In the South regional quarterfinals, the Welland Notre Dame Fighting Irish edged the Hamilton Cathedral Gaels in overtime as Joe Nero hit two free throws with 7 seconds to play. The Fighting Irish led 16-14 after one quarter and 25-23 at the half. The Gaels led 35-33 after three quarters. The score was knotted at 49 after regulation. Tom Swick paced the Fighting Irish with 19. Mike Zareski added 12 and Joe Nero 11. Peter Giftapoulos led the Gaels with 22. Rocco Romano added 14 and Rocco Disabatino 10. The Gaels (coach Mark Walton) also included Joe Carino, Sam DiFeo, Andy Szitas. …………………………………………………… The Oakville T.A. Blakelock Tabbies clipped the top-ranked Hamilton Collegiate Cougars 58-48 as Rohan McLean scored 25 and Jamie Ziegel 14. The Cougars led 12-8 after one quarter and 27-18 at the half. The Tabbies led 36-30 after three quarters. George Rakas paced the Tabbies with 17. Drew Scott added 13. The Cougars (coach Mike Leedale) also included Rob Houston. …………………………………………………… The Bramalea Broncos stomped the Niagara Falls Stamford Collegiate Hornets 67-34 after leading 11-7, 27-20 and 49-32 at the quarters. Rick Briscoe led the Broncos with 20. Paul March added 15 and Paul Green 13. Dave Taylor led the Hornets with 14. The Hornets (coach Bob Coull) also included Nick Rasetta, Dan Horth, John Swan, Doug Handy, Doug Jarrett, Brian Calbury, Frank Ianniello, Bill Jackman, Rick Spinosa and Gerry Marchese. …………………………………………………… In the last quarterfinal, the Mississauga Woodlands Rams whipped the St. Catharines Grantham Gators 77-52 as Terry Bertrand scored 24, Kevin St. Kitts 12, Eugene Gibson 16 and Bruce Nelson 15. The Rams dominated the second quarter by a 25-4 count. Tim Boisvert led the Gators with 14. Dan Duemo added 10 and Jay Fiocca 10. Gators coach Peter McIntyre told the St. Catharines Standard that “they were faster than we were. They were better jumpers and they shot a heckuva lot better. We went into the room at halftime realizing that we were just outclassed.” The Gators also included Warren Edgar, Tim Vince, Ken McClay, Brian Duguay, Vic Medland, Urbanovics, Galloway, Thorne, Torretto and Vaughan. …………………………………………………… In the South regional semis, the Bramalea Broncos defeated the Mississauga Woodlands Rams x-x. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the Oakville T.A. Blakelock Tabbies defeated the Welland Notre Dame Fighting Irish 58-44. The Fighting Irish included Tom Swick, Mike Zareski, Jeff Root, Aldo Fazzaleri. …………………………………………………… In the South regional final, the Bramalea Broncos dispatched the Oakville T.A. Blakelock Tabbies 41-31 as Rick Briscoe scored 16 and Paul Green 11. The Broncos led 18-8, 22-20 and 343-25 at the quarters. Broncos coach Gery Thompson told the Hamilton Spectator that “when you get into playoff games at the association level, I expect them all to be low (scoring). Kids that wins it, so everyone plays better defence.” Tabbies coach Vern Lucyk said “that’s the kind of score I’d like to keep Bramalea down to, but I think we lost all kinds of offensive flow we had for two days.” Rohan McLean paced the Tabbies with 12.
In the West regional: …………………………………………………… In the quarterfinals, the Kitchener Cameron Heights Golden Gaels nipped the Tillsonburg Gemini 52-48 as Kipfer scored 19, Frank Naus 11, Guthrie 10, Marcel Naus 6, Andy Balogh 4 and Peters 2. The Gemini led 16-14 after one quarter. The Golden Gaels led 26-21 at the half. The Gemini led 41-37 after three quarters. Frank Naus hit a jumper and Andy Balogh a jumper and two free throws as the Gaels regained the lead with an 8-point outburst. Frank Naus told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “we haven’t had a bad game in about two months and I think we got rattled a little bit when some of our shots wouldn’t go down and when we had trouble handling the ball.” Gold Gaels coach Court Heinbuch said “we played scared and not question about that. … We stopped running and we some poor shooting at poor times in the game.” Shawn O’Rourke paced the Gemini with 12. Scott O’Rourke added 10, Jerry Vermeeren 7, Austin 6, Vandequaethem (Vandegaethom?) 4, Schroeder 2, Burleigh 1 and Demaree 1. The Gemini (coached by Brian O’Rourke) also included David Bossy. Gemini coach Brian O’Rourke said “we good a good team to the wire.” …………………………………………………… The Windsor Assumption Purple Raiders thrashed the Brantford Collegiate Institute & Vocational Mustangs 77-58 as Carlo Boniferro scored 19, Tony Douglas 13, Rod Sartor 10, Kristalovich 10, Dino Latella 9, Burgess 6, King 6, Reaume 3, Haggarty 1 and Keane 1. Howie Yuhasz paced the Mustangs with 20. Deepak Varma added 13, Brian Lumbard 12, Mike Fedak 8, Mike Schertzer 2 and Mark Morden 2. The Mustangs (coached by Larry Smith, manager Geoff Bannon) also included Jamie Coulos, Wayne Brett, Greg Clemons, Mark Thorne, Spence Bankston, Roger Piovesan and Mark Williams. …………………………………………………… The Windsor W.D. Lowe Trojans clubbed the Kitchener St. Jerome’s Lions 62-43 as Peter Lambropoulos scored 17, Tony Piazza 17, Makatic 10, Castellan 6, Berardi 4, Foster 3, S Dean 2, Holland 2 and Mavra 1. Dave MacNeil led the Lions with 14. Wally Gangl added 11, Tom Schneider 6, Arvyd Treciokas 6, Tome Lavigne 2 and Roger Barbosa 2. The Lions (coach Tom Kieswetter) also included Roger Barbosa, Shaun howard, Jose Menendez, Mike Gangl, Les Piotrowski, John Sharkey and Taylor Wentges. …………………………………………………… In the last quarterfinal, the Sarnia Northern Vikings dispatched the Windsor F.J. Brennan Cardinals 50-44 as Randy Norris scored 25, Brad Armstrong 9, Mitchell 9, Spradborow? 4, Wilson 2 and Dave Douglass 2. Deroia led the Cardinals (coached by Rod Innocente) with 15. Boris Mihalic added 8, Andy Lasala 8, Rod Lucier 7, Ruggerillo 2, Bortolin 2 and Lazzarin 2. …………………………………………………… In the semis, the Windsor W.D. Lowe Trojans dusted the Sarnia Northern Vikings 70-39 as Tony Piazza scored 25, Peter Lambropoulos 14 and Gino Castellan 13. Randy Norris led the Vikings with 17. The Vikings (coached by Don Phillips) also included Dave Douglass, Brad Armstrong, Mitchell, Spradborow?, Wilson. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the Kitchener Cameron Heights Golden Gaels thumped the Windsor Assumption Purple Raiders 54-38 as David Kipfer scored 28, Andy Balogh 12 (also reported as 14), Guthrie 8, Frank Naus 2 and Marcel Naus 2. Dino Latella led the Purple Raiders with 17. The Purple Raiders (coached by Jack Hool) also included Carlo Boniferro, Rod Sartor, Tony Douglas, Kristalovich, Burgess, King, Reaume, Haggerty and Koane. …………………………………………………… In the final, the Windsor Lowe Trojans edged the Kitchener Cameron Heights Golden Gaels 55-53 as Peter Lambropoulos scored 22, Tony Piazza 21 and Frank Berardi 7. David Kipfer paced Cameron Heights with 29, including 17 in a row in a period spanning the third and fourth quarters). Trojans coach Gerry Brumpton told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that his troops were “just hanging on at the end and it hurt us to lose centre Brian Maken on fouls late in the last quarter.” Lambropouls broke open a 51-51 tied with four straight free throws. Frank Naus added 10, Phil Guthrie 4, Andy Balogh 4 and Marcel Naus 2. Gael guard Rob Froese was sidelined by an elbow injury. Golden Gaels coach Court Heinbuch said “the absence of Froese, the slowdown in our transition game and the necessity to go with just five starters took its toll.”
In the East regional playoffs: …………………………………………………… In the semis, the Nepean Bell Bruins dusted the Peterborough Kenner Collegiate Vocational Institute Rams 90-42 (also reported as 90-43) AS Jeff Grosspeitch scored 22, Chris Jonsson 18, Stewart 14, Thuswaldner 13, Turner 8, McGregor 7, Wilson 6 and Drake 2, while Milner was scoreless. and Chris Jansson 18. Gary Pringle led the Rams with 14. Shaw added 12, Schumacher 7, Zell 4, Ellemert 4 and Byers 2, while Eades, Hope, Curran, Riddelgoda and Nydam were scoreless. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the Ottawa St. Pius X X-men clipped the Kingston CVI Blues 69-55 as George House scored 18, Garrow 16, Flaherty 8, Guillet 6, Mau 5, Tony House 5, Chadwick 4, Dobson 3, Terrel 2 and O’Connor 2. Andy Ledoux led the Blues with 17. Mark Cleary added 11, Karl Hudson 9, Steve Veenstra 8, Dan Wallace 6 and Dave Cleary 4, while Rob Wade, Paulsen, Downie and Haslett were scoreless. The Blues (coached by Hans Garsch) also included Roger Skepple, David Smith, Gord Devine. Garsch told the Kingston Whig-Standard that “they played a really tough defensive game and we went cold. We had some bad miscues like little turnovers here and there and that we’re not accustomed to making and that sort of rocked the boat. Next thing you know we’re down 10.” …………………………………………………… In the final, the Nepean Bell Bruins clipped the Ottawa St. Pius X X-Men 69-59 as Chris Jonsson scored 21, including 11 free throws in the final quarter, Jeff Grosspietch 16, Anthony Stewart 16, Grant Lawrence 10, Thuswaldner 8 and Turner 4, while McGregor was scoreless. Bruins coach Donald Greenham told the Kingston Whig-Standard “who else would you want on the line but Jonsson? That’s typical. That’s normal. That’s the way it is.” Terry Garrow led the X-Men (coached by Pat Jennings) with 17. Tony House added 13, Geoff House 11, Tom Chadwick 8, Dobson 5, Steve Mau 2, Guillet 2 and Terrel 2, while Flaherty was scoreless.
In the NOSSA playoffs: …………………………………………………… In the semis, the Sudbury LaSalle Lancers clipped the Sault Ste. Marie St. Mary’s Knights 58-52 as Paul Boyce scored 25. Enzo Dovigi led the Knights with 17. Paul Blasato added 17. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the Sudbury Lockerby Vikings clocked the Sault Lakeway Trojans 60-52 as Geordie Gibson scored 21. Alex Yandryk led the Trojans with 9. Trojans coach Ray Barsanti told the Sault Star that “they broke open a one-point game at the half with nine points in the opening minutes of the third quarter. We pulled to within four in the last two minutes but it wasn’t enough.” …………………………………………………… In the final, the Sudbury LaSalle Lancers edged the Sudbury Lockerby Vikings 40-38 as Tony Rheault scored 14 and Paul Boyce 12. Geordie Gibson led the Vikings with 23.
In the North qualifier, the Sudbury Lasalle Lancers defeated the Thunder Bay Lakeview Lions 58-47; 72-43 (2g-0).
In the Toronto Metro regional opening round, the West Humber Vikings nipped the Scarborough Porter Blue Eagles 71-70 after rallying from a 12-point deficit with four minutes to play. Craig Yakimishyn hit the winner with three seconds to play. “It’s a little hard to believe,” Vikings coach Charlie Simpson told the Globe & Mail. Mario Tenentes led the Vikings with 30. The Blue Eagles included Bengt Von Schwering. …………………………………………………… The Senator O’Connor Blues whipped the North York Westview Wildcats 69-46 as Peter Norde scored 15 and David Sowerby 15. …………………………………………………… In the regional quarterfinals, the 3rd-seeded Jarvis Bulldogs clocked the 6th-seeded Scarborough Sir John A. MacDonald Black Scots 84-57 as Simon Onobawale scored 20, Brian Dunstan 19 and Sam Hill 14. Norman Lynch led the Black Scots with 18. …………………………………………………… The 4th-seeded St. Michael’s Blue Raiders whipped the York Mills Titans 85-66 as Kirt Charter scored 37. Peter Nkansah led the Titans with 18. …………………………………………………… The George Harvey Hawks clipped the Etobicoke West Humber Vikings 72-54 as Marvin Russell scored 19 and Ricky Braithwaite 13. Pat Spence led the Vikings with 18. The Vikings (coached by Charlie Simpson) included Mario Tenentes, Gary Cooper. …………………………………………………… In the last quarterfinal, the Eastern Commerce Saints stomped the Senator O’Connor Blues 81-50 as Joey Alexander scored 30. David Sowerby paced the Blues with 22. …………………………………………………… In the semis, the Jarvis Bulldogs edged the George Harvey Hawks 52-51 in overtime as Simon Onabowale scored 18, Peter Mangold 18 and Brian Dunstan 18. The Bulldogs dominated the boards. Eric Morgan, who had hit a jumper with 5 seconds to play to force overtime, paced the Hawks with 16. The Hawks (coached by Mike Katz) also included Marvin Russell. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the Eastern Commerce Saints clubbed the St. Michael’s Blue Raiders 73-55 as Owen Officer scored 17 and Joe Alexander 14. The Blue Raiders (coached by Dan Prendergast) included Danny Fava, Vaulton Reece, John D’Aguanno, Jerry Porco, Tony Melo, David Schmidt, Richard Stanley, Robert Dizio, Sean Dodds, Pat Dicosmo, Al Saplys and Kirt Charter. …………………………………………………… In the regional final, the Eastern Commerce Saints defeated the Jarvis Bulldogs 63-58 as Owen Officer scored 20. Sam Hill and Simon Onabowale each scored 16 to pace the Bulldogs. Both squads advanced to the provincials.
In the provincial quarterfinals, held in Sault Ste. Marie, the Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints defeated the Kitchener Cameron Heights Golden Gaels 72-69 as Joe Alexander scored 24, Owen Officer 23 and Lance D’Aguiar 10. Cameron Heights led 14-13 after one quarter and 37-30 at the half on the interior play of 6-7 forward Kipfer. The Gaels extended their lead to nine but Owen Officer got hot, rallying the Saints to a tie late in the third quarter. Forward Lance D’Aguiar caught fire from the perimeter in the fourth quarter as the Saints pulled away. Saints coach Ernie Armstrong told the Kitchener-Waterllo Record that “we didn’t have much emotion in the first half but we got fire going in the second half. We made an adjustment in our zone press and it turned the ball over to us a lot in the second half. It seemed to give Cameron problems the rest of the game and it was the spark we needed because there didn’t seem to be much we could do about stopping (David) Kipfer once he got rolling.” David Kipfer led the Golden Gaels with 36. Marcel Naus added 12, Frank Naus 9, Andy Balogh 6 and Phil Guthrie 6. The Gaels (coached by Court Heinbuch, assisted by Roy Dahl and Chris Tippin) included David Kipfer, Rob Froese, Marcel Naus, Frank Naus, Andy Balogh, Lennox Lewis, Danny Marsh, Jim Dimitroff, Doug Moseley, Glen Peters, Brad Macmillan, Bill Lubbus, Barrie Hummel and Phil Guthrie. Heinbuch told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “Toronto has some maturity, excellent defensive skills and enough bench that I think they just wore us down. … They got good rebounding from (Joe) Alexander but it was that little guard (Owen Officer) that killed us.” Heinbuch told the Sault Star that “we didn’t lose. We played super. Commerce just beat us. Commerce shot the ball very well in the second half. Their maturity and quickness were the deciding factor.”
The Toronto Jarvis Bulldogs defeated the Sudbury Lasalle Lancers 65-52 as Sam Hill scored 20. The Bulldogs front line of Simon Onabowale, Brian Dunstan and Peter Mangold dominated. Jarvis trailed early but rallied to lead 15-12 after one quarter and 32-27 at the half. Onobowale finished with 18 points and Mangold 15. Bulldogs coach Bob Nicholson told the Sault Star that “I thought it was a relatively decisive win for us. I felt throughout that we deserved to win.” Paul Boyce led LaSalle with 26. Vince Cundari added 12 and Rob Thurkill 10. The Lancers (coached by Craig Shelswell) also included Graham Balson, John Hall, Jim McGarry, Ian McLeod, Brian Pagan, Anthony Rheault, Jack Samchyk, Max Sartor, Dan Serafini, Len Talarico and Rob Thirkill.
The Nepean Bell Bruins defeated the Bramalea Broncos 53-45 as Jeff Grosspeitsch scored 14 before being carried off the floor in the fourth quarter with torn knee ligaments. Chris Jonsson added 14 and Grant Lawrence 12. Rick Briscoe led Bramalea (coach Gery Thomson) with 14. Paul Green and Martin Johnson each added 11 for the Broncos. The Broncos led 8-7 after one quarter. Bruins coach Don Greeham told the Ottawa Citizen “we played our worst game of the season. We’re battered and bruised and very tired. The game was poorly played and very physical.” The Broncos (coach Gerry Thompson) also included Paul March.
In the last quarterfinal, the top-seeded Windsor W.D. Lowe Trojans defeated the Oakville T.A. Blakelock Tabbies 43-40 as Peter Lambropoulos scored 15, Tony Piazza 11 and Gino Castellan 11. Peter Drake led Blakelock the Tabbies with 15. Rohan McLean added 10 and Jeff Mailow 8. The Tabbies (coach Vern Lucyk) also included Jamie Ziegle. The Trojans led 27-19 at the half but scored only one bucket in the third quarter as Blakelock narrowed the game to 29-28. The Trojans hit 18-48 (.380) from the floor and 7-19 from the line. Trojans coach Gerry Brumpton told the Windsor Star that “I didn’t think our game would be that close. Perhaps the pressure of being ranked number one got to us. Maybe my kids read too much about that. We looked like a rookie team out there. In many ways, we are lucky to be in the next round. … Peter came through for us and Gino played a steady game … Oakville was well-prepared. They deserved to be here. Maybe we just took them too lightly.” Peter Lambropoulos said “I guess the guys were a bit tight. We’d heard about Oakville but we’d never seen them. That probably had something to do with it.”
In the semis, the Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints defeated the Nepean Bell Bruins 72-64 as Joe Alexander scored 23. Andrew Thuswaldner paced the Bruins with 15. Chris Jonsson added 15, Jim Turner 14 and Grant Lawrence 10. The Saints bridged the half with a 21-0 run (13-0 and 8-0). Bell led 20-12 after one quarter but faltered without forward Jeff Grosspietch, who injured his knee in the quarterfinals and did not play. Bell rallied no closer than three after the four-minute scoring drought and then the saints went into a five-minute stall.
In the other semi, the Windsor W.D. Lowe Trojans defeated the Toronto Jarvis Collegiate Bulldogs 75-64. The Bulldogs (coached by Bob Nicolson) included point guard Sam Hill.
In the final, the Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints captured the title with a convincing 76-61 win over the Windsor W.D. Lowe Trojans as centre Joe Alexander scored 38 points, including 24 in the first half. Owen Officer added 14. It marked the first time since 1960 that a Toronto school had captured the provincial crown. “We wanted to put an end to that Toronto jinx,” a jubilant Alexander told the Toronto Globe & Mail. “We’ve had so many good teams in Toronto. They just never came through.” Lowe had been on a 33-game winning streak. They led 22-15 at the half and by 10 in the 2nd quarter. But Toronto coach Ernie Armstrong switched to a 1-3-1 zone in the second quarter. “For the first quarter, we used a zone press and a man-to-man. That was our bread and butter all year. But Windsor tore it apart for 22 points. So I switched and the 1-3-1 zone worked well. It got Alexander more involved in the offence and we had some good traps in the corner from it. I think that was a real key. As soon as we switched to the one-three-one, we took control and it puzzled them.” Lowe led 36-33 at the half. But Eastern Commerce went on a 20-10 run in the third quarter. Lance D’Aguiar scored from the top of the key on the first play of the second half to cut the lead to 36-35. An Alexander jumper put Eastern Commerce in the lead at 39-38 for the first time. Eastern Commerce took a 53-46 lead at the three-quarter mark and coasted. An Alexander slam dunk with 53 seconds to go ignited the crowd. “The game went pretty much as I expected. I had a really good feeling going into it. My confidence was a bit shaken after that first quarter but I didn’t worry after I saw our 1-3-1 zone start to work,” said Alexander. Alexander, a 6-5 centre who accepted an athletic scholarship from Niagara University, had come back to Commerce for the season after being suspended in 1981 by the Toronto Secondary Schools Athletic Association for having transferred from Monarch Park School for athletic reasons. “It really feels good,” said Alexander. “All the controversy last year really put me off high school ball and it was hard to get enthusiastic at times this season. But once we got past the Toronto region, we really had our sights set on winning it all.” Lowe coach Gerry Brumpton said his three-time silver medal team looked tired in the second half. “I think we stepped out of our game plan and got into a sort of run and gun situation. The play was a little looser than we wanted and our defence loosened up a bit.” Gino Castellan paced the Trojans with 22 points and 10 boards. Tony Piazza scored 18 and Peter Lambropoulos 13. Trojans coach Gerry Brumpton told the Windsor Star “this was a tough one for them to lose. There was a lot of pressure on the kids. They were on a 33-game winning streak and I think they felt that. … We ran well and we scored well in the first half. In the second half, we looked a bit tired. I think we stepped out of our game plan and got into a sort of run-and-gun situation. The play was a little looser than we wanted and our defence loosened up a bit.” Peter Lambropoulos said “I’ve been in the final three times. I have three silver medals. I just wanted to go out winning. Talent-wise, Commerce is one of the best teams we’ve played. Especially with Alexander in the middle. He had a great game tonight. We didn’t have anybody who could watch him. Big Joe did the job for them. They dumped the ball inside and he’d go up and put it in. He just kept hitting.” Saints coach Ernie Armstrong said “the game turned around when I went to a 1-3-1 zone defence. … It got Alexander more involved in the offense and we had some good traps in the corner from it.”
The co-bronze medalist Toronto Jarvis Collegiate Bulldogs: Sam Hill; Simon Onabowale; Brian Dunstan; Peter Mangold; coach Bob Nicolson
The co-bronze medalist Nepean Bell Bruins: Chris Jonsson; Jeff Grosspietsch; Andrew Thuswaldner; Grant Lawrence; Anthony Stewart; Jim Turner; Scott Wilson; McGregor; Drake; Milner; coach Don Greenham
The silver medalist Windsor W.D. Lowe Trojans: Peter Lambropoulos; Brian Makraic; Tony Piazza; Gino Castellan; Berardi; coach Gerry Brumpton
The gold medalist Toronto Eastern Commerce Saints: Joe Alexander; Owen Officer; Wayne Jones; Wendell Martin; Lance D’Aguiar; Calvin Charles; Patrick Stubbs; Maris Ernsisons; Mike Mayers; Mike Carson; Joven Datoon; coach Ernie Armstrong