In the opening round, held in St. Thomas: …………………………………………………… The defending champ and top-seeded Elgin Rideau District Lions dumped the Geraldton Knights 100-40 as Brad Mainse scored 22. Cam Stevens led the Knights with 9. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Van Kleek Hill Warriors v …………………………………………………… The Timmins O’Gorman Knights stunned 5th-seeded Belleville Collegiate 41-40. …………………………………………………… The Windsor Villanova Wildcats defeated the Gravenhurst Gryphons 63-55. The Wildcats won on the strength of a 19-9 final quarter. They trailed by five when coach Tony D’Aloisio called a timeout. “The coach didn’t get a chance to say anything,” Jamie Stewart told the Windsor Star. “Everybody was pointing out that we were playing like individuals and that we knew what we had to do if we wanted to win the game. … Scott (Miller) hit a few clutch jumpers, had a couple of steals and passed for a couple of baskets. And Doug Laing had six of his eight points in the last three minutes.” Jamie Stewart paced the Wildcats with 20. Miller added 11 and Richard Durocher 10. Joel Dart led the Gryphons with 24. …………………………………………………… The Rockcliffe Ashbury Colts dumped the Sudbury Ecole Secondaire Hamner Sabres 82-67 as Christian Currie scored 24. Steve Colnoir led the Sabres with 26. …………………………………………………… The Hamilton Hillfield/Strathallan Trojans edged the St. Thomas St. Joseph’s Rams 74-70 as Tony DePrelids scored 26. Jeremy Sutton led the Rams with 14. …………………………………………………… The St. Thomas Central Elgin Collegiate Institute Titans clocked the Kitchener Rockway Mennonite Flames 62-42 as Gord MacLeod scored 16, Steve Bogart 12 and Scott Nugent 12. Bryan Stover led the Flames with 10. Chris Derksen added 8 and Dave Tjart 6. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded St. Catharines Grantham Gators clocked the Woodbridge Wyverns 71-50 as Steve McIntosh scored 20, Andrew Baker 17, Scott Wiebe 12, Bob Steele 10 and Mike Naumann 9. The Gators led 14-6 after one quarter an d34-25 at the half. Gators coach Mike Voelkner told the St. Catharines Standard “we had a small letdown in the third quarter but outscored them 20-4 in the final quarter.” …………………………………………………… The 8th-seeded Bayfield. …………………………………………………… The Toronto Crescent School Wild Coyotes
In the second round: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Rideau District Lions dismantled the Gravenhurst Gryphons 92-45. …………………………………………………… The Windsor Villanova Wildcats defeated the Geraldton Knights 72-40. …………………………………………………… The Rockcliffe Ashbury Colts whipped the St. Thomas St. Joseph’s Rams 74-48 (also reported as 76-54). …………………………………………………… The Sudbury Ecole Secondaire Hamner Sabres clipped the Hamilton Hillfield/Strathallan Trojans 62-56. …………………………………………………… The St. Thomas Central Elgin Collegiate Institute Titans dispatched Belleville Collegiate 54-43. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded Van Kleek Hill Warriors nipped 7th-seeded St. Catharines Grantham 51-48 as Mike Horner scored 27. Steve McIntosh led the Gators with 13. Andrew Baker added 11. The Warriors led 12-11 after one quarter. The Gators led 29-25 at the half and 39-35 after three quarters. The Warriors hit 8-9 from the line in the final frame. Gators coach Mike Voelkner told the St. Catharines Standards that “we had them the whole game but they scored a few quick baskets in the final minute.” The Gators also included Ryan Gibson, Jack Sawatsky, Greg Duncanson, Bob Steele, Scott Wiebe, Mike Naumann. …………………………………………………… The Timmins O’Gorman Knights defeated the Kitchener Rockway Mennonite Flames 72-64 as Tyler Scott scored 25 and Wade Cope 17. The Knights led 20-15 after one quarter and 38-27 at the half. Chris Derksen paced the Flames with 20. Bryan Stover added 17 and Tom Enns 15. The Flames (coach Roger Stove) also included Dave Tjart, Joel Schmidt, Jonathan Enns, Matt Snyder, Andrew Dueck, Ian Agard. …………………………………………………… The Toronto Crescent School Wild Coyotes clubbed the Woodbridge Wyverns 64-41.
In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Elgin Rideau District Lions dumped the Sudbury Ecole Secondaire Hamner Sabres 85-61 as Shawn Plancke scored 30. Peter Racicot led the Sabres with 15.
The 3rd-seeded Rockcliffe Ashbury Colts dumped the 6th-seeded Windsor Villanova Wildcats 77-61 as Hugh Bell scored 22. Villanova took an early 8-2 lead but lost Scott Miller to a separated shoulder after four minutes of play and two minutes later, centre Doug Laing to a sprained ankle. The Wildcats led 15-11 after one quarter and 35-27 at the half but tired in the second frame. “We’re not that deep on the bench and we felt we had to continue to press and run the whole game,” Villanova coach Tony D’Aloisio told the Windsor Star. “In the later stages, we made some turnovers and our shooting deteriorated.” Jamie Stewart led Villanova with 21. Richard Durocher added 12 and Rob McManus 8. The Wildcats (coached by Tony D’Alosio) also included Doug Laing, Adrian Galvan, Scott Miller.
The 2nd-seeded St. Thomas Central Elgin Collegiate Institute Titans dispatched the 4th-seeded Van Kleek Hill Warriors 69-49 as Gord McLeod scored 16. Derek Horner led the Warriors with 19. The Warriors also included Mike Horner.
In the last quarterfinal, the Timmins O’Gorman Knights defeated the Toronto Crescent School Wild Coyotes 41-39 as Tyler Scott scored 19. Andrew Rupf led the Wild Coyotes with 17.
In the semis, the top-seeded Elgin Rideau District Lions clipped the Timmins O’Gorman Knights 60-31.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded St. Thomas Central Elgin CI Titans defeated the Rockcliffe Ashbury Colts 61-52.
In the bronze medal match, the Ashbury Colts thumped the Timmins O’Gorman Knights 68-46. The Knights included Tyler Scott, Wade Cope.
In the final, the Elgin Rideau District Lions, which included Shawn Plancke, defeated the 2nd-seeded St. Thomas Central Elgin CI Titans 62-39 to capture their third consecutive provincial title. The Titans led 28-26 at the half but the Lions aggressive defence proved the difference in the second half, limiting St. Thomas to just 11 points in the second half and 2 in the final quarter. Plancke led Rideau District with 26. Plancke, along with point guard Dereck Campbell and power forward Brad Mainse, never lost a championship game since they started playing together as midgets. “I’d have to say this is the strongest team we’ve ever had at Rideau District,” coach Rob Stephenson told the Kingston Whig-Standard. “The players have played together for a few seasons. They know each other and they are a very close unit.” The Lions were led by 6-7 centre Shawn Plancke, who averaged 24 ppg, 18 rpg and 9 bpg on the season. Assistant coach Ron Stenzl added that Plancke was “a package you only get once in your lifetime, extremely well-rounded and a great team player. … We’ve got to be the best-kept sporting secret in eastern Ontario. We have no more money than any other school, yet we get the job done.” The Lions finished 46-4 on the season, with all the losses coming to AAA schools. Plancke had scholarship offers from 10 American schools but eventually enrolled at Dalhousie. “First of all, I don’t want to be part of a basketball factory,” he told the Whig-Standard. “I want to take concurrent physical education and there’s only a few schools that offer that. I want a place known more for education than basketball.” Plancke said community support was integral to the team’s success. “That is so much a part of this team as anything. It’s everywhere you go. I go to the store or to the movie-rental place and people are always talking about how the team’s doing. They pack our gym for every game even though they know we’re going to win by 60 points.” Stephenson added “it’s absolutely phenomenal. Last week we had between 80 and 100 people drive six hours through a storm to St. Thomas for the OFSAA tournament, and last year, when the OFSAA tournament was in Timmins, we had fans organizing to charter a plane. The plan fell through but the fact that a good number of people were actually willing to do that is unbelievable.”
The bronze medalist Rockcliffe Ashbury Colts: Hugh Bell; Christian Currie; Tommy St. John; Andy Mills; Jeff Starr; coach Andy Sparks
The silver medalist St. Thomas Central Elgin Collegiate Institute Titans: Gord McLeod; Steve Bogart; Scott Nugent;
The champion Elgin Rideau District Lions: Shawn Plancke; Dereck Campbell; Brad Mainse; coach Rob Stephenson; assistant Ron Stenzl