Prior to the start of the tournament, the Thunder Bay zone decided not to send a representative, which opened up a spot in the draw. In a play-in game for that berth, the Niagara Falls Stamford CI Hornets whipped the St. Catharines Denis Morris Redmen 93-45 as Lee Buckborough scored 21, Ken Todd 14 (also reported as 10), Jeff Fear 11, Kevan Smith 11, Vito DeMartino 10 (also reported as 11) and Frances Moccio 6. The Hornets led 9-0 early and 22-8 after one quarter and 47-20 at the half, before opening the third frame with an 11-0 run. They led 75-27 heading into the final frame. Frank Clifford led the Redmen with 10. Tim Clutterbuck added 9 and Mark Evans 7. The Redmen also included Owen Reid, Dave Pothier.
In the opening seeding round, (the first time OFSAA used such a creature), held in St. Catharines: …………………………………………………… The Burlington Nelson Lords defeated Toronto Parkdale Panthers 69-67 in triple overtime. Toronto took advantage of the Lords foul trouble early and point guard Ran Wilson’s poise. But the Lords dominated the boards by a 51-13 count. Toronto shot 33-43 from the line, while Burlington hit 9-24 from the line. Nelson outrebounded Toronto 51-13, including a big board by Mark Swithenbank with seven seconds to play in the third extra session. Swithenback put back the winner. Parkdale led 51-45 with three minutes to play in regulation and went into a stall, which backfired. Burlington Nelson ripped off six unanswered points to force overtime. Burlington forced a second session when Jim Nanavati hit a bucket as the horn sounded. One official ruled it late, but the trail official overruled the call. In the second overtime, Wilson scored with 40 seconds left to knot the score at 61. The Lords were led by 6-6 center Peter Greenaway’s 24 points before fouling out in the first overtime. Mark Swithenbank added 10 points and 15 boards, and Phil Davis 10. Wilson led Toronto with 20 points on 12-13 from the line. He also nabbed 16 boards. Steve Clements added 17 before fouling out with two minutes to play in regulation. …………………………………………………… Toronto St. Basil’s Barons defeated the St. Catharines Governor Simcoe Redcoats 73-51 as Franco Girardo scored 19, Giancarlo DiGiambattista 14, along with 11 boards, Lino DiGiambattista 12 and Frank Giovanatti 10. The Barons outscored the Redcoats 23-8 in the second quarter to take a 41-20 lead at the half. They opened the frame with a 14-0 run. Denis Fast paced the Redcoats with 21. Brian Walsh added 8, Kerry Lichty 5 and Tom Boese 5. The Redcoats committed 37 turnovers against the Barons zone press. …………………………………………………… The Sault Ste. Marie Bawating Braves defeating the Kingston CVI Blues 82-55. The Braves led 46-19 at the half and coasted. Robert Niro led Bawating with 29, including 20 in the first half. Wally Zielinski added 18, Jerry Tulloch 14 and Billy Williams 9. Ken Leask and Wally Zielinski each nabbed 9 boards. John Sutton paced Kingston with 27, including all 18 Blues points in the third quarter. The Blues were playing without starter Ian Dolphin, who had other commitments and did not attend the tournament. Blues coach Hans Garsch told the Kingston Whig-Standard that “they used the fast break and we weren’t able to recover quickly enough.” …………………………………………………… The Toronto Runnymede Redmen defeated the Guelph Centennial Spartans 58-55. Runnymede led 15-5, 27-25 and 45-40 at the quarters. The teams traded the lead down the stretch. Bohean Pelech led Runnymede with 21 points. Brian Carlson paced Guelph with 22. Doug Willoughby added 14, Bill Huiskamp 9 and Andy Smart 8. Spartans coach Al Beirnes told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “I kept waiting for us to snap out of it and get going. But it never happened. We played well in the second quarter and made a good run at the for part of the last eight minutes but we didn’t have it when we needed it. … We were so flat, it was terrible. I don’t know if it was playing in the afternoon, or the pressure, or what. … Brian (Carlson) was the only one out there who played the way I know we can.” …………………………………………………… The Tillsonburg Glendale Griffins dumped the Windsor W.D. Lowe Trojans 57-44 as Dave Coulthard scored 27, Horvath 8, Bossy 4, Goossens 3 and Englander 2, while Kondrat was scoreless. Mike Woods led the Trojans with 26. Gaspar added 4 and Graber 2. Lowe coach Gerry Brumpton told the Windsor Star that “our box-and-one (defence against Coulthard) worked fine but we consistently turned the ball over to them. There were loose balls all over the place but seldom did we come up with them. They scored a lot of their baskets on second and third shots from rebounds.” The Gryphons led 41-36 at the half. …………………………………………………… The Niagara Falls A.N. Myer Marauders defeated the Belleville Quinte Saints 80-43 as Jay Triano scored 18, Terry Rigg 17 (also reported as 11) and Jim Stephenson 12. The Marauders led 21-6, 35-22 and 57-28 at the quarters. The Marauders led 21-6, 35-22 and 57-28 at the quarters. Steve Hale paced the Saints with 13. Peter Vos added 12. …………………………………………………… The North York William Lyon MacKenzie Lions defeated the Ottawa St. Pius X X-Men 51-37 as Rich Kurtz scored 18 and Mike Sliwowicz 10. Jim McSheffrey scored 21 for Pius. The X-Men (co-coached by Rev. Robert Bedard and Pat O’Brien) also included Dave Collerman, Torind Panetta, Wayne Welton, Van Denhenberg, Mark Cullen, Jim Kent, Ken Blackburn and Rick Larock. …………………………………………………… The Niagara Falls Stamford Hornets dumped the Hamilton Sir Wilfred Laurier Patriots 69-62 as Kevan Smith scored 15, Francis Moccio 12, Vito DiMartino 12, John Nicol 11 and Jeff Fear 11. The Hornets led 15-14, 31-26 and 47-39 at the quarters. Dennis Wyslobicky paced Laurier with 15. Al Jones added 14 and Scott Stringer 11 after being sidelined in the first quarter by an ankle injury before returning the fourth frame. Stamford led 15-14, 31-26 and 41-39 at the quarters.
In the second round: …………………………………………………… The North York MacKenzie Lions defeated the Belleville Quinte Saints 84-56 (also reported as 71-54, by Canadian Press) but then withdrew from the quarterfinals because of the Jewish Passover holiday. Coach Peter Young said he’d asked tournament organizers to schedule the draw around the first night of the holiday. By tradition, the faithful are supposed to be in their homes by sundown. Eleven of 12 Lions are Jewish. Tournament spokesman Tom Sills said “we were never told before this week. He obvious came with the idea he would lose. He had no right entering a team under those conditions. “The officials wouldn’t schedule a game on Christmas or Easter,” said Lion Michael Gotkin. Quinte was offered the quarterfinal berth but refused to take it. Richard Kurtz led the Lins with 23. Mike Sliwowicz added 17. The Lions led 42-33 at the half. Steve Hale led the Saints with 22. Peter Vos added 14. The Saints (coached by Jim Murray) also included Rick Culkin. …………………………………………………… The Toronto Runnymede Redmen defeated the Kingston CVI Blues 86-70 as Bohdan Pelech scored 44 and grabbed 30 boards. Pete Henry added 18 and Cliff Buchardt 11. John Sutton paced the Blues with 21. Gary Corbett added 21 and Pete Paulsen 9. The Blues led 39-35 at the half. Blues coach Hans Garsch told the Kingston Whig-Standard that Pelech was a “good outside shooter, but if we tried to check him outside, he beat us inside. The only possible way we could have contained him would have been to put two men on him.” The Blues (coached by Hans Garsch) also included Steve Webber, Ian Dolphin, Bill Duncan, Brian Timmins, Rob Wallace, John Wilson and Paul Hazlett. …………………………………………………… The St. Catharines Governor Simcoe Redcoats defeated the Burlington Nelson Lords 58-49 as Keith Lichty scored 23, Brian Walsh 13, Gary Moffat 10 and Denis Fast 9. Ray Sinclair led the Lords with 15. Pete Greenway added 15. The Redcoats took command with a 15-0 run to erase a 38-35 deficit. The Lords led 14-11 after one quarter and 26-21 at the half. The Lords (coached by John Maclennan) also included Bob Flake, Mark Swithenbank, Mike Flenniken, Don Tench, Dave Merritt, Phil Davis, Terry Cassaday, Dave Bourne, Jim Nanavati, Ray Sinclair and John Priestner. MacLennan told the Hamilton Spectator that “I don’t know if it was our worst streak of the year but it was certainly the most costly. Lately, we’ve been spurting like that against other teams. Today, it happened to us. WE played well defensively except for that spurt. We weren’t setting up our patterns offensively but we were getting away with it.” …………………………………………………… The Toronto Parkdale Panthers defeated the Toronto St. Basil’s Barons 65-49 as Clements scored 21, while nabbing 13 boards. Franco Girardo led the Barons with 17. The Barons also included Lino Griardo, Frank Giovannetti, Giancarlo DiGambattista, Lino DiGianbattista. …………………………………………………… The Sault Ste. Marie Bawating Braves defeated the Guelph Centennial Spartans 55-48 as John Zanatta scored 17, Billy Williams 10, Ken Leask 8 and Jerry Tulloch 8. The Braves led 15-6, 23-20 and 45-33 at the quarters, while outrebounding Centennial 41-26, including 13 from Leask and 9 from Williams. Bawating shot .380 from the floor and .650 from the line. Doug Willoughby led the Spartans with 14. Scott King added 11, Brian Carlson 11 and Bill Huiskamp 10. The Spartans hit .360 from the floor and .440 from the line. The Spartans (coach Al Beirnes) also included Dan Pavlicik, Andy Smart. Beirnes told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “we just didn’t have it here … The guys just weren’t responding instinctively in the close situations. …………………………………………………… The Tillsonburg Glendale Griffins defeated the Hamilton Sir Wilfrid Laurier Patriots 75-51 as Bob Horvath scored 24, Dave Coulthard 12 and Brian Goosenas 10. The Griffins led 21-12, 41-23 and 64-41 at the quarters. Dennis Wyslobicky led the Patriots with 20. The Patriots (coached by Bob Knuckle, assisted by Dave Donat and Paul Walychuck) also included Al Jones, Scott Stringer, Henry Kunda, Gavin Miller, Mike Devan, Bob Radoja, Ziggy Biskupowicz, Rick Dinney and Joe Laufman. Knuckle told the Hamilton Spectator that his Patriots came up “flat. … I’ve got to say this: Tilsonburg has a good team. We would have had to play over our heads to beat them.” …………………………………………………… The Niagara Falls A.N. Myer Marauders defeated Ottawa St. Pius X-Men 71-54 as Jim Stephenson scored 17, Jay Triano 16 and Terry Rigg 12. The Marauders led 22-14, 38-30 and 57-36 at the quarters. Jim McSheffrey led the X-Men with 19. Terry Vandenbanenburg added 11. The X-Men also included Dan Colterman, Torindo Panetta. …………………………………………………… The Niagara Falls Stamford Hornets edged the Windsor W.D. Lowe Trojans 70-69 as Vito DiMartino hit one of two free throws with one second to play. The Hornets led 39-30 at the half. Lowe led 67-61 with three minutes to play but Jeff Fear hit two free throws to trim the margin to two and then DiMartino hit a bomb to knot the score. Mike Brkovich and Kevan Smith traded baskets to leave the score knotted at 69 with 50 seconds to play. The Hornets stalled, lost the ball in a scramble and official Charlie Tonna called a foul on Mike Woods, leading to DiMartino’s free throws. Trojans coach Gerry Brumpton told the Windsor Star that “I didn’t want it to end this way. Losing Ken Smith (on fouls with 1:50 to play) hurt us. … But I’m proud of the way these kids battled back after such a poor first half … Woods played another great game for us. So did Brkovich.” Trojans assistant Dave McGuffin said “that was a loose ball foul and he (Tonna) had no business calling it at that point in the game. The score was tied. He should have let the teams decide it in overtime. As it was, he gave their guy a gift point.” Kevan Smith scored 24 to lead Stamford. Francis Moccio added 14, Ken Todd 13, Jeff Fear 11, Vito DiMartino 6 and Herkimer 2. Mike Woods led the Trojans with 26. Mike Brkovich added 15, Ken Smith 13, Cam Graber 6, Gaspar 5 and Carlo Barzotto 4. The Trojans (coached by Gerry Brumpton) also included John Herbert.
In the quarterfinals, the Tillsonburg Glendale Griffins edged Niagara Falls A.N. Myer Marauders 70-69 as George Gilvesy hit two free throws with nine seconds to play. Dave Coulthard led the Griffins with 34 (also reported as 24). John Freund added 8. Jay Triano paced the Marauders with 29, along with 10 boards. Terry Rigg added 21, along with 11 boards, and Vic Teso 10. The Marauders led 20-16 after one quarter and 41-37 at the half. Glendale led 53-51 after three quarters. The Griffins packed the paint and effectively utilized a halfcourt press. The Marauders were hit with two technical, one on coach Paul Deeton for disputing a call against Jim Stephenson, who was hit for a technical for disputing a call on an and-one. The Marauders (coach Paul Deeton) also included Rick Rampado, Fred Roberto, Jim Stephenson, Frank Roberto.
The Toronto Parkdale Panthers defeated the Toronto Runnymede Redmen 66-65 as Steve Clements scored 22 and grabbed 21 boards. Randy Wilson added 12 and Richard Pawlowicz 11. Wilson scored 8 of his team’s last 10 points after coming off the bench with four minutes to play. Bohdan Pelech led Runnymede with 15 points and 4 boards. Bo Pelech added 15, Cliff Bluechardt 14 and Peter Henry 10 The Redmen (coached by Doug Lockhart) also included Andy DeLaat, Don Bevers, Paul Henry, John (Don?) Weatherup, Steve Teroff, John Medal. The Redmen led 13-10 after one quarter and 28-27 at the half. The Panthers led 48-45 after three quarters.
The Sault Ste. Marie Bawating Braves defeated the St. Catharines Governor Simcoe Redcoats 56-42 as Robert Niro scored 20, Ken Leask 14 and John Zanatta 10. The Braves hit .400 form the floor and .560 from the line, while dominating the boards by a 45-19 count, including 12 by Billy Williams and 11 by Leask. Bawating led 18-10, 32-18 and 43-30 at the quarters. Denis Fast led the Redcoats were (coached by Ken Walsh) with 9. Cam Wallace added 8 and Keith Lichty 7. The Redcoats hit .350 from the floor and .270 from the line. Walsh told the St. Catharines Standard that “I think if we had been hitting from the line, we could have won the game.” The Braves outrebounded the Redcoats 45-19. The Redcoats (coach Ken Walsh, manager Graham Greene) also included Tom Boese, Gary Moffatt, Dan Rzadkowski, Brian Walsh, Terry Krawec, George Oliver, Wayne Hartley, Dan Difruscio and Eric Peltzer.
In the last quarterfinal, the Niagara Falls Stamford CI Hornets won by default. They’d been scheduled to play the North York William Lyon McKenzie Lions but the Toronto-area squad forfeited the contest after refusing to play so late in the day, as the squad of predominately Jewish players said they couldn’t compete give that Passover had started when the sun went down. The Lions (coached by Peter Young) included Richie Kurtz, Steve Lax, Mike Sliwowicz, Irv Mintz, Mitch Litvack.
In the semis, the Niagara Falls Stamford Hornets upset the Toronto Parkdale Panthers 68-64 as Kevan Smith scored 15, Ken Todd 14, Vito DiMartino 13 and Francis Mocci 10.The Hornets led 31-21 at the half and opened the third frame with a 9-2 run to take command Steve Clements paced Parkdale with 20. Steve Genacos added 18.
In the other semi, the Sault Ste. Marie Bawating Braves edged the Tillsonburg Glendale Griffins 42-38 as John Zanatta scored 13, while nabbing 11 boards, Bill Williams 11 and Ken Leask 8. The Braves led 11-10 after one quarter and 25-20 at the half. David Coulthard notched a personal 9-0 run to start the second half for the Griffins. John Zanatta iced the win with a pair of free throws in the final seconds, while Bill Williams added a singleton from the line. Bawating shot .290 from the floor and 12-18 from the line, while Tilsonburg was .280 from the floor and 6-11 from the line. David Coulthard paced Glendale with 21 (also reported as 23). Brian Goosens added 9. Glendale led 34-33 a
In the bronze medal match, the Tillsonburg Glendale Griffins defeated the Toronto Parkdale Panthers 50-48. The Griffins led by as much as 12 in the second half before Steve Clements tried to rally Parkdale, scoring 25 of his 32 points in the second half. But the rally fell just short. Dave Coulthard led Glendale with 21. Bob Horvath added 10, along with 14 boards. The Griffins had twice finished second in past seven years of OFSAA under coach Brian O’Rourke. The Panthers (coached by Ed Malany) also included Rich Pawlowicz, Randy Wilson, Manual Amaral, Chris Trianifilou, Tony Centofante, Art Burton, Steve Genacos. Parkdale led 8-4 after one quarter. Glendale led 18-14 at the half.
In the final, the Niagara Falls Stamford Hornets defeated the Sault Ste. Marie Bawating Braves 60-51. Stamford captain and starter Lee Buckborough, 6-4 forward, was lying on a beach in Florida when the Hornets won the title. Stamford had lost the Niagara region playoffs to the crosstown rival Niagara Falls A.N. Myer Marauders, so Buckborough had made arrangements to go to Florida. But when no Thunder Bay team entered the draw, Stamford was invited to join as a fill-in. Buckborough couldn’t give up his plans. They didn’t need him as Kevan Smith scored 19 in the second half to lead the Hornets to a 60-56 upset of Bawating. Smith finished 27 points, predominately perimeter bombs as he hit 13-20 from the floor. “We have a set offence which we used against a zone defence where we try to work the ball into the corners and when you’re hot, you’re hot,” said Smith, who hit 9-11 shots in the second half. Hornets coach Bob Coull told the Niagara Falls Review that “we had nothing but a team effort all year. The boys are very close and respect each other and I’ve got a great deal of respect for them. They work very hard and their hearts are twice as big as any other club. … After the half, we just wanted to stay close until the end and then hope things would explode. Bawating shot extremely well in the first half but we were confident going into the second. Our kids played that letter perfect.” Coull told the St. Catharines Standard that “Ken (Leask) played extremely well on the boards for us … Our kids played that game almost letter perfect. We were patient all game and took good shots. I don’t think we forced more than one or two shots. When we went ahead, we played with extreme poise and confidence.” The Hornets zone stymied the Braves. They switched to a box-and-one on Bill Williams in the second half and Bawating never adhjusted. Coach Bob Coull said Buckborough would get a championship medal. “He is very much a part of our team.” The Hornets were 15 points underdogs. “But their hearts are not bigger than ours and that’s what we won it on – heart,” said Coull. Bawating took a 28-23 lead at the half but the patient Hornets kept working the ball, ripped of an 8-0 run to take a 40-38 lead after three quarters on a Jeff Fear bucket at the buzzer. The Hornets moved ahead 58-50 on Smith’s field shooting and led 60-50 with a minute to play. The Hornets shot .630 from the floor, while Bawating was .420. Stamford committed 11 turnovers and Bawating 7. Bawating outrebound Stamford 24-22. Jeff Fear added 12 for Stamford, while Ken Todd scored 10, while grabbing nine boards. Gerry Tulloch led Bawating with 14 points. Ken Leask added 12, Bill Williams 10 and Robert Niro 10. Bawating scored three buckets in the final minute to narrow the final margin as the Hornets committed a series of turnovers.
The bronze medalist Tilsonburg Glendale Griffins: Bob Horvath; David Coulthard; Mike Woods; George Gilvesy; Brian Goosens; Paul Jarjapka; coach Brian O’Rourke
The silver medalist Sault Ste. Marie Bawating Braves: Gerry Tulloch; Ken Leask; Bill Williams; Robert Niro; John Zanatta; Wally Zeilinski; Dave Marinucci; Mike Luxton; Greg Mullen; Joe Cundari; Gerry Tulloch; Gerry Donnelly; Manny Martinez; Carlo Coccimiglio; coach Dennis Collins
The gold medalist Niagara Falls Stamford CI Hornets: Rick Herkimer; Jeff Fear; Mike Moroz; John Kulik; John Nicol; John Brettle; Emil Breuer; Tino Sherbo; Bill Bray; Francis Moccio; Ken Todd; Lee Buckborough; Kevan Smith; Vito DiMartino; Lee Buckwell; coach Bob Coull