The provincials shifted to a regional format, with four teams making it to the provincials.
In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The Brandon Crocus Plains Plainsmen clipped the Winnipeg River East Kodiaks 64-52. The Kodiaks led 19-10 after one quarter and 29-26 at the half. The Plainsmen led 46-38 after three quarters. The Plainsmen hit 29-77 (.380) from the floor. “I definitely expected that we’d beat them,” Plainsmen coach Dwight Kearns told the Brandon Sun. “But I didn’t expect to start so slow. After that first quarter, we adjusted to their 1-3-1 zone defence and our fast break started to click. They weren’t handling our 1-2-2 zone pressure and we started to get some turnovers from them. I think the main thing is we got 10 people into the game and they didn’t hurt us. Their starting five and ours is about even, but we have the advantage in our bench strength.” Don Thomson paced the Plainsmen with 17. Ron Weber added 15, along with 19 boards, and Dean Hunter 10. Art Koop led the Kodiaks with 15. Malcolm Harvey added 12. “I thought we outplayed them in the first half,” said Kodiaks coach Gord Puttaert. “But, their zone defence got to us in that third quarter and our guys began to go stagnant.” The Kodiaks (coached by Gord Puttaert) also included Heinz Neufeld. …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg Dakota Lancers edged the Winnipeg Churchill Bulldogs 70-68 on a buzzer-beating 18-footer by Mark Dickof. Malcolm Ross led the Lancers with 22. Dennis Fournier led the Bulldogs with 12. The Bulldogs (coached by Wally Chubaty) also included Ross Keln, Scott Martin, Mike Wattis. …………………………………………………… The Brandon Vincent Massey Vikings stunned the 6th-seeded Winnipeg Gordon Bell Panthers 90-88 as Gord Jones scored 32. “Jones played really well,” Vikings coach Dan Rajnovich told the Brandon Sun. “He was operating outside. He was operating inside. We could give him the ball around the foul line, we could give him the ball in the post position. He was even getting points from underneath the basket.” The Vikings broke to a 9-2 lead but the Panthers rallied to a 43-36 lead at the half by switching to a zone. “When they made that transition, we kind of went into a daze,” Rajnovich said. “But, in the third quarter, we started picking apart their zone and going for the fast break. We had a little more luck then.” Brian Ferguson added 20 for the Vikings. Maurice Seales paced the Panthers with 33. The Panthers (coached by Rick Suffield) also included Rodney Jacobs, Karl Kinch, Rob Baergan, Ron Majors. …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg St. John’s Tigers whipped the Winnipeg Pierre Radisson Raiders 86-42 as Gerry Haines scored 32, Lance Rosolowich 25 and Jan Bujan 21. Gideon Hodge led the Raiders with 13. Rob Klemchuk added 12. The Raiders also included Todd Scaletta, Jim Stepic. …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg Westwood Warriors clipped the Winnipeg Mennonite Brethren Hawks 53-41. The Warriors led 16-11 after one quarter and 28-26 at the half. They took commanded with a 12-2 run early in the second half. “We changed offences on them in the second half to concentrate on our inside game,” Warriors coach Dave Guss told the Winnipeg Free Press. “The main thing was to be patient and move the ball around. Hopefully, this is a sign that we have put it all together.” Kurt Brenner and Scott Kwasnitza each scored 11 to pace the Warriors. Mike Ethier added 10. Murray Froese led the Hawks with 12. Rob Penner added 11. The Hawks also included Frank Loewen, Warren Janzen, Wes Friesen. …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg Sturgeon Creek Schooners stunned the Winnipeg West Kildonan Weskays 82-73 as Ray Hartung scored 24. Kevin Cymbaluk led the Weskays with 28. The Weskays also included Dan Olson, John Ulmer, Greg Swenarchuk, Vic Borodlinski, Randy Klassen, Randy Raw, Jerry Batula. …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg Daniel McIntyre Maroons dispatched the Winnipeg Oak Park Raiders 87-70 as Leroy Steele scored 31. Mike Bechamp led the Raiders with 23. The Raiders also included Ron Rempel, Dean Anderson. …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg Fort Richmond Centurions dispatched the Winnipeg Nelson McIntyre Normacs 81-64 as Scott McFeeters scored 21. Trevor DePape led the Normacs with 24. The Normacs also included Dennis Marinelli, David Sharmon, Mike Curtis, Dave Parwelyn, Mike Rackham.
In the quarterfinals, the Winnipeg Dakota Lancers defeated the Brandon Crocus Plains Plainsmen 82-65 as Malcolm Ross scored 26, Gary Sherman 25 and Wayne Harder 18, along with 19 boards. Don Thomson paced the Plainsmen with 26. Randy Smythe added 15. The Plainsmen (coached by Dwight Kearns) also included Rob Weber, Al Baker, Jeff Mortenson, Dean Hunter.
The Winnipeg St. John’s Tigers clipped the Winnipeg Westwood Warriors 67-53 as Lance Rosolowich scored 17, Jan Bujan 17, along with 20 boards and 6 blocks, and Tim Fergus 10. Kurt Brenner paced the Warriors with 17. Mike Ethier added 14. Tigers coach Bill Wedlake told the Winnipeg Free Press “Listen, things didn’t that well out there. They (Westwood) are tough. They have had a lot of injury problems all year and were just starting to put it together. They were no pushovers. They’re one of top teams in this province. … We’ve been in tight games before and as a result, guys can handle the pressure. We’ve been ranked number one all year and never dropped from that spot, and if that isn’t pressure, what is?” Warriors coach Dave Guss said “we got a shot at the best and we came out second best. I think we could have done a few things better, but in all fairness to St. John’s, they did what they do best.” The Tigers outrebounded the Warriors 36-22 and outshot Westwood .540 to .330. “We just couldn’t get our outside shooting to work. And they are too hard to go inside on,” said Guss. The Warriors (coached by Dave Guss) also included Scott Kwasnitza, Dexter Grant, Karl Smith.
The Winnipeg Fort Richmond Centurions dispatched the Brandon Vincent Massey Vikings 87-80 as Bruce Wiebe scored 36 and Scott McFeetors 17. Brian Ferguson led the Vikings with 22. Brian Ackroyd added 21. The Vikings (coached by Dan Rajnovich) also included Eric Derksen, Mark Bekkering, Gord Jones, Darryl Penner, Alan Mitchell, Scott Bender, Brad Johnson, Gary Fontaine.
In the last quarterfinal, the Winnipeg Daniel McIntyre Maroons edged the Winnipeg Sturgeon Creek Schooners 56-53 as Lonnie Costello scored 15 and Leroy Steele 11. Dale MicLash led the Schooners with 16. Rick Brownlee added 13. The Schooners also included Russell Kellm, Dan Letain, Ray Hartung, Ken Gray.
In the semis, the Winnipeg Dakota Lancers defeated the Winnipeg St. John’s Tigers 48-45. The Lancers controlled the tempo of the game and prevented St. John’s from getting the ball inside to Jan Bujan. Dakota out-rebounded St. John’s 42-34 with Wayne Harder and Gary Sherman each nabbing 13 rebounds. Bujan grabbed 16 boards but only scored 5 points. Winnipeg Dakota shot 21-43 from the floor while St. John’s was 14-51. Harder paced the Lancers with 19. Malcolm Ross added 13 and Gary Sherman 7. Lance Rosolowich led the Tigers with 17. “We are good and no one believed us. It was not an upset,” Wayne Harder told the Winnipeg Free Press. Sherman added that “control was the key. They didn’t seem to have the outside shooting and we shut off everything inside. We couldn’t understand it. They didn’t even seem to be looking for Bujan on the inside.” Tigers coach Bill Wedlake said “you could obviously see Dale (Dakota coach Bradshaw’s) input into that win. They controlled the tempo the whole game. We didn’t get the ball inside at all in the first half.”
In the other semi, the Winnipeg Fort Richmond Centurions defeated the Winnipeg Daniel McIntyre Maroons 59-53 as Scott McFeetors scored 19, Bruce Wiebe 19, Ray Priam 11 and Ray Brown 10. Leroy Steele led Daniel McIntyre with 24. Greg Bouchard added 16. Centurions coach Rob St. Germain told the Winnipeg Free Press that “we got a little bit lucky. We got a few shots and they missed a few. That was a one- or two-point ball game. It could have gone either way.”
In the all-Cloverleaf Conference final, the Winnipeg Dakota Lancers defeated the Winnipeg Fort Richmond Centurions 76-71. The two teams had met seven times during the regular season with Fort Richmond winning six times. But coach Dale Bradshaw captured his fourth provincial title but called it “garbage” when it was suggested that he played a part in the garnering the crown. “The guys played the game. They worked for it,” Bradshaw told the Winnipeg Free Press. The team “put it all together in regionals. It started against Churchill on Friday. We came from behind and beat them 70-68 and then the next night we beat Crocus Plains.” Dakota out-rebounded Fort Richmond 42-20. Tournament MVP Wayne Harder scored 26 and grabbed 17 rebounds. Malcolm Ross added 14 and 6-8 Gary Sherman scored 11 and grabbed 14 rebounds. Dakota was ahead 17-15 at the quarter. The teams were tied at 30 at the half. But Dakota ripped off a 15-4 run early in the second half to move ahead before Fort Richmond rallied. But Ross hit a pair of free throws with 20 seconds to play to ice the victory at 57-53, and then one more seconds later. “Yeah, the pressure was there all right,” said Ross. “But I wanted to make up for a couple I missed earlier. I am pretty confident.” Scott McFeetors led Winnipeg Fort Richmond with 22 points. Bruce Wiebe added 13 and 6 rebounds, while Roy Brown scored 10. Harder said “towards the end, we just couldn’t handle the pressure. But those clutch free throws by Ross sure came at the right time.”
The all-tournament team featured: MVP Wayne Harder (Dakota); Leroy Steele (Daniel McIntyre); Lance Rosolowich (St. John’s); Ray Priam (Fort Richmond); Bruce Wiebe (Fort Richmond); and Malcolm Ross (Dakota)
The co-bronze medalist Winnipeg St. John’s Tigers: Lance Rosolowich; Jan Bujan; Tim Fergus; Gerry Haines; Nick Fergus; Andre Alphonso; Evan Tynes; Mike Iwaszkiw; Flett; Fosty; Prazak; Abramowicz; coach Bill Wedlake
The co-bronze medalist Winnipeg Daniel McIntyre Maroons: Leroy Steele; Lonnie Costello; Greg Bouchard; Chris Carriere; coach Ken Kelsch
The silver medalist Winnipeg Fort Richmond Centurions: Ray Priam; Bruce Wiebe; Scott McFeetors; Ray Brown; Willy Bou; Roy Brown; coach Rob St. Germain
The gold medalist Winnipeg Dakota Lancers: Wayne Harder; Malcolm Ross; Gary Sherman; Neil Kornberger; Dan Bradshaw; Gary Shapansky; Ernie Wyryha; Mark Dickof; Ron Cormack; Geoff Hainstock; Stu Pringle; Tim Bradshaw; Bruce McLeod; coach Dale Bradshaw; manager Jeff Gosman; manager? Gary Hunter; manager? Jeff Pearce