In the wildcard games: …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg St. Paul’s Crusaders dusted the Winnipeg Oak Park Raiders 81-62. The Crusaders fell behind Oak Park trailing 20-18 at the end of the first quarter. A quick adjustment to a zone defence yielded dividends in the second quarter as they outscored Oak Park 20-2 and held a halftime lead of 38-32. “I just don’t know what it is,” St. Paul’s coach Ken Nieman told the Winnipeg Free Press. “Again, we started off slow. But we switched to the zone because Light (6foot6 Brian) got into early foul trouble.” Russ Meier led the Crusaders with 24 while Light had 19 and Len Glass 13. Mike Bechamp had 20 for Oak Park and Mark Traub 13. “I don’t know what happened in the second quarter,” said Oak Park coach Randy Kusano. “If I could explain it, I’d be coach of the year.” The Raiders (coached by Randy Kusano) also included Ben Roberts, Rod Agar, Lorne Hilton, Mike Herman, Hugh Roberts. …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg River East Kodiaks edged the Winnipeg Vincent Massey Trojans 67-56 in overtime. River East coach Gord Puttaert told the Winnipeg Free Press that “our execution on offence in the second half was terrible. I don’t want to take anything away from Massey though. They played a real good man-to-man.” Puttaert said his players didn’t want to carry through on their plays. Instead, he said they wanted to get the quick shot, resulting in their taking poor percentage shots. Malcolm Harvey scored 18 to lead the Kodiaks. Gerald Mann added 15 and Mike Schween 11. Tony Kaufmann led the Trojans with 24. Mark Kreuger added 12. The Trojans (coached by Jerry Hildebrand) also included Warren Cook, Stewart Brown, Mark Zachanowich, Mike Cols, Don Collignon.
In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Winnipeg Gordon Bell Panthers defeated the Winnipeg J.H. Bruns Broncos 93-59 as Maurice Seales scored 21 and Rob Baergen 18. Marshall Lawrence scored 24 for the Broncos. Dave Cicierski added 18. The Broncos also included Brent Davis, Dave Cicier. …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg St. John’s Tigers defeated the Winnipeg Churchill Bulldogs 69-43 as Andre Alphonso scored 24 and Mike Thomas 21. Russ Keln led the Bulldogs with 21. The Bulldogs (coached by Randy Dilk) also included Tom Martens, Gerry Urbanowich. …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg West Kildonan Wolverines dusted the Winnipeg Windsor Park Royals 96-66 as John Ulmer scored 24. Keith Ferley led the Royals with 32. The Royals also included Myles Blahut, Dale Allen, Dean Wilson, Chris Placktis. …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg Daniel McIntyre Maroons whipped the Winnipeg River East Kodiaks 67-50 as Laly Farlas scored 14 and Joe Ogoms 13. Malcolm Harvey led the Kodiaks with 19. The Kodiaks (coached by Gord Puttaert) also included Mike Schween, Gerald Mann, Mark Duerksen, Curt Bauer, David Schroeder, Henry Verbeek, Harold Laninga, Brent Matsumoto. …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg Fort Richmond Centurions clocked the Brandon Vincent Massey Vikings 97-64 as Scott McFeetors scored 32 and Roy Brown 14. Darryl Penner led the Vikings with 30. “I didn’t expect to blow them out,” Centurions’ coach Kevin Rowan told the Winnipeg Free Press. “We beat them by 25 at the John Taylor tournament and were missing three players, so we felt that we could win this one.” Darryl Penner led the Vikings with 30. Scott Bender and Greg Fontaine each added 10. Vikings coach Dan Rajnovich told the Brandon Sun that “we got only seven total rebounds in the first half. They got inside on us and when the rebound came down, they put it in.” The Vikings (coached by Dan Rajnovich) also included Brad Johnstone, Doug Loe, Chuck McEwen, Eric Derkson, Dave Olson, Rick Taylor, Mike Stone. …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg Westwood Warriors dumped the Brandon Crocus Plains Plainsmen 84-70 as Gord Tucker scored 24, Mark Johannson 14 and Brett Vickery 10. Dean Hunter led the Plainsmen with 18. Don Thomson added 14, Al Baker 14 and Murray Baker 13. “Westwood threw good zone pressure at us in the second half,” Plainsmen coach Dwight Kearns told the Brandon Sun. “And we started turning it over. Then, they pulled away on us. At the end, we had to foul and that helped spread the score out.” The Plainsmen (coached by Dwight Kearns) also included Brent Ferguson, Geoff Van Mackelburgh, Brent Ferguson, Cam Ritchie. …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg Mennonite Brethren Hawks clipped the Winnipeg St. Paul’s Crusaders 78-65 as Murray Froese scored 21, Brian Vanderhooft 21, Dan Peters 14 and Wes Freisen 13. Brian Light led the Crusaders with 19. Mark Nieman added 18, Russ Meier 10 and George Vis 10. The Crusaders also included Len Glass. “It’s the first time in three years that we have gotten past the first round in the playoffs,” Hawks coach Willy Reimer told the Winnipeg Free Press. Reimer added that Murray Froese was outstanding. “He does everything well, and really makes us go. He can do a lot of things.” The Hawks led 33-18, 47-33 and 65-42 at the quarters. In the second half, Reimer said, “we went to the four-corner defence and made them come out for the ball.” …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg Silver Heights Huskies edged the Winnipeg Dakota Lancers 64-58 as Bruce Ormiston scored 19. Dan Bradshaw led the Lancers with 12. The Lancers (coached by Dale Bradshaw) also included Steve Kendel, Stu Pringle, Bruce McLeod, Kirby Ottenbreit, Neil Kornberger, Gord Ginter, Randles and J Bradshaw.
In the quarterfinals, Rob Baergen scored 18 to lead the Winnipeg Gordon Bell Panthers past the Winnipeg Silver Heights Huskies 77-59. Bruce Ormiston scored 20 for Silver Heights. The Huskies also included Rick Gregaitis, Brent Burling, Mike McWilliam, Scott O’Hara, Randy Hofley, Graham Nattrais.
The Winnipeg Westwood Warriors defeated the Winnipeg Daniel McIntyre Maroons 76-70. The Warriors fell behind by 14 points early in the game but closed the gap to 39-30 at the half. “We beat them by playing super basketball,” Westwood coach Dave Guss told the Winnipeg Free Press. “In the second half we made a few adjustments and caught up with three minutes to go. Then we sank a couple of foul shots and got some key baskets.” Gord Tucker paced the Warriors with 37. Mark Johnson added 14. Lonnie Costello led the Maroons with 26. The Maroons (coached by Laurie May) also included Joe Ogoms, Chris Carriere, Gerrie Drabek, Craig Buss, Josie Farlas, Mat Loe Wing, Leony Ong, Larry Farlas.
The Winnipeg West Kildonan Weskays dumped the Winnipeg St. John’s Tigers 77-59 as Kevin Cymbaluk scored 28 and John Ulmer 24. Mike Thomas led the Tigers with 26. The Tigers (coached by Bill Wedlake) also included Darrell Flett, Andre Alfonso, Evan Tynes, Ilija Dragojevic, Rob Snerch.
In the last quarterfinal, the Winnipeg Fort Richmond Centurions dispatched the Winnipeg Mennonite Brethren Hawks 85-70. Willie Boil paced the Centurions with 20 on 18-20 from the line. Scott McFeetors added 18 and Roy Brown 16. Brian Vanderhooft led the Hawks with 24. Andy Krahn added 11. The Hawks (coached by Willie Reimer) also included Murray Froese, Tim Posthumus, Tony Forbes, Wes Friesen, Darryl Peters, Hans Regier, Rich Olfert.
In the semis, the Winnipeg Westwood Warriors defeated the Winnipeg Fort Richmond Centurions 65-62 despite 25 points from Roy Brown. The Warriors trailed 14-13 at the quarter, 34-22 at the half and 49-38 at the three-quarter mark but won the fourth quarter. “It swung when they began holding the ball instead of taking it inside,” Winnipeg Westwood coach Dave Guss told the Winnipeg Free Press. “Then we went to the man-to-man press and held Brown to only eight points in the second half.” Westwood whittled the margin to within three at 62-59 with 1:48 to play. Stewart Anderson then stole the ball from Winnipeg Fort Richmond’s Scott McFeetors, leading a field goal by 6-6 Gord Tucker and a one-point margin. McFeetors was unable to inbound the ball within five seconds and it was turned over to Westwood. Tucker hit another field goal to give Westwood a 63-62 lead, with 20 seconds to play. Fort Richmond’s inbounds pass sailed over Brown’s head downcourt. Scott McPherson hit an insurance field goal at the buzzer. “They never say die, these kids,” said Westwood assistant coach George Rugg. Tucker finished with 23 points and McPherson 17. McFeetors led the Centurions with 16. Stan Majowski added 13.
In the other semi, the Winnipeg Gordon Bell Panthers thumped Winnipeg West Kildonan Wolverines 97-76 after leading 16-14 at the quarter. The score was knotted at 39 at the half and the Panthers led 62-56 at the three-quarter mark. A technical foul led to three free throws by Perry Scarlett and control of the game. “At the half our coach (John Benson) emphasized defence,” Scarlett told the Winnipeg Free Press. “And we began running. That’s the thing we do best.” Rob Baergen kept the Panthers in the game early, with the inside game. “I had to go inside,” said Baergen. “I couldn’t hit from outside.” Maurice Seales was cold from the perimeter but finished with 24 points, including 18 in the second half. Scarlett added 23, and Baergen 14. “Perry did it for us tonight,” said Baergen. “He was there whenever we needed it the most.” Randy Raw led West Kildonan with 21. Kevin Cymbaluk added 17 and John Ulmer 11.
In the final, the Winnipeg Gordon Bell Panthers, who finished (44-3) on the season, avenged a mid-February loss by nipping the Winnipeg Westwood Warriors 53-52. “We wanted this one more than anything else,” Panthers coach John Benson told the Winnipeg Free Press. “We had been ranked number one all year but we had only played them once and lost. Being number one didn’t mean anything.” Tourney MVP Rob Baergen scored 17 and grabbed 9 rebounds. 6-2 forward Ron Majors added 15. Westwood was paced by Mark Johannson 15, Scott McPherson 14, while Gord Tucker was contained to 10 with some highly physical play. Trailing 51-50, the Warriors fouled Scarlett with 10 seconds to play but he hit both to ice the win. In the run-up to the final, a controversy erupted over uniforms. Gordon Bell had come out wearing purple but as the higher seed was obliged to wear white. Facing 12 technical fouls, the Panthers agreed to wear white Westwood jerseys, which had been offered to them by Warriors coach Dave Guss. “It bothered us for a while,” said Baergen. “But then we decided what did it matter. We’d win anyway.” Scarlett said “I knew they would foul me. They were double teaming me on the throw-in.” Having missed his previous four free throw attempts, Scarlett said he thought of only one thing: “I had to hit these shots. I was the best foul shooter all season and I knew I could do it.” Guss praised his troops. “These guys played super. It’s a shame they had to lose; they did everything they were supposed to do.”
The all-tournament team featured: MVP Rob Baergen (Gordon Bell); Scott McPherson (Westwood); Gord Tucker (Westwood); Randy Raw (West Kildonan); and Roy Brown (Fort Richmond)
The co-bronze medalist Winnipeg West Kildonan Wolverines: Randy Raw; Kevin Cymbaluk; John Ulmer; Julian Mrozek; Dan Ohlson; Jerry Baluta; Greg Swenarchuk; Kurt Marchak; coach Bill Jones; coach Rick Horaska
The co-bronze medalist Winnipeg Fort Richmond Centurions: Willie Bou; Scott McFeetors; Roy Brown; Stan Majowski; Kevin Kelly; Rick Bevils; Murray Chisholm; Ken Kumer; coach Kevin Rowan
The silver medalist Winnipeg Westwood Warriors: Scott McPherson; Gord Tucker; Stewart Anderson; Mark Johannson; Brett Vickery; Larry Jackson; Willie Parker; coach Dave Guss; assistant George Rugg
The gold medalist Winnipeg Gordon Bell Panthers: Rob Baergen; Perry Scarlett; Maurice Seales; Ron Majors; Ken Kinch; Carl Kinch; Ray Hartung; Tom Pappanneou; Kevin Toney; coach John Benson; assistant Dan Kinaschuk