In the regional qualifiers and Regina city playoffs: …………………………………………………… In the quarterfinals, the Sheldon-Williams Spartans torched the Winston Knoll Wolverines 104-46 as Will Tallman scored 24. Quinton Clark led the Wolverines with 10. The Wolverines also included Joel Legasse, Ross Wills, Jaze Sorenson. …………………………………………………… The Luther Lions edged the Archbishop M.C. O’Neill Titans 51-46 as Austin Gavra scored 15. Colton Giene led the Titans with 12. The Titans also included Isiah Lazo, Zack Evans, Travis Benjoe. …………………………………………………… The Dr. Martin LeBoldus Golden Suns thumped the Balfour Redmen 67-51 as Dylan Puscus scored 16. Tanner Forster led the Redmen with 15. The Redmen also included Mackenzie Nagel, Zack Evans, Travis Benjoe, Robert Gareau. …………………………………………………… The Campbell Tartans clipped the Michael A. Riffel Royals 69-59 as Preston O’Brien scored 19. Jared Janotta led the Royals with 18. The Royals also included Derek Pilon. …………………………………………………… In the semis, the Sheldon-Williams Spartans whipped the Luther Lions 80-55 as Austin Bates scored 20. Lukas Hansen led the Lions with 12. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the Dr. Martin LeBoldus Golden Suns spanked the Campbell Tartans 83-61 as Jerad Kozey scored 26. Preston O’Brien led the Tartans with 18. …………………………………………………… In the final, the Dr. Martin LeBoldus Golden Suns dispatched the Sheldon-Williams Spartans 75-64 as Dylan Puscus scored 15, Jordan Puscus 13, Jerad Kozey 13 and Adam Graham 12. Justis Pederson led the Golden Suns with 17. Will Tallman added 14, Austin Bates 11 and Frank Kraus 11.
In the regional qualifiers and Saskatoon city playoffs: …………………………………………………… In the quarterfinals, the Bishop J. Mahoney Saints stomped the Mount Royal Mustangs 72-31 as Nolan Brudehl scored 17. Bryce Seto led the Mustangs with 11. …………………………………………………… The Holy Cross Crusaders torched the E.D. Feehan Trojans 110-68 as Steven Boryski scored 16 and Patrick Burns 13. Katlon Larlham led the Trojans with 15. …………………………………………………… The Aden Bowman Bears spanked the Walter Murray Marauders 81-55 as Preston Dolgolpol scored 25 and Zac Baker 13. David Twining led the Marauders with 13. Ryan Davis added 12. …………………………………………………… In the last quarterfinal, the St. Joseph Guardians dispatched the Evan Hardy Souls 62-53. …………………………………………………… In the semis, the Holy Cross Crusaders whipped the Aden Bowman Bears 80-41 after leading 43-26 at the half. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the Bishop J. Mahoney Saints clubbed the St. Joseph Guardians 78-43 as Nolan Brudehl scored 23. Tyson Stare led the Guardians with 11. …………………………………………………… In the bronze medal match, the St. Joseph Guardians edged the Aden Bowman Bears 60-57 as Ryan Boyko scored 26. Zak Baker led the Bears with 21. …………………………………………………… In the final, the 2nd-seeded Holy Cross Crusaders defeated the top-seeded Bishop J. Mahoney Saints 81-76 as John Rochon scored 30 and Scott Boechler 25. Nolan Brudehl led the Saints with 32. Matt Breidenbach added 10.
In the provincial quarterfinals, held in Saskatoon, the Regina city champion LeBoldus Golden Suns defeated Saskatoon Aden Bowman Bears 66-52. The Bears (coached by Rod Friesen) included Zak Baker, Hussian Aw-Dahir, Cuyler Borrowman, Alex Burko, Payton Byrris, Sam Serksen, Preston Dolgopol, Corey Edington, Robert Graham, Paul MacDonald, Matt Marinion, Jeff Moore.
The Saskatoon Bishop James Mahoney Saints defeated Regina Campbell Tartans 72-55. “Yeah, for sure (it’s a relief),” Saints wing player Nils Sundby, who scored 18, told the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. “You always want to come out strong the first game and keep it flowing all the way through, but it was close for a bit. We had it for most of the game, or almost all the game, so that’s good.” Nolan Brudehl also scored 18 for the Saints. Brendon Gryba, who injured his ankle in the fourth quarter, added 17. The Tartans (coached by Doug Bolander) included Preston O’Brien, Connor Burns, Riley Burns, Dan Simaluk, James Anderson, Nick Barnes, Garrett Burgess, Ryan Giesbrecht, Matthew Johnson, Adam Lanigan, Iain McLeod, Eddy Nokongolo, Yashar Zareh.
The Saskatoon Holy Cross Crusaders dumped the Regina Luther Lions 73-61 as Matthew Harbidge scored 27 and Scott Boechler 20. “I’m disappointed that it kind of slipped away,” Lions coach Drew Hunter told the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. “It was a tight game. We were hoping we could push them to the brink in the fourth quarter and see (what happens).” Once the Crusaders took a 10-6 lead on back-to-back three-point shots by Matt Harbidge, they never looked back. Although Luther managed to tie things up twice, 12-12 and 45-45, the Lions never re-gained the lead. “It (Hoopla opener) had been kind of weighing down on us all week, so it’s nice to get it out way,” said Harbidge, who had five three-pointers. “We just came out. We didn’t change anything from all season. We just played our game and came out with the ‘W.’ I thought we were in control the whole game. In the fourth quarter, we just kind of pulled away, which is nice.” Boechler finished the game with a thunderous dunk. “This is a good step forward,” said Holy Cross post player Patrick Burns, who had a couple of key steals and blocks. “It’s a relief, but we’ve got a tough game ahead of us. We just stepped it up on offence. We crashed the boards pretty good.” Luther trailed 16-14 after one quarter, 39-31 at the half and 47-45 after three. “They’ve got some talented players,” said Luther coach Drew Hunter. “It’s not like we didn’t know Harbidge was a shooter or that Boechler could put the ball on the floor, but we just couldn’t stop them, sort of, when the game was in the balance there. I’m disappointed that it kind of slipped away. It was a tight game. We were hoping we could push them to the brink in the fourth quarter and see (what happens).” The win was a big relief for the Crusaders “obviously, because of what happened last year,” said first-year Holy Cross coach Shaun Nechvatal. “The guys know the history of Hoopla, especially how Saskatoon performed last year. The nerves got to them a little bit, but once they sort of settled in towards the end of the third quarter and fourth, we started making good stops. Emsley for them does a ton of work and he killed on the glass, but once we started to get stops before he got the ball, it kind of helped us. “We’ve played in enough big games this season, which is all part of the big scheme of things, that guys know that, when it comes game time, they can’t really back down. They have to step up.” Luther coach Drew Hunter said “our point guard (Andrew Henry) is in Grade 10 and our leading scorer, post player Nathan Yule, is in Grade 11, so that’s positive.” Nathan Yule led Luther with 16. Derrick Emsley added 12. The Lions (coached by Hunter and Bill Johnson) also included Mitchell Jones, Lukas Hansen, Kyndle Rice, Taylor Beattie, Taylor Carson, Austin Gaura, Andrew Henry, Jordan Howlett, Brad Hwang, Jabez Kim, Sam Kosolofski.
In the last quarterfinal, the Regina Sheldon-Williams Spartans defeated Saskatoon St. Joseph Guardians 71-51 as Austin Bates scored 25. Ryan Boyko led St. Joseph with 19. Sheldon-Williams led 59-33 at the half. The Guardians (coached by Gord Desjarlais) also included Brett Boyko, Dave Klein, Shane Buchanan, Ryan Mang, Dustin Bertsch, Doug Herrick, Tyson Stare, Justin Beaudry, Holden Blue, Travis Veszeli, Jason Wandzura.
In the semis, the Saskatoon Bishop James Mahoney Saints defeated the Regina Dr. Martin LeBoldus Golden Suns 77-67 as Nolan Brudehl scored 18, Brendan Gryba 12, Taylor Lane 11, Matt Breidenbach 11 and Nils Sundby 8. Jerad Kozey led LeBoldus with 22. Keith Yalowega added 16. A couple of unsung heroes came off the bench to pinch-hit a number of free throws. Sean Blazic and Kevin Perpeluk nailed a series of clutch free throws to earn the save in relief of three starters who got fouled out: Matt Breidenbach, Brendon Gryba and Nolan Brudehl. “It feels pretty good, but it’s a team effort,” Blazic, who sank four foul shots in the dying minute to seal the win, told the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. BJM held a comfortable 14-point lead in the second half, but the final quarter became rather uncomfortable when the Saints made some mental mistakes, turned over the ball and stopped making shots. The Suns kept chipping away and pulled within three in the final minutes. The Saints needed to go to the bench and called for Bryan Fraser, Perpeluk and Blazic to help out. And they did. “It was actually getting really intense,” said Gryba, “but we had guys who hadn’t seen regular minutes really step up, play their heart out and really make big plays.”
In the other semi, the Regina Sheldon-Williams Spartans dumped the Saskatoon Holy Cross Crusaders 82-69 as Will Tallman scored 25, Ryan Wellman 17 and Austin Bates 15. Scott Boechler led Holy Cross with 23. John Rochon added 18. “Tallman is a big guy who can shoot from the perimeter,” Holy Cross coach Shaun Nechvatal told the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. “He had some pretty tough shots late on the shot clock. (Austin) Bates had it going early, then that kind of dug us into a hole we had to scrap out of the rest of the night.” Sheldon-Williams led 49-30 at the half. “Just running the ball and tiring them out (was key),” said Tallman, who is 6-foot-6. “We’re known for our fast break so we just wanted to keep running and hopefully we would run away with it in the end. We hoped to finish it like this, but they (Crusaders) are always a good team. It’s just whether or not they’re shooting really well. I don’t think they shot as well as they usually can.” Spartans head coach Ray Jacoby was impressed by the play of Tallman. “Will had a very good game,” Jacoby said. “He hit some shots for us early in the game and later he was very strong inside. We’ve been looking for him to be a little stronger inside and he showed that.” The Crusaders fell behind 28-12. “It’s pretty uncharacteristic for us,” said Holy Cross coach Shaun Nechvatal. They shot the lights out. Their bigs were hitting. (Will) Tallman’s a big guy who can shoot from the perimeter. He had some pretty tough shots late on the shot clock. (Austin) Bates had it going early, then that kind of dug us into a hole we had to scrap out of the rest of the night. We didn’t hit a lot of the shots we normally do. We did get some looks inside. When you’re trying to catch up to their threes to our twos, it’s tough.”
In the bronze medal match, the Saskatoon Holy Cross Crusaders defeated the Regina Dr. Martin LeBoldus Golden Suns 80-75. The score was knotted at 49 at the half. John Rochon paced the Crusaders with 25. Scott Boechler added 13 and Patrick Burns 13. Keith Yalowega and Jerad Kozey each scored 15 to lead LeBoldus. Dylan Puscus added 13. The Golden Suns (coached by Wade Bartlett) also included Sean Tulloch, Brendan Sirup, Adam Ralko, Jordan Bissonette, Adam Graham, Logan Fisher, Seamus Neary, Robbie Lim, Jordan Puscus, Bernard Mbanza, Ian Patterson, Jacob Carr.
In the final, the Saskatoon Bishop James Mahoney Saints defeated the Regina Sheldon-Williams Spartans 67-57. Saints coach Brian Carduner ended a 35-year career in fine style by winning his third provincial title after similar hopes a year ago were dashed by injuries to key players. Saints star player Nolan Brudehl was sidelined all last season after injuring his knee playing football. He was front and centre Saturday as he led all scorers with 24 points and was big on the boards. “Sheldon’s a really good team. They play tough inside,” Brudehl told the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. “We played them before, so we kind of knew what they were doing. We played hard and, in the end, we pulled it off.” Does it make up for two years’ worth disappointments — both in football and basketball? “I think so, yeah,” said Brudehl, who played quarterback for the city runner-up Saints. Mahoney busted out of the gates with a quick 11-2 lead and never looked back. “It really was (key),” Carduner said. “When they’re coming from behind, they have to do certain things to catch up and it’s a lot easier playing with the lead.” The Saints led 41-26 at the half. Starters Brendon Gryba, Taylor Lane and Nils Sundby each contributed 10 points. Matt Breidenbach added six. “Oh, man, this is unreal,” Breidenbach said. “I don’t know what to think. It’s crazy. Sheldon’s a great team. We have a lot of respect for them. We knew it was going to be tough.” Although the Saints got into foul trouble in the first half, they cleaned up their act when it counted. “Coach said just to keep our hands off and stay clean,” Breidenbach said. Austin Bates led the Spartans with 21 points, yet made an even bigger point following the final “Us, as a Grade 12 core group, we never shoot the ball well in big games,” Bates said. “We just can never get it done, since Grade 10. I feel we’re a team which is very talented and is able to beat a team like BJM, which we already did. We’re a team which is able to beat LeBoldus, which we did twice, but lost it in the citys. It’s very frustrating.” Will Tallman had 14 points for Regina. Justis Pederson added nine. “We played good defence,” said Pederson. “We held them to only 67 points, but our offence just wasn’t there tonight, not the shooting percentage we wanted. It was mostly that we didn’t believe in ourselves. After we got down in the first half, we sort of folded the tent, just waited for the comeback but it never came.” Sheldon featured 10 Grade 12s on its roster and on paper had arguably the most depth and talent in the province. “You’ve got to play the game,” said Spartans coach Ray Jacoby. “They executed; we didn’t. They certainly shot the ball better than we did. Our loss was nothing about defence. Nolan Brudehl is going to score his points, get his looks inside. At the end, you look at the scoreboard and think, 67 points, that’s OK.’ They killed us on the boards, too. They out-rebounded us by 15. That has been another problem for us in big games.” Carduner said “everyone knows what a great player Nolan is and he really came through a lot of adversities this weekend with foul trouble and he sat out a lot of minutes,” Carduner said. “Collectively, it was a real effort. And Taylor Lane, what can you say about that point guard? He controlled one and one-half quarters last night and again he had very few turnovers. It’s a fantastic way to end.” Carduner, whose previous provincial titles came win the Saints in 2000 and the E.D. Feehan Trojans in 1986. “A great team effort from so many people. Going in this year we knew we had a shot at it — we had nine people who were in Hoopla last year — but this last month they came together so well. So many role players stepped up when we needed them. To win three games in three days is not easy and everyone had to contribute. It was a real team effort.” Fittingly, the Saints collectively went to receive the provincial trophy. “That was their idea, not mine, and I fully supported it,” said Carduner. “When you can go out this way, it just makes me all the happier. Without Nolan last year we took it as far as we could. He’s just such a great player. My season was made when he came back healthy and he played with no discomfort all year long. I was happy just to have him on the floor and have a Grade 12 year.” The Saints may have contended last season but injuries to Brudehl and Lane Reid did them in. The question this season was who was going to fill the void after the graduation of Reid and Stefan Dodig, a pair of outside shooters and ballhandlers. “You can struggle and look for so many different ways to score if you can’t shoot the ball from outside,” Carduner said. “I really thought that would be a liability of ours early in the year. Taylor Lane and Nils Sundby stepped up. Matt Breidenbach too. Kevin Perpeluk can hit the spot up real well. Nolan will get a million looks inside, but these other kids (had) to develop into their roles.”
The bronze medalist Saskatoon Holy Cross Crusaders: Matthew Harbidge; Scott Boechler; John Rochon; Steven Boryski; Patrick Burns; John Trumpy; Bruno Sebastiao; Jeremy Bundegaard; Cole Noyes; Jordan Beck; Jonathon Harding; Michael McLean; Eric Noyes; Thomas Schneider; Aden Wilson; coach Shaun Nechvatal
The silver medalist Regina Sheldon-Williams Spartans: Austin Bates; Will Tallman; Ryan Wellman; Justis Pederson; Frank Kraus; Yianni Cabylis; Justin Edralin; Jamir Walker; Addison Docherty; Brock Raddatz; Cayle Mitchell; Jon King; Aiden McNab; coach Ray Jacoby
The gold medalist Saskatoon Bishop James Mahoney Saints: Nolan Brudehl; Brendan Gryba; Taylor Lane; Nils Sundby; Matt Breidenbach; Bryan Frazer; Sean Blazic; Kevin Perpeluk; Kevin Buchholz, Marcus Fischer, Brendan McIntosh; Brendan Stookey; Steve Koladino; coach Brian Carduner