts defeated the Abbotsford W.J. Mouat Hawks 76-68. Mouat built a 42-32 lead with 1:23 left in the first half, but the Colts took control down the stretch, led by 9 points from Grade 11 swingman Kyle Russell who finished with 21 (also reported as 19). James Wang led Richmond with 25. Jason Bristow notched 10, Claude Dery 6, Robert Laing 6, Trevour Bourne 4 and Chris Rae 4. Mike Lee paced the Hawks with 30. Mike Laverty added 19, Jordan Gervais 8, Kyle Inman 4, Jake Turner 4, Tyler McKinnes 3, Shawn Labbe 2 and Josh Vanderheide 2. The Hawks (coached by Mark Loewen) also included Seth Bergen. …………………………………………………… The West Vancouver Highlanders defeated the junior-laden Quesnel Correlieu Clan 99-63 as 6-5 guard Tim Engelbert scored 50. “I pulled him out of the game and the guys on the bench told me he’s only got two to go for the record. So back in he went,” Highlanders coach Tom Rippon told the Vancouver Sun. Engelbert responded with an old-fashioned three-point play. James Elton added 16 for West Vancouver, Dave Shannon 10, Joey Tibble 6, Paul Mulgrew 4, Jihad Paris 4, Dave Morris 2, Sean Fairburn 2 and Dan Richardson 1. “I guess the guys are just counting on me to step up in big games,” Englebert, the B.C. under-17 team member, told the Vancouver Sun. “But yeah, I never even dreamed 50.” When Correlieu threw a zone defence at him, he started firing from the outside. And when they tried to stop him man-to-man, he put the ball on the floor and slashed his way to the goal. The final line on Engelbert: 22-28 (.790) from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 4-5 from the line, 13 boards and 1 assist. Chris Nevoral and Ravi Duhra each scored 17 to lead the Clan. Bruce Lea added 10, Nedzad Hrbinic 8, Chad Grimm 6, Rick Lidder 3 and Trevor Menzel 2. The Clan (coached by Bal Sekhon and Ed Nielsen) also included Chris Nevoral, Herman Lidder, Steven Brand, Jarret Atkins and Shane Kempner. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Clearbrook MEI Eagles defeated the Vancouver Prince of Wales Walesmen 75-71. The Eagles reeled off 16 straight fourth-quarter points for a come-from-behind win. Josh Hall, the MVP for MEI at the 1994 B.C. Junior championships, led the Eagles with 22. Post Joel Nickel added 21, Dan Turner 15, Matt Loewen 15 and Dave Brandsma 4. Darcy Deutscher paced the Walesmen (coached by Ross Marshall) with 24 but just 3 in the second half. Tasso Kanavox added 21, Nick Petrakis 10, Damien Ross 10, Steve Michoulas 4 and Amrit Bawa 2. …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded run-and-gun Richmond Matthew McNair Marlins dumped the Kelowna Owls 105-86 despite 13 three-pointers by the Okanagan Valley squad. Josh Masters led the Marlins with 27. Sam Sharenjad added 25, Aman Dhaliwal 17, Rob Schumann 15, along with 12 boards and 2 blocks, Anthony Hadju 8, Harv Puni 5, Mike Singh 4 and Tim Rempel 4. Matt Rainey paced Kelowna with 35. Warren Kakosche added 17, Rusty May 15, Jim Douglas 8, Clarke Kruisyk 5, Mark Beckman 4 and Shaun Martens 2. The Owls also included Aaron Buckham. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Victoria St. Michaels University Blue Devils defeated the Langley Brookswood Bobcats 74-42 as juvenile provincial team post Ole Schmidt scored 21. The Bobcats opened with a 7-0 run and led 9-2 before the Blue Devils finally got on track. They led 39-28 at the half before completely outclassing the Bobcats in the second half. James MacIver added 12 for the Blue Devils, Mischa Greenwood 12, Allister Willmot 11, Jeremy Mills 6, Scott Gingies 5, Hayden Thompson 3, Dave Fairhurst 2, Cam Loveless 1 and Vininder Gill 1. Wade Tamblyn scored 10 to pace the Bobcats (coached by Mark Tamblyn). Neal Cranna added 9, Brad Harker 6, Jason Cybulik 6, Shaun Reid 3, Matt Toohey 3, Joey Pottinger 2, Chris Clapton 2 and Greg Barrett 1. The Bobcats also included Dean Tilbury.
In the quarterfinals, the Ladysmith 49ers upset the 3rd-seed Richmond Colts 88-70 as Tony McCrory scored 48, Darcy Kulai 18, Daryl Rodgers 5, Chad Bastian 2 and Dan Kolk 2. McCrory was virtually unstoppable as he drilled jumper after jumper. Josh Masters led Richmond with 36 points. An exasperated Vancouver sportswriter noted: “where the hell is this place (Ladysmith)? Is that where that black group started out? And why are they named after a San Francisco football team?” Actually, Ladysmith Black Mombaso is from a town in South Africa, after which the Ladysmith was named in honor of a British victory in the Boer War. And the 49th parallel cuts right through the Island’s Ladysmith, hence the nickname. Ladysmith, playing at the Double A level just two seasons ago, got clutch shots from senior forward Tony McCrory in a game that was tied at 63 with 6:44 remaining. The 49ers had no trouble breaking Richmond’s pressure defence and when they needed big hoops, McCrory had the answers, often sinking 15-foot turnaround jumpers with two defenders in his face. He hit 11-11 from the line, nabbed 14 boards and blocked 4 shots. Ladysmith coach Randy Steel told the Nanaimo Daily Advance that “it was a big win for us. Everyone did what they had to do – I only played six players and we executed well. … (McCrory) had one of his better games. He was just scary.” Kyle Russell led the Colts with 21. James Wang added 18, Brian McDonnell 13, Chris Rae 6, Claude Dery 5, Aman Dhillon 3 and Robert Laing 2. “I felt I was on a roll,” McCrory told the Vancouver Province. “But it wasn’t just scoring. Everyone did their job. My job was to score.” Colt coach Bill Drisbow added that “we just didn’t have enough. Some of our kids tightened up and they (Ladysmith) handled our pressure (defence).” McCrory told the Vancouver Sun that “I had no idea how many points I had. And it didn’t really matter to me. I didn’t care about scoring. We just wanted to make sure that we got our defence right first. All year long we’ve been playing well against the big teams and still we don’t get any respect. Maybe we will now.” Drisbow said “the kid made a lot of tough shots. When he got it going, there was no stopping him.” He added that early foul trouble, particularly for post Jason Bristow, played a major factor. “I was confident we could get back into the game when we got our line-up back in. But you burn a lot of energy trying to get back into the game. Ladysmith coach Randy Steel said “we wanted to keep it to a half-court game and slow things down. We had to be patient and make sure we got the good shots.” The Colts also included Jason Bristow, Trevor Burne.
The 8th-seeded Richmond McNair Marlins stunned the St. Michaels University Blue Devils 88-87. “The Blue Devils lost about four seconds in total in the final 10 seconds when the clock twice kept running after the referee had blown his whistle. That made SMUS’ last possession a no-hoper with 1.5 seconds remaining when, in fact, the Devils should have had time enough to move the ball and get the chance for the win,” reported the Victoria Times-Colonist. Josh Masters led the Marlins with 36 on a series of circus shots. Aman Dhaliwal added 19, Rob Schumann 11, Harv Puni 11, Sam Sharenjad 7 and Tim Rempel 4. Trailing by 11 points in the third quarter, the Blue Devils rallied behind Ali Wilmott to knot the score at 84 with 34 seconds to play. But then he fouled out and Aman Dhaliwal hit the ensuing two foul shots. The Blue Devils Jamie MacIver bounced a trey off the rim with 10 seconds left. After Masters drilled two foul shots, Mischa Greenwood scored a three-pointer to pull the Blue Devils to within one. They got the ball back but the run-on clock denied them the time they needed. “The lost seconds were crucial. It deprived us of a good-look shot to win it,” Blue Devils coach Ian Hyde-Lay told the Times-Colonist. “But that’s not an excuse. McNair deserved to win.” Wilmott finished with 26. Ole Schmidt added 25, Mischa Greenwood 15, James MacIver 14, Jeremy Mills 4, Hayden Thompson 2, Peter Beatty 2 and Scott Gingles 1. Irascible Marlins coach Paul Eberhardt told the Vancouver Sun that “I know that a lot of people can’t really handle me. They think I’m a crazy lunatic on the bench. But what they don’t realize is how much I love and care about my players. I ask them to give 100 per cent of themselves in every game, so I think it’s only fair that I do all I can for them as a coach.” Hyde-Lay told the Vancouver Sun “that’s as poor a defensive performance as we’ve played all year. Eighty-seven points should get you a win. Give full credit to McNair. They played a great game.” Eberhardt said “I’m not surprised we beat them. I thought we could beat this team. He added that Harv Puni and Rob Schumann were stellar defensively. “These guys just don’t get noticed a lot. But they played their hearts out tonight. …And what can you say about Masters? He got us the big shots when we needed them.” Aman Dhaliwal added 19, including 6-8 from the line in the fourth quarter. The Blue Devils (coached by Ian Hyde-Lay, assistant Bill Greenwell, assistant Ted Anderson, manager S Ibell) also included Cam Loveless, Dave Fairhurst, Vinnie Gill, Colin Dyer, Alex Millar, Rob Connolly, Ben White and John Thomson.
The Vancouver College Fighting Irish defeated the Vancouver Tech Talismen 75-59 as Jason Maher scored 21, Andrew Irving 18, Jatinder Rai 13, Suneel Gokhale 12, Mike Franks 9 and Dan Lazzari 2. Adam Rattray paced the Talismen with 18. Artur Szylowski added 14, Stanley Tom 13, Kyle Sander 8 and Cayle Rogers 6. The Talisman (coached by Kevin Grant, assisted by Gene Cormier) included Alex Franco, Kim Au.
In the last quarterfinal, the Clearbrook Mennonite Educational Institute Eagles dumped the 4th-seeded West Vancouver Highlanders 69-60. Eagles coach Arnie Dick told the Vancouver Sun that “we played some great defence. We gave up a lot of height to them, but they couldn’t bring it inside.” Highlanders coach Tom Rippon said “we couldn’t make the outside shots. That’s ultimately what killed us.” Dick told the Abbotsford News that “we forced them to the outside. We played well enough to take them out of their offence.” Joel Nickel paced the Eagles with 22, along with 25 boards. Dan Turner added 15, Josh Hall 15, Matt Loewen 12 and Dave Brandsma 5. Tim Englebert led the Highlanders with 23. Joey Tibble added 10, James Elton 10, Jihad Paris 7, Paul Mulgrew 6 and Dave Shannon 4. The Highlanders also included Dave Morris, Sean Fairburn, Dan Richardson, Thomas Puddicome.
In the semis, the Clearbrook Mennonite Educational Institute Eagles defeated the Vancouver College Fighting Irish 64-56 despite trailing 21-5 early in the contest and 36-30 at the half. Joel Nickel paced the Eagles with 20. Josh Hall added 14, Matt Loewen 11, Dave Brandsma 10, Jamie Beck 5, Dan Turner 2, J.P. Dhillon 2 and J.J. Sidhu 2. Mike Franks paced Vancouver College with 18. Andrew Irving added 15, Jason Maher 13, Suneel Gokhale 6, Jatindr Rai 2 and Dan Lazzan 2. “There was not too much luck of the Irish today,” Eagles coach Arnie Dick told the Vancouver Sun. “These kids showed me their heart and intensity. Matt Loewen did it with his steals. He led the kids by example.” A disconsolate Irish coach Bob Corbett credited the Eagles for having “played very well (particularly defensively). We just stopped making shots.” Clearbrook rallied back from the early deficit using its overall team balance, Dick said. “We don’t have the height, nor that great speed. But we do have that balance. Everyone on our team is MVP.”
In the other semi, the Island’s third seed, the Ladysmith 49ers defeated the Richmond Matthew McNair Marlins 76-68. The 49ers led wire-to-wire while withstanding a furious stretch challenge from the Marlins. Ladysmith slowed the tempo to a crawl, consistently whittling the clock down to 10 seconds before taking a shot. “It’s ugly basketball but we have to play that way or we wouldn’t have been able to keep up with the Richmonds and McNairs,” said coach Randy Steel. 6-6 swingman Tony McCrory led the 49ers with 34 points and once again, was so nervous before the game that he threw up. But on the court, he was composed as always. The 49ers did what they had to do from the line in the end – converting six of eight down the stretch to keep the Marlins at bay. The 49ers played a deliberate tempo to take away the other team’s talent edge. Ladysmith has whittled the shot clock down to about 10 seconds and then still consistently got away good shots. “It’s ugly basketball but we have to play that way or we wouldn’t have been able to keep up with the Richmonds and McNairs,” said Steel. Darcy Kulai added 18 for the 49ers, Steve Lidgate 15, Dave Brandsma 10 and Jason Robillard 10. Steel told the Nanaimo Daily News that “we’re playing slow and ugly. Richmond and McNair were exactly the same, they just want to Fastbreak and we just don’t have the guys who can do that. We have to be really patient to look for the good opening.” Josh Masters paced the Marlins with 22. Sam Sharenejad 16, Tim Rempel 8, Rob Schumann 7, Aman Dhaliwal 7, Harv Puni 6 and Joel Hulme 2.
In the bronze medal match, the Vancouver College Fighting Irish, coached by Bob Corbett, defeated the 8th-seeded Richmond McNair Marlins 80-79. The Marlins got possession of the ball with 18 seconds to play but were unable to put the ball in the hoop. The Irish were paced by player of the game Jason Maher’s 26 points. Josh Masters led the Marlins with 34. Point guard Andrew Irving was stellar, scoring the Irish’s final seven points, including the winning free throws with 18.8 seconds on the clock. He finished with 17 points. McNair’s only lead came in the final quarter when Josh Masters stole the ball from Mike Franks and raced to a layup to put the Marlins ahead 79-78 with 39 seconds to play. But Irving notched the winner. Maher, who was chosen defensive player of the tournament, hit 12-18 in the first half to stake Vancouver College to a 43-40 lead at the break. McNair did not lead in the second half until Masters stole the ball from Mike Franks of the Irish and rushed the length of the court for a layup that put the Marlins ahead 79-78 with 39 seconds left. There had been no lead larger than seven points throughout the game. Over four games at the tournament, Masters scored 123 points for a 30.8 average. McNair shot .530 from the floor, while the Irish hit .470. McNair’s finish was its highest in school history while the Irish, making their 37th trip to the Big Dance, fashioned their fifth top four finish in eight years. Andrew Irving added 17 for the Irish. Josh Masters paced the Marlins with 34. Sam Sharenejad added 9. The Marlins (coached by Paul Eberhardt) also included Harv Puni, Rob Schumann, Aman Dhaliwal, Anthony Hadju, Mike Singh, Tim Rempel.
In the final, tournament MVP Tony McCrory and Darcy Kulai led the Ladysmith 49ers to their first provincial crown in 1995 as they defeated the Clearbrook Mennonite Educational Institute Eagles 74-70. Ladysmith trailed Clearbrook MEI, which had lost star center Steve Redekop to a season-ending injury midway through the season, for 37 minutes of the final but was ahead when it counted as another sterling performance by Tony McCrory keyed the 74-70 victory. He finished with 37 points to finish with a four-game tournament total of 155 points, eclipsing Richmond Colt Alan Tait’s 15-year-old record. Darcy Kulai added 20 and grabbed 12 rebounds, Steve Lidgate 12, Darryl Rodgers 3 and guard Jason Robillard 2. The entire team played tough defence and when Robillard fouled out trying to contain Clearbrook’s Josh Hall, reserve Chad Bastion stepped in admirably. MEI was paced by Joel Nickel 22, Hall 22, Dan Turner 14, Matt Loewen 8 and Dave Brandsma 4. “Bastion, Rodgers, Robillard, they give us all they have in roles that most kids just don’t want to do but you have to have,” Ladysmith coach Randy Steel told the Victoria Times-Colonist. “They don’t usually get any recognition, except from their teammates.” McCrory said the scoring record was meaningless. He’d gotten the record after stealing the ball in the fourth quarter, scrambling down the floor, spinning and then dropping the ball into the hoop over a pair of defenders while being fouled as Ladysmith took its first lead since the opening quarter. “This was a team win, that’s all I care about.” Steel said the grade 12 McCrory, 17, “just lifts this team to a different level.” MEI coach Arnie Dick called McCrory’s performance “incredible. That was certainly an MVP performance.” Assistant coach Tony McCrory had moved to Ladysmith six years earlier to take a teaching job, despite never having heard of the town. His son put the town on the B.C. sporting map. Coach Randy Steel, a graduate of U Victoria, where he played under legendary coach Ken Shields, said the coaching icon taught him everything he knows about basketball. “I really knew nothing about this sport until I learned it by watching and listening to him. My teams play like those UVic teams.” McCrory told the Vancouver Province “this is a dream right now. All summer long it’s all we thought of doing. No one thought we could do it.” A Dan Turner trey had put the Eagles on top 62-57 with 6:07 left in the game, but the 49ers mounted a McCrory-led run to tie the game 62-62 with 4:43 to go. Turner drained another jumper to give MEI the lead back, but McCrory tied the score at 64-64 17 seconds later and broke Tait’s 15- year-old record in fitting style with 2:56 left: He stole the ball in his end of the court and went coast-to-coast for a layup. Despite having 10 losses this season, Ladysmith (34-10) became the first North Vancouver Island team to win the title since the Gerald Kazanowski-led Nanaimo Islanders won in 1978. MEI finished the season at 31-6. The capacity crowd at the Agrodome was largely pro-MEI, but the small Ladysmith contingent made itself heard and McCrory was grateful. “I don’t think there’s too many people in Ladysmith tonight,” he quipped. “I think they’re all here.” McCrory told the Nanaimo Daily News that “it feels great. There’s nothing better than knowing you did the job. … This is the calmest group of kids I’ve ever seen, basketball-wise. We had four tough, close games – and no one ever questioned that we could do it, or panicked under pressure.” Steel said “we played a zone in the first half. But we played full-court man-to-man in the second half. The guys had to be tired but we had nothing to lose and they came through – they deserve all the recognition they’re getting.” McCrory hit 13-26 from the floor and scored 13 of his team’s final 17 points. He also had 9 boards and 4 blocks. Josh Hall had pulled the Eagles to within a point at 71-70 with 51 seconds left by hitting two free throws. But McCrory’s 15-foot jumper with 34 seconds left iced the game. MEI centre Joel Nickel had trouble finding his touch in the second half. “I just had to thank God for getting us this far,” Nickel said. The Nickel-McCrory battle was played to a first-half standstill. Nickel scored 18 on 9-12 from the floor while McCrory was 6-15 including a trey and 5-5 from the line. Josh Hall added 22, Dan Turner 14, Matt Loewen 8 and Dave Brandsma 4. The Eagles, who led 42-34 at the break, enjoyed their biggest first-half lead (41-30) on a Nickel layup with 1:47 left. MEI shot .620 from the floor, while Ladysmith was .380. MEI out-rebounded Ladysmith 19-14.
The bronze medalist Vancouver College Fighting Irish: Jason Maher; Andrew Irving; Mike Franks; Suneel Gokhale; Ryan Opina; Jatinder Rai; Kevin Lepsoe; Prabhjit Bal; Dan Lazzari; Jerod Ridley; Don Guevarra; Rafi Relova; coach Bob Corbett; manager Jerome Lee; manager Francis Dela Cruz; manager Kevin Hong; manager Tom Doyle; manager Taj Senghera; manager David Hume
The silver medalist Clearbrook Mennonite Educational Institute Eagles: Joel Nickel; Josh Hall; Matt Loewen; Dave Brandsma; Dan Turner; Jamie Beck; J.P. Dhillon; J.J. Sidhu;
The gold medalist Ladysmith 49ers: Tony McCrory; Steve Lidgate; Darcy Kulai; Jason Robillard; Darryl Rodgers; Chad Bastian; Dan Folk; Mike Harlow; Kyle Rose; Brandon Pauling; coach Randy Steel; assistant Tony McCrory Sr.