In the quarterfinals, the Fredericton Black Kats edged the Riverview Royals 78-70 as Elliot Thompson scored 29, Geoff Frame 11, Colin Bradley 11 and Paul Young 7. The Black Kats led 43-33 at the half. Ryan McCluskey led the Royals with 22. Anthony Sears added 15 and Mike MacLeod 10. The Royals (coached by Brian Forsythe, assisted by Dave Tingley) also included Greg Diamond, Xavier Talbot-Thiebaux, Alex MacLeod, Drew Barron, Thomas Budd, Alex Lewis, Craig MacLeod, Garry Murdoch, Alex Parsons, Anthony Pickard, Jeremy Swallows, Graham Wilbur, Tommy Wilson.
The Quispamsis Kennebecasis Valley Crusaders whipped the Moncton High Purple Knights 111-74 as Adam Creaghan scored 45 and Brent Kingston 14. Kevin Monaghan led Moncton with 38. The Purple Knights also included Jordan Bedard, Dylan Rogers, Justin Barlow, Craig Mullens.
The Fredericton Leo Hayes Lions slaughtered the Bathurst Phantoms 83-33 after leading 50-19 at the half. David Boyce led the Lions with 16. Scott Brown added 11. Shawn Daigle and Nathan Cleland each scored 8 to pace the Phantoms, who also included Rob Daley, Alex Gould, Nick Quinn, Nathan Cleland, Tristan Thibideau, Jordan Doucet.
In the last quarterfinal, the Saint John St. Malachy’s Saints stunned the top-seeded Moncton Bernice MacNaughton Highlanders 64-56 despite trailing 31-30 at the half. Simon Marr led the Saints with 24. Andrew Spurrell added 13 and Eric Duquette 10. John Budreski paced the Highlanders with 15. Colin MacKenzie added 13 and Eric Duquette 10. The Highlanders also included Matt McLeod, Devon McLean, Scott Kelly, David Machett, Blake Stewart, Bryce Wade, Nick Kaminsky.
In the semis, the Fredericton Black Kats edged the Quispamsis Kennebecasis Valley Crusaders 74-71 as Elliott Thompson scored 35. Crusaders coach Dennis Rollins told the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal that Thompson “makes everyone around him better. If you notice, when they shoot a three, it is a direct result of Thompson collapsing the defence. You never shut him down, you just hope to contain him.” Thompson hit the tying and go- ahead buckets from the free throw line with 32 seconds remaining as the Black Kats outlasted the Crusaders. After Colin Bradley put Fredericton ahead by three with 5.2 seconds left, the Crusaders senior guard Carl Bailey launched a three-point missile as the buzzer sounded. It looked as if the Crusaders had gained five minutes of overtime but the high-arching shot actually went deep into the basket but then popped back out and tantalizingly rolled around the entire rim twice before falling harmlessly to the floor. “This is one of the biggest games I have ever played in my life,” said Crusaders guard Adam Creaghan, who scored 24. “It is very emotional right now.” The Crusaders raced to a 33-19 lead after 14 minutes but FHS, led by Thompson, never quit. The Kats pounded the ball inside and controlled the boards throughout to make it 37-34 at the half and finally took the lead with 9:27 remaining on Cameron Clark’s close-range bucket. There were nine lead changes and one tie in the final nine minutes. “We battled foul problems all day but hey, we had a shot that was six inches down in the basket at the end,” said KVHS coach Dennis Rollins. “I am really proud of my guys. We knew we had to play Fredericton in the 70s in order to play with them. All I asked the players was not to have any regrets and I don’t think anybody does.” Bradley scored 10 points for Fredericton while Brent Kingston added 13, including eight in a 1:13 span that gave the Crusaders a 67-66 edge with three minutes left. “Both teams were in it right until the last shot,” said Thompson. We kept our cool, we were focused and we came out to play in the end.”
In the other semi, the Saint John St. Malachy’s Saints edged the Fredericton Leo Hayes Lions 59-56. “We thought we had a chance to win all the way,” said provincial all-star and 6-8 post Simon Marr, who scored 14 points in support of Andrew Spurrell’s 16-point performance, told the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal. “We just played as a team and worked hard. It is pretty awesome.” In Moncton, St. Malachy’s took control with an eight-point halftime advantage but Leo Hayes rallied to within three in the final minute and then missed a long jumper that would have forced overtime. “I told the players before the game that I thought the tournament was evenly matched and that all four teams had a chance to win it,” said St. Malachy’s coach Glen Spurrell. “We had a great start, we shot well and we just stopped them from shooting outside.” Andrew Spurrell said “we were the underdog. This is the furthest I have advanced in the high school playoffs and these wins mean more than anything.” David Boyce scored 15 for Leo Hayes and Mike Bowser added 14.
In the final, the Fredericton Black Kats defeated the Saint John St. Malachy’s Memorial Saints 66-54 as Elliott Thompson scored 39 points and nabbed 28 boards. “In games like these, especially your last game, you want to leave everything on the floor,” said Thompson, who added 4 assists and 2 steals, told the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal. Fredericton coach Phil Wright said “what a remarkable performance in his very last high school game.” Thompson said ““I wanted to come out with the same intensity I always have and I guess 28 rebounds is the way it turned out. I feel good right now because I felt I left everything on the floor.” When the Saints keyed on Thompson early, he kicked the ball out to fellow senior Geoff Frame, who buried three three-pointers in the game’s first six minutes and finished with 15 points overall. Luke Dolan added six points and Brad LeBritton grabbed 10 rebounds. St. Mac’s game MVP Simon Marr had 22 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Andrew Spurrell chipped in with 14 points and eight boards. St. Mac’s trailed 35-19 at the break but opened the second half with a 12-0 run to reduce the deficit to 35-31. “We were flat there for a while and couldn’t score, which allowed them to get close,” Wright said. “But my kids are really mentally tough and they fought back. When they had to, they won it.” But in a two-minute span, Thompson scored 10 straight points to make it 45-31 with 11:35 remaining. Thompson scored 37 of his team’s first 54 points and was 15/17 from the line. “We just couldn’t contain him,” Marr said. “He was pretty much doing everything. He was all over the place on the floor. He was everywhere and because he’s so quick, we were always a step behind. He’s a great player and a great guy. He’s a fun guy to be around because he doesn’t let success go to his head.” Thompson said “I have a lot of respect for Simon. He’s a great ballplayer and he came out to play today. He blocked shots, he hit turnaround jumpers, he did all he could. They all did.” The Saints were making their first appearance in the finals since 1996. “I wasn’t that nervous,” Marr said, “but some of the boys were. This is our first time in a place like this. Getting here was totally unexpected but we deserved to be here. We got hot at the right time.”
The co-bronze medalist Quispamsis Kennebecasis Valley Crusaders: Carl Bailey; Adam Creaghan; Ryan Vaughan; Simon Gagnon; Ryan Kingston; Brent Kingston; David Gainforth; Nick Sippel; Grant MacKinnon; Matthew Costello; Alex Holder; Ryan Nicholson; Seth Duncan; Joel Calhoun; coach Dennis Rollins
The co-bronze medalist Fredericton Leo Hayes Lions: David Boyce; Mike Bowser; Mitchell McQuade; Josh Thomas; Colin Fraser; Jason Daniels; Josh Kilburn; Ben Goucher;
The silver medalist St. Malachy’s Memorial Saints: Simon Marr; Andrew Spurrell; Brendan Maxwell; Conor George; Quinn Mercer; Eric Duquette; Kyle O’Neil; Tim Maswell; Harrison Peters; Alex Marr; coach Glen Spurrell; coach Tom King
The gold medalist Fredericton Black Cats: Elliott Thompson; Geoff Frame; Cameron Clark; Brad LeBritton; Mark Hubbard; Luke Dolan; David Dolan; Ryan Clarke; Scott McAllister; John Morse; Paul Young; Colin Bradley; Jeff Madsen; coach Phil Wright; assistant Mike Wright; manager Ross Stillwell