In the opening seeding round, held in Toronto: …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Toronto Oakwood Barons defeated the 16th-seeded Kingston Loyalist Lancers 92-61. Oakwood was never threatened, leading 25-13, 42-27 and 64-42 at the quarters. “It’s good for the kids and when you send them out it’s rather interesting watching how they want to excel and prove they’re good at the game,” Barons coach Terry Thomson told the Toronto Star. “We knew we’d win this game and with five possible playoff games in 52 hours, I didn’t want my regulars to get tired.” Jamie Procope paced Oakwood with 24, including 15 in the first quarter. Reserves Patrick Johnson, Wyethe Clarkson, Enzo Marcello and Greg Francis took over and pitched in a combined 21 points and some solid defensive work. Francis, only 14, said he was shocked when Thomson had earlier asked him to get a sweater and dress for the game. “I couldn’t believe him and was happy to just sit on the bench,” said the midget-age athlete who was a force in the Barons’ league championship. “But when he told me to go play in the first quarter, that was a thrill and especially, in an Ontario playoff. I dreamt about this but certainly never expected it to happen so soon. I just hope I did okay.” Kingston coach Dave Nichols said “I could tell they weren’t their best players for most of the game and that’s because they ran us off the court in the first eight minutes and we never recovered. When you’re No. 16 in a 16-team playoff the odds are not in your favor. Our school has had a losing attitude in this sport and we’re changing it. Being here is a bonus and we’ve already learned a lot.” Brien Campbell came off the bench to add 11 points while Bobbie Davis, Dalton Higgins and Johnson each had 10. Dan Kerr and Shawn Hollywood scored 18 and 14 points, respectively, for Loyalist. The Barons led 25-13, 42-27 and 64-42 at the quarters. …………………………………………………… The 14th-seeded Belleville Moira Trojans edged the 8th-seeded Windsor W.D. Lowe Trojans 62-61 as David Irwin hit a desperation buzzer as time ran out. Scott Reed led the Trojans with 13. Lowe guard Vince Osier heaved a 60-footer prayer at the buzzer that found the bottom of the net but it was ruled that the ball hadn’t left his hands when the buzzer sounded. “I thought it was good. Everyone in the stands thought it was good,” Lowe’s Allen Poisson told the Windsor Star. “But the guy said he looked at Vince’s hand and at the clock at the same time and said he didn’t get it away in time. I don’t know how he could have done that but I guess what the referee says goes.” Lowe coach Gerry Brumpton called it moot. “I don’t really care if the shot was good because we didn’t deserve to win. The kids from Belleville Moira, they worked hard. They earned the win. I’m totally upset with my team. They didn’t come prepared to play. We didn’t show any respect for Belleville. It was the old story of, ‘oh, it’s just Belleville. Who’s Belleville?” Belleville led 10-2 early and 19-6 after one quarter. Brumpton benched Osier and his reserves responded as Zoran Ristic and Allen Poisson, who combined for 23 points on the night, trimmed the margin to 32-22 at the half. The Trojans continued to claw back in the second half and Osier hit a bucket to cut the margin to 44-41. But Moira rebuilt a 50-43 lead after three quarters. Lowe ripped off a 12-0 run to take a 55-50 lead but then Osier missed a slam dunk and Belleville rebounded to take a 60-57 lead. Poisson and Osier each hit a pair of free throws to give Lowe a 61-60 lead but they turned the ball over, setting the stage for Irwin’s winning bucket. “Vince Osier may be Mr. Basketball in Windsor, but Mr. Basketball has to get the job done in the big games,” Brumpton said of Osier, who scored 18, including 15 in the second half. “Certainly, he played well in the second half, but we needed a whole game from him.” …………………………………………………… The 10th-seeded Brampton Cardinal Leger Lancers took a 63-62 squeaker over the 4th-seeded Hamilton Sir Allan MacNab Lions as Robbie Adams scored 16, Marc Eversly 15, Chris Delaney 13, including 3 treys in the fourth quarter, and Mike Meeks 11. Greg Cummings led the Lions with 23. Sheldon Laidman added 14. The Lions took a 62-61 lead when Laidman hit a free throw with 13 seconds to play. He missed the second free throw and Marc Eversley hit an 18-footer with three seconds to play to win it for the Lancers. Laidman told the Hamilton Spectator that “we should have won it at the end. We had a couple of bad passes and they capitalized on all our errors and we couldn’t put them away at the end.” Lions coach Art Fairley said “we had our opportunities to win but we couldn’t quit connect on them. We would get a bit of a run going and then we’d get cold.” …………………………………………………… The 15th-seeded Sault Ste. Marie St. Mary’s Knights downed the 6th-seeded Kitchener St. Jerome Lions 68-60 as Dave Zagardo scored 22, Pat Lucarelli 16 and Rob Zagardo 12. Knights coach Loris Pecile told the Sault Star that Pat Lucarelli and Steve Petingalo came off the bench to lift Knight fortunes. “I would say that we got a lot of help from some people who normally don’t play as big a role. Pentingalo played a strong game on the boards, including three very important ones down the stretch and Lucarelli held us in the game early with some consistent scoring. … Dave (Zagardo) had a very good floor game for us and he turned in another super offensive effort. We need a strong game from him and got it.” John Shoemaker and Mark Wysocki each notched 20 for the Lions. Dave Lynch added 9. Lions assistant Dick Anstett told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “it was a very physical game and they rebounded well and penetrated our defence. We battled back in the second quarter to get the game tied (at 34 at the half) but couldn’t get rolling the way we should have in the second half.” …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Toronto Runnymede Redmen beat the 11th-seeded Ajax Rams 77-57 as Wayne Robertson scored 22. Marc Gollwald led the Rams with 19. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Welland Notre Dame Fighting Irish downed the 12th-seeded Toronto St. Michael’s Blue Raiders 58-55 as Sean Sandel scored 16. Jason Ciceri led the Blue Raiders with 21. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Sarnia Northern Vikings downed the 9th-seeded Scarborough Lester B. Pearson Bengals 79-60 as Virgil Hill scored 28. Richard Scott led the Bengals with 15. …………………………………………………… The 7th-seeded Ottawa Sir Robert Borden Bengals thumped the 13th-seeded Scarborough West Hill Warriors 86-38 as Steve Anderson scored 18. Dale Rodney led the Warriors with 13.
In the second round: …………………………………………………… The top-ranked Toronto Runnymede Redmen blasted the 16th-seeded Kingston Loyalist Lancers 105-67 as Wayne Robertson scored 28. Tom Gauthier and Dan Kerr each scored 21 to pace the Lancers. The Lancers (coached by Dave Nichols) also included Sean Hilliker, Shawn Hollywood, Ken Pritchard, Harry Macdonell, Tavares, Finley, Walker, Lane, Birtwhistle. ………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Sarnia Northern Vikings edged the 8th-seeded Windsor W.D. Lowe Trojans 64-60. “We gave them a real scare,” Trojans coach Gerry Brumpton told the Windsor Star. “We took on the No. 3 seed and played them as tough as anyone is going to in this tournament.” The Vikings led 16-12 after one quarter but Vince Osier and George Shaker rallied Lowe to a 32-27 lead at the half. The teams traded the lead in the second half, with Chad Curley hitting a pair of free throws to give Lowe a 56-53 lead with four minutes to play. Sarnia Northern hit two consecutive buckets and then Osier tied at 57 with a free throw before Doug Toole, who paced the Vikings with 19, drilled a trey to give the Vikings a 60-57 lead. Virgil Hill notched a bucket to ensure the win in the final minute. “We were terrible at the foul line,” said Osier, who scored 18. “If we could hit 90 per cent of our foul shots, we wouldn’t lose a game here. … The third year in a row we’re going home too early,” he said. “This is it for me. I didn’t want it to end like this, but that’s the way it is.” Zoran Rustic added 13 for the Trojans. “The coach was really upset with us after Thursday’s game,” said Rustic. “We really wanted to win this game for him.” The Trojans (coached by Brumpton) also included Shannon Robbins, Vince Osier, Chad Curley, George Chaker, Demetri Vacratsis. …………………………………………………… The Belleville Moira Trojans defeated the 9th-seeded Scarborough Lester B. Pearson Bengals 80-62 as Geoff Mcdonald scored 19. Mark Reid led the Bengals with 18. The Bengals (coached by Dave Lake) also included Stephan Freemantle, Andrew Dixon. …………………………………………………… The Brampton Cardinal Leger Lancers clipped the Scarborough West Hill Warriors 83-70 as Robbie Adams scored 30. Dale Rodney led the Warriors with 21. The Warriors (coached by Jack Eisenmann) also included Wayne Charles, Rowan Jones, Sean Johnson. …………………………………………………… The 15th-seeded Sault Ste. Marie St. Mary’s Knights edged the Toronto St. Michael’s Blue Raiders 56-51 as Rob Zagardo scored 18, Dan Chlebus 7 and Dave Zagardo 7. Jason Ciceri led the Blue Raiders with 22. The Blue Raiders (coached by Dan Prendergast, assisted by Greg Paolini and managed by Paulo Martins and Gregory Tanzola) included Dan Prendergast Jr., Ante Pavlovic, Sammy Primomo, Art Fernandez, Carlo Esposito, Vince Osborne, Lorenzo Lombardi, Nicholas Nussbaumer, Tim Wasik, Carlo DiGiovanni and Dwight Donald. …………………………………………………… The Welland Notre Dame Fighting Irish clubbed the Kitchener St. Jerome Lions 60-44 as Sean Sandel scored 20, Mike Ruscitti 12, Frank Fox 10, Chris Kernaghan 9 and Dan Sandel 9. Mark Wysocki led the Lions with 21 (also reported that John Shoemaker paced the Lions with 21). Dave Lynch added 9 and Joe Odhiambo 4. The Lions (coached by Tom Kieswetter, assistant Dick Anstett) included Marty Wysocki, Craig Erickson, Ryan Owens, Joel Eidt. Kieswetter told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “we gave them a good game and were as close as six points with four minutes to go in the last quarter but just couldn’t find enough scoring punch to pull off an upset. Marc (Wysocki) played a strong game for us, especially against their size.” …………………………………………………… The Toronto Oakwood Barons whipped the Ajax Pickering Rams 72-50 as Bobbie Davis and Jamie Procope each scored 15. Doug Scotchburn led the Rams with 14. The Rams (coached by Jim Barclay) also included Cory Langdon, Marc Gottwald, Nigel Wilson. …………………………………………………… The Ottawa Sir Robert Borden Bengals dusted the Hamilton Sir Allan McNabb Lions 91-70 as Steve Anderson scored 26. Sheldon Laidman led the Lions with 27. Neil Angus added 14 and Greg Cummings 12. The Lions (coached by Art Fairley, assisted by Brian Middlemass) also included Kevin Clark, Jeremy Dinning, Ryan Rashford, Dave Alleyne, Dave O’Neill, Paul Porteous and Paul Hinton.
In the quarterfinals, the 7th-ranked Ottawa Sir Robert Borden Bengals defeated the 2nd-seeded Welland Notre Dame Fighting Irish 62-53 as Steve Anderson scored 22. Sean Sandel paced the Fighting Irish with 22. The Fighting Irish (coached by Ralph Nero, assisted by Tony Ferrussi and Joe Slonioski) included Sean Sandel, Mike Ruscitti, Dan Sandel, Mike Cahill, Joe Presti, Frank Fox, Mike Scott, Steve Vedova, Kris Kernaghan, Marin Dugas and Mike Ciolfi.
The 10th-seeded Brampton Cardinal Leger Lancers clocked the Sault Ste. Marie St. Mary’s Knights 66-41 as Robbie Adams scored 20. Rob Zagardo led the Knights with 16. Pat Lucarelli added 8. Knights coach Loris Pecile told the Sault Star that “we hadn’t faced a team that big all year and because of that, we were hesitating and not moving the ball with the fluency we usually do. … We just came out flat. We were tied 14-14 in the first quarter and then we went into a shell.” The Knights (coached by Loris Pecile) also included David Zagordo, Steve Petingalo, Dan Chlebus, Rob Zagardo.
The 6th-seeded Toronto Oakwood Barons edged the Sarnia Northern Vikings 53-51 as Bobbie Davis scored 23. Vikings guard Virgil Hill, who later coached Laurentian University, missed a 15-foot jumper at the buzzer that would have forced overtime. Mike Acton led the Vikings with 21. The Vikings (coached by John Thrasher) also included Jim Toole, Doug Toole, Rob Demeer, Matt Beattie, Craig Leonard, Duane Leonard, Cam Clark, Craig Campbell, Ryan Goldie, Mike Payne, Rob Willock, Jason Kaul and Mike Smith.
In the last quarterfinal, the Toronto Runnymede Redmen defeated the Belleville Moira Knights 76-57 as Wayne Robertson scored 25 and David Sherwood 15, while nabbing 12 boards. “There’s nothing picturesque about my game. The job is simple: hit the boards as hard as I can and pick up the garbage points,” Sherwood told the Toronto Star. “I leave the fancy stuff to the others – they’re exciting players and can really fly in this game. People come to watch them, not me.” Redmen coach John Petrushchak said Sherwood made an excellent recovery from having had bone chips and scar tissue removed from his knee a year earlier. “This is truly his first senior year and he’s been rather skeptical worrying about the knee. He’s got things to learn, we all do, but I got to give him credit because he’s got the points when he had to. Next year, he’ll be something else.” Knights coach Ken Smith said “we spent so much time watching No. 33 (Wayne Robertson), we forgot about Sherwood. It’s so critical to have a player with his size on your side for scoring and we allowed it to happen.” David Irwin led Belleville with 17. The Knights (coached by Smith) also included Bob Hitchon, Geoff McDonald.
In the semis, the 7th-seeded Ottawa Sir Robert Borden Bengals smacked the Toronto Oakwood Barons 83-67 as Brian Lee scored 26. Bobbie Davis led the Barons with 26.
In the other semi, the Toronto Runnymede Redmen dumped the 10th-seeded Brampton Cardinal Leger Lancers 71-57 as Wayne Robertson scored 30. Michael Meeks led the Lancers with 17.
In the bronze medal match, the Toronto Oakwood Barons defeated the 10th-seeded Brampton Cardinal Leger Lancers 71-61 as Jamie Procope scored 25 and Brien Campbell 20. Chris Delaney paced the Lancers with 17. Oakwood led 31-28 at the half. The Lancers (coached by Steve Pettit) also included Michael Meeks, Marc Eversley and Robbie Adams.
In the final, the Toronto Runnymede CI Redmen captured their third title in five years by dumping the 7th-seeded Ottawa Sir Robert Borden Bengals 80-64 as Wayne Robertson scored 26. Dave Munro paced the Bengals with 24. The Bengals rallied to within 10 with five minutes to play before the Redmen put the outcome out of reach. Robertson told the Toronto Star that “I finally got a gold medal. It’s a great way to end my career at high school,” Robertson, who scored 18 in the second half, along with 15 rebounds and a handful of blocks, told the Toronto Star. “This was the big game and we came ready to play. We were the favorites and now we can say we’re No. 1. What a wonderful feeling.” The Redmen started out fast and furious stretching a 14-6 lead to 31-22 at halftime. Borden coach Ted Edwards planned to slow the speedy Redmen down and it seemed to work – for a while. Runnymede capitalized on Borden’s inability to play an effective zone defence and took an 18-point lead into the final quarter. Munro was disconsolate. “Unfortunately, they had a little more height and speed and that’s what counted. They’re good, but we’re not ashamed. All week we’ve been playing well and we got to the final. We’ll be back next year.” Runnymede coach John Petrushchak couldn’t say enough about his team’s performance. “I’ve known their (Redmen) capabilities and kept saying there’s no team that can beat these guys when they come ready to play. It’s been a pleasure watching them perform, especially Robertson. In my opinion, he’s the best.” The Bengals pulled to within 10 points of the lead with 4:45 to go but could get no closer.
The bronze medalist Toronto Oakwood Barons: Jamie Procope; Brien Campbell; Patrick Johnson; Wyethe Clarkson; Enzo Marcello; Greg Francis; Bobbie Davis; Dalton Higgins; Everton Lewis; Brendan Noonan; Richard Mitchell; Andrew Loague; Desmond Elliott; Adam Dean; Lui Cinello; Tracy Bamfu; Carlos Alves; coach Terry Thomson
The silver medalist Ottawa Sir Robert Borden Bengals: Dave Munro; Steve Anderson; Brian Lee; Doug Elliott; Mark Elliott; Gord Kristsch; Steve Faught; coach Ted Edwards
The gold medalist Toronto Runnymede Redmen: Wayne Robertson; Costy Dessources; Cory Williams; Dave Sherwood; Clarence Porter; Vinton Bennett; Allan Todd; Greg Burke; Dean Oliver; Sean Kavanagh; Al Caister; Dwayne Jucohs; coach John Petruschak; assistant Bruce Mason