In the interzone finals, the Brandon Crocus Plains Plainsmen whipped the Steinbach Sabres 104-74. “The boys really played excellent,” Crocus Plains coach Trever Penner told the Brandon Sun. The Plains broke to a 20-4 lead and extended the margin to 62-31 at the half. “Right out of the gate they couldn’t handle our pressure defence,” Penner said. Greg Roziere led the Plainsmen with 30, included 6-8 from the arc. Len Mauthe added 24, along with 10 rebounds. Stan Friesen led Steinbach with 22. Matt Klassen added 18.
In the wildcard game, the Winnipeg Sisler Spartans defeated the Winnipeg Glenlawn Lions x-x.
In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Winnipeg Mennonite Brethren Hawks clipped the 10th-seeded Brandon Crocus Plains Plainsmen 94-81 as Richard Van Dorpe scored 19. The Hawks led 45-39 at the half. Len Mauthe paced the Plainsmen with 23. Wes Hildebrandt added 22. “In the first quarter and the start of the third, we forgot how to play transitional defence and they ran on us,” Plainsmen coach Trever Penner told the Brandon Sun. “That got us in a hole, but we fought back and played hard. The important thing was they gave it their all until the buzzer.” The Plainsmen (coached by Trevor Penner) also included Gonz Rodriguez, John Shurb, Jeff McCallum, Greg Roziere, Wes Hildebrand, Mark Palmer, Todd Palmer, Ray Silvius. …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg Maples Marauders dumped the Winnipeg Tec Voc Hornets 73-65. The Hornets included David Stock, Zaldy Nevy. …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg Kelvin Clippers stomped the Winnipeg Sisler Spartans 95-51. …………………………………………………… The Winnipeg Dakota Lancers slew the Winnipeg Shaftesbury Titans 84-63.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Winnipeg John Taylor Pipers stomped the Winnipeg Maples Marauders 91-61.
The Winnipeg Murdoch MacKay Clansmen edged the Winnipeg Kelvin Clippers 86-83. The Clippers included J.D. Brown.
The Winnipeg Dakota Lancers nipped the Winnipeg St. John’s Tigers 76-74.
In the last quarterfinal, the 7th-seeded Winnipeg Mennonite Brethren Hawks dispatched the Winnipeg Oak Park Raiders 78-69. The Raiders (coached by Darren Klepak) included Kevin Cheale, Dean Murfitt.
In the semi, the Winnipeg John Taylor Pipers defeated the Winnipeg Murdoch Mackay Clansmen 89-71 as Brad Unger scored 31. “It’s really hard to put any pressure on us because we play the same way every game,” Pipers coach Al Friesen told the Winnipeg Free Press. The Pipers were got their running game to thwart the Clansmen, while Brad Unger kept pilfering the ball from Mackay guards. The Pipers led 43-36 at the half. “We had to cover Brad man-to-man because if you pay too much attention to him, they have too many other good shooters that can hurt you,” said Clansmen coach Garth Richter. “We battled hard with John Taylor but they played with a lot of discipline. Whenever we tried to put pressure on them, they didn’t wilt. And I’ll give them credit for the way they played so well defensively against us.” The Clansmen closed within five in the third quarter but a 20-7 Piper run put the outcome out of reach. Piper forwards Jeff Sinclair and Dale McAughey dominated the boards. Sinclair scored 27 and Rod Coutu 16. Steve Stutnick led the Clansmen with 21. Randy Roberts added 16, while Dwayne Burkett was held to 9.
In the other semi, the 7th-seeded Winnipeg Mennonite Brethren Hawks defeated the Winnipeg Dakota Lancers 82-78 in overtime.
In the final, Brad Unger scored 31 to lead the top-seeded Winnipeg John Taylor Pipers past the 7th-seeded Winnipeg Mennonite Brethren Hawks 87-72. “MBCI came out and played incredible, they were banking them in, they shot unreal. Our kids, they just don’t quit. They’re the greatest group of kids I’ve ever coached in the 25 years I’ve coached,” Pipers coach Allan Friesen told the Winnipeg Free Press.
The all-tournament team featured: MVP Brad Unger (John Taylor); Riley Campbell (Dakota); Richard Van Dorp (Mennonite Brethren); Andrew Fast (Mennonite Brethren); Rod Coutu (John Taylor); and Jeff Sinclair (John Taylor)
The co-bronze medalist Winnipeg Murdoch MacKay Clansmen: Steve Skutnick; Randy Roberts; Dwayne Burkett; Andrew Roberts; coach Garth Richter
The co-bronze medalist Winnipeg Dakota Lancers: Jason Breland; coach Dean Favoni
The silver medalist Winnipeg Mennonite Brethren Hawks: Richard Van Dorpe; Andrew Fast; Mike Pastor; Andrew Fraser; coach Ken Opalko
The gold medalist Winnipeg John Taylor Pipers: Brad Unger; Rod Coutu; Jeff Sinclair; coach Allan Friesen; assistant Graham Fraser