In the West tourney quarterfinals, held in Guelph, the St. Catharines Denis Morris Redmen defeated the top-seeded Sudbury Sheridan Tech Blue Devils 50-43 as Tim Berndt scored 13, Dino Chisea 9, Mike McGinnis 8, Jim Macfarlane 8, Ken Cripps 8 and Ron Choma 7. Ron Boulton paced the Blue Devils with 14. Grant McKinnon added 9, Tony Marolt 8 and Doug (Don?) Laviguer 8. The Blue Devils also included Brent MacKinnon, Tony Marold, Bob Lavigueur, Don Sheehan, Leo Moro, Stan Smuczek and Karl Packallen.
The Windsor Assumption Purple Raiders, who entered the tourney with a 20-0 record, dumped the London Sir Adam Beck Spartans 41-34 as the knifing drives and ballhandling of point guard Sante Salvador broke open a 32-32 half-time deadlock. Salvador scored seven of Windsor’s last nine points in putting the ball to the floor and driving at the net. He finished with 11 points, while Stan Krete scored 15 and Jack Bolzan 10. Hans Vaulkner led the Spartans with 11. Stu Bell added 11. The Spartans (coached by Mr. Dunlop) also included Gerry Lazar, Wayne Thornton, Rod Barker, Ray Rodrigues, Bob Zinner, Wayne Stokely, Jim Boland, Jim Lapthorn and Don Matheson.
The Barrie Central Phoenix dispatched the Guelph Collegiate Rams 64-54 as Barry Turnbull scored 23 and Ernie Miller 19. John McGill led the Rams with 19. The Rams also included Wallace, Pete Kirby, Ellcott, Black, Dale, Ross, Johnston, Randall, Hawkins, Laws? And Hanchus.
In the last quarterfinal, the Hamilton Cathedral Gaels dumped the Brantford St. John’s Green Eagles 60-48 as Paul Mazza scored 21, Peter Hamilton 15, Mike Walton 12, Al Smithson 6, Jerry Simpson 4 and Taranczauk 2, while Buist, Butkevicius, Kozak, McPhee and Vaicius were scoreless. John Dignan led the Green Eagles (coached by Rev. Harvey Roach, manager Mike Moore) with 18. John Quinlan acced 15, Bill Hutton 7, Mike Cleary 4, Don Taylor 2 and Paul Quinlan 2, while Mike McNeil, Les Stastook, George Hoo, Al McPherson, Mike Tozser, Tom Lynch and Bob Barron were scoreless. Cathedral led 9-7 after one quarter. Brantford led 22-21 at the half but Cathedral exploded for 25 points in the third quarter, including seven consecutive shots. Gaels coach Kyran Kennedy told the Hamilton Spectator that “both teams were very right in the first half. But when they went into the zone defence, they played into our hands. That let us get time to shoot.” Dignan told the Brantford Expositor “that one hot streak did it. If we could’ve gotten a couple of baskets in that stretch, it might have been different.” Cathedral led 46-34 after three quarters and the Green Eagles could rally no closer than seven. Cathedral schot .456 from the floor, while the Green Eagles struggled to resolve a 1-2-2 zone and Dignan picked up four fouls in the first half. Roach said “I’m really proud of this team. They had to play well to get this far. You can’t take anything away from Cathedrawl. Their shooting was tremendous.”
In the semi-finals, the Windsor Assumption Purple Raiders annihilated the Barrie Central Phoenix (then the Redskins) 72-54 as Craig Everingham scored 17, Gary Ulicny 11, Stan Krete 9, Larry Gardner 8, Sante Salvador 7, Mike Crowe 6, Pat McMahon 6, Jack Bolzan 4 and Glen Ladouceur 4, while Horocky was scoreless. Barry Turnbull led the Phoenix with 22. Doug Young added 11, Scott 6, E Miller 4 and Wicksted 2, while Ernie Miller and J Miller were scoreless. The Redskins also included Ken Kroeker.
In other semi, the Hamilton Cathedral Gaels nipped the St. Catharines Denis Morris Redmen 57-52 as Peter Hamilton scored 18, Jerry Simpson 13, Smithson 9, Walton 8, Mazza 7 and Taranczuk 2. The Gaels led 34-23 at the half and 45-37 after three quarters. The Gaels hit 21-37 from the line, while the Redmen were 12-20. Tim Berndt led the Redmen with 9. Ken Cripps added 7, Ron Choma 7, Mike McGinnis 5, Jim MacFarlane 5, Dino Chiesa 5 and Kevin McKenna 4. The Redmen (coach Eamon O’Shea, assistant Dave Becker, manager Mike Stockwell) also included Tony Goemans, Rick Tracey, Dennis Horvat, Nin o Pischedda and Mike O’Mara.
In the West final, the Windsor Assumption Purple Raiders dumped the Hamilton Cathedral Gaels 45-39. The Purple Raiders entered the final riding a 23-game winning streak. Windsor up 11-10 at quarter and by as many as nine in the second quarter before Hamilton rallied to cut the lead to four 21-17 at the half. Windsor took a four-point lead into the final quarter but Hamilton took lead on two fields and a free throw. Stan Krete tied the game at 33 with a free throw and then hit a field goal and a free throw to give Windsor a 36-33 lead. Peter Hamilton cut it to one but then Sante Salvador hit two free throws to make it 38-35. Al Smithson countered with two free throws for Hamilton. But then Stan Krete and Gary Ulicny hit buckets for Windsor to seal the victory. Assumption coach Jack Hool told the Windsor Star that “I was confident our defence would be adequate and the game up with our best rebounding job in a number of games. … Our one bad fault was a good one. All in all, this club was just a little too unselfish. Often one player would pass of to set up another when actually he had a shooting position just as good or better than the other fellow. It hurt us at times but all in all, it was a good thing. It helps to weld the players into a real team and went a long way toward creating a good team feeling.” Gaels coach Father Kyran Kennedy said “our outside shooting had been good all year but we weren’t hitting enough against Windsor’s defence.” Windsor held Cathedral stars Paul Mazza and Mark Walton to 6 and 2 points, respectively. But Pete Hamilton hit for 17, Jerry Simpson 8 and Al Smithson 6 for Cathedral, which only played five players. The difference was a tight zone which Cathedral couldn’t penetrate. Hamilton coach Kyran Kennedy later told Canadian Press that Windsor was “a fine ball club. We had a difficult time with their tight zone but the fact our shooting was off also helped.” Windsor was led by Stan Krete’s 21 points. Mike Crowe added 9, Gary Ulicny 6, Sante Salvador 7 and Jack Bolzan 2. Like Cathedral, Assumption only played five players in the final.
In the East tourney quarterfinals, the Peterborough Adam Scott CVI Lions, led by the 6-5 trio of Bill Caskey, Brian Tice and Art Thornton, opened with a 50-38 victory over Hamilton Delta. Brian Tice scored 13, Bill White 12, Art Thornton 9, Bill Tasky 8, Mike Wright 6 and Don Ellicott 2, while Garry Deleeskey, Greg Olsen, Chris Johnston, Bill McKay, Rich Gardiner and Fred Shaw were scoreless. Vic Popov led Delta (coach Bob Scott) with 12. Bob Prowse added 8, Dave McIssac 8, Graham Budge 6, Chuck Porter 2 and Dan O’Haski 2, while John C. Satori, Al Tone, Wayne C. Lough, Ron Newell, Joe Stokoish and Gary Pope were scoreless.
The defending East champ Ottawa Ridgemont Spartans defeated the Toronto De La Salle Oaklands 64-60 as John Cassidy scored 20, Ron Gowling 15, Pat MacMillan 14, John Hargadon 11, Phil Richardson 2 and Neill Iscoe 2, while Brian Ablett, Mike Mckendry and Art Stothart were scoreless. Tony Moran paced the Oaklands with 22. Mike Moran added 20, Dan Del Dagan 12, Albert Delorencz 2, Mike McGillen 2 and Bill Gregnall 2, while Frank Ronaldi and Don Hennessy were scoreless. The Oaklands also included Tony Grant. The game was a rematch of the 1966 regional final, which Ridgemont won by one. Ridgemont led 41-36 at the half.
Oshawa Central dumped Cornwall St. Lawrence 53-40 as John Rajkona scored 14, Charlie Marlowe 13, Larry Lloyd 12, Joe Krasnaj 6, Bill Langley 6 and Rick Bilinski 2, while Dave Cutler, Dave Calder, Dennis Hercia, Rick Lock and Bill Rajkovic were scoreless. Tilton Danihee paced St. Lawrence with 17. Arnis Darznieks added 10, Ron McAllister 9 and Brock Abraham 4, while Camille Sauve, Bill Carriere, Gord Harvey, Andre Poiner, Ray Gatien, Claude Leroux, Wayne MacDonald and Gerry Blanchard were scoreless.
In the last quarterfinal, the Kingston Loyalist Lancers clipped the Renfrew Collegiate Raiders 52-40 as Jack Gilroy scored 13, Jim Henshilwood 11, Mario Crevier 9, Brian Reed 8, Greg Richmond 4, George Billings 2, Gord McGregor 2 and Jim Hare 2, while Peter Rice, Tim Kruz and Dave McHugh were scoreless. Tom Airth led Renfrew with 13. Garry Ashfield added 11, Stewart Stark 9, John Burdock 4 and Gordon Eady 3, while Murray McPhail, Murray Ringose, Ken Rattey, Doug Fisher, Richard Lester, Terry Pott, Bill Prins and John Eady were scoreless.
In the semis, the Peterborough Adam Scott CVI Lions defeated the Kingston Loyalist Lancers 53-49 as Brian Tice scored 14, Bill Caskey 8, Art Thornton 8, Mike Wright 7, Bill White 7 and Don Ellicott 5, while Bleecker, Greg Olsen, Chris Johnston and Rich Gardiner were scoreless. Jack Gilroy led the Lancers with 15. Mario Crevier added 13, Jim Henshilwood 11, Jim Hare 2, Brian Reed 2 and Greg Richmond 1, while Peter Rice, George Billings, Gord McGregor and Dave McHugh were scoreless.
In the other semi, the Oshawa Central Collegiate Chiefs defeated the Ottawa Ridgemont Spartans 60-50 as John Rajkovic scored 21 to rally Central from a 33-19 halftime deficit. Bill Langley added 16, Joe Krasnaj 9, Larry Lloyd 8 and Charlie Marlowe 6, while Rick Bilinski, Dave Cutler, Rick Lock, Bill Rajkovic and Dennis Hercia were scoreless. John Cassidy led the Spartans with 23. Ron Gowling added 10, Pat MacMillan 7, John Hargadon 5 and Neill Iscoe 4, while Phil Richardson, Art Stothart, Pete Courtney, Mike McKendry and Brian Ablett were scoreless. The Spartans (coached by Jock Simpson) also included Brian Ablett.
In the final, the Peterborough Adam Scott CVI Lions defeated the Oshawa Central Collegiate Chiefs 46-34 as Mike Wright scored 12, Art Thornton 8, Brian Tice 8, Bill Caskey 5 and Bill White 2, while Garry Deleesky, Don Ellicott, Greg Olsen, Chris Johnston, Bill McKay, Rich Gardiner and Fred Shaw were scoreless. Larry Lloyd led Oshawa with 9. John Rajkovic added 6, Bill Langley 6, Charlie Marlowe 5 and Joe Krasnaj 2, while Rick Bilinski, Dave Cutler, Dave Calder, Rick Lock and Bill Rajkovic were scoreless.
The West silver medalist Hamilton Cathedral Gaels: Peter Hamilton; Jerry Simpson; Al Smithson; Paul Mazza; Mark Walton; Taranczuk; Buist; Butkevicius; Kozak; McPhee; Vaicius; coach Father Kyran Kennedy; assistant Bob Knuckle
The East silver medalist Oshawa Central Collegiate Chiefs: John Rajkovic; Larry Lloyd; Charlie Marlowe; Joe Krasnaj; Bill Langley; Rick Bilinski; Dave Cutler; Dave Calder; Dennis Hercia; Rick Lock; Bill Rajkovic; coach Don McIlveen
The West gold medalist Windsor Assumption Purple Raiders: Sante Salvador; Gary Ulicny; Stan Krete; Jack Bolzan; Glen Ladouceur; Mike Crowe; Greg Horocky; Craig Everingham; Pat McMahon; Larry Gardner; Frank Mancini; Norbert Rammler; Greg Horocky; coach Jack Hool; assistant Father Kennedy
The East gold medalist Peterborough Adam Scott Collegiate and Vocational Institute Lions: Bill Caskey; Brian Tice; Art Thornton; Mike Wright; Garry Deleeskey; Bill White; Don Ellicott; Greg Olsen; Chris Johnston; Bill McKay; Rich Gardiner; Fred Shaw; Bleecker;