In the opening round of an 11-team draw, held in Acton: …………………………………………………… The host Acton District Bearcats (then the Redmen) clocked the Desbarats Central Algoma Huskies 78-42 after leading 37-28 at the half. Martin Osso paced the Bearcats with 22. Mike McGregor added 14 and Dan Webster 12. …………………………………………………… The Kingston Bayridge Blazers bombed the Aurora St. Andrew’s College First 51-30 as Tim Huleatt scored 14, Leigh Knox 12, Dave Tierney 9 and Dave McGuire 6. Blazers coach Barry O’Connor told the Kingston Whig-Standard that “we played awfully well defensively. But we were spotty on offence.” John Pitts paced St. Andrews with 13. …………………………………………………… The Timmins O’Gorman Knights clipped the Belleville Nicholson Crusaders (then the Nicks) 67-61 in overtime. Dan Molinski led the Knights with 18. Tim Kalnay paced the Crusaders with 17. …………………………………………………… Chesley dumped Geraldton Composite 64-34 as Larry Wannan scored 14. Ken Stine and John Cervenak each scored 8 to pace Geraldton.
In the second round: …………………………………………………… The Acton District Bobcats, Kingston Bayridge Blazers and Belleville Nicholson Catholic Crusaders received byes. …………………………………………………… The Harrow Hawks dispatched Chesley 65-58 as Tom Rigg scored 29, Jeff Chase 17 and Paul Higgins 8. Paul Vandervoort led Chesley with 16. …………………………………………………… The Timmins O’Gorman Knights clubbed Geraldton 96-30 as Dan Malinski scored 17. …………………………………………………… The Ridgeway-Crystal Beach Blue Devils dumped St. Andrew’s 63-38 as Albino Pereira scored 25. Gord Harris led St. Andrews with 7. …………………………………………………… The St. Thomas Central Elgin Collegiate Institute Titans stomped the Harrow Hawks 76-35 as John Bukich scored 14, Wade Walker 12 and John Parker 11. Jeff Chase led the Hawks with 12. Tom Rigg added 11 and Peter Klie 10. ……………………………………………………
In the quarterfinals, the St. Thomas Central Elgin Titans defeated Desbarats Central Algoma Huskies 67-32 as Wade Walker scored 17. Jamie Lee led the Huskies with 10.
The Kingston Bayridge Blazers bombed the Belleville Nicholson Catholic Crusaders 64-45 as Leigh Knox scored 31, Tim Huleatt 10 and Dean Geggie 9. The Blazers led 31-30 at the half. Blazers coach Barry O’Connor told the Kingston Whig-Standard that “they attempted to press us and we broke and were able to score.” O’Connor added that “no one realized that he (Knox) had so many points. He just put them in here and there. Leigh shot well from the outside and passed off well too. He just played a super team game. … We played strong defensively in the second half and finished off plays that we didn’t in the first half.” Brian Kehoe led the Crusaders with 11.
The Acton District Bearcats clipped the Harrow Hawks 64-52 as Dan Webster scored 20, Mark Osso 13, Dan Coats 11 and Brad Buchanan 10. Webster told the Hamilton Spectator that “we came into the game slightly over-confident because their team is made up of mostly junior-aged players and we couldn’t see them half the time.” Bearcats coach Rick McArthur said “we’ve been playing inconsistently all year. But things looked much better near the end of the game because of our improved conditioning.” Tom Rigg paced the Hawks with 19. Tim Motruk added 8 and Jeff Chase 7. The Hawks also included Paul Higgins, Peter Klie.
In the last quarterfinal, the Ridgeway-Crystal Beach Blue Devils clipped the Timmins O’Gorman Knights 77-68 (also reported as 84-76) as Julius Antral scored 33. Larry Ryan led the Knights with 18.
In the semis, the St. Thomas Central Elgin Titans defeated the Ridgeway-Crystal Beach Blue Devils 56-47 as Wade Walker scored 20. Julius Antral led the Blue Devils with 16.
In the other semi, the Kingston Bayridge Blazers dispatched the Acton District Redmen 50-44 after leading 25-24 at the half. Dave Tierney led the Blazers with 13. Leigh Knox added 10, Ron Vande Kempt 10 and Tim Huleatt 8. Blazers coach Barry O’Connor told the Kingston Whig-Standard that it was “our best game of the season … What impressed me the most is they had 660 fans cheering their every ove. But our kids handled the pressure really, really well.” Dan Webster led the Redmen with 12. Brad Buchanan added 10 and Don Coats 10. Redmen coach Rick McArthur told the Hamilton Spectator that “it was a well-played contest. Bayridge has similar strengths. We just ran into some bad luck in the second half, (i.e., an injury to Dan Coates) limited the offensive punch.”
In the bronze medal match, the Ridgeway-Crystal Beach Blue Devils clipped the Acton District Redmen 61-53. The Redmen led 11-2 early but soon folded their tents. Albino Pereira led the Blue Devils with 19. Brad Buchanan led the Redmen with 23 and Dan Webster 10. Webster told the Acton Free Press that “we could have won it if we had played a little better. We figured we all played pretty poor.” The Redmen (coached by Rick McArthur) included Dan Webster, Gord Bruce, Rick Van Fleet, Martin Osso, Brad Buchanan, Mike Morris, Don Coats, John Hogenbirk and Mike McGregor.
In the final, St. Thomas Central Elgin Titans clipped the Kingston Bayridge Blazers 59-51 after leading 19-17 at the half and 39-29 after three quarters. Gerald Hikele led the Titans with 24. John Bukich added 12. Leigh Knox paced the Blazers with 15. Dave Tierney added 8.
The bronze medalist Ridgeway-Crystal Beach Blue Devils: Albino Pereira; Julius Antal;
The silver medalist Kingston Bayridge Blazers: Leigh Knox; Tim Huleatt; Dave Tierney; Dean Geggie; Dave Steele; Dave Maguire; Terry Elliott; Dave Tierney; Don Platt; Ron Vande kemp; coach Barry O’Connor
The gold medalist St. Thomas Central Elgin Collegiate Institute Titans: Gerald Hikele; John Bukich; Wade Walker; coach Roy Murray