In the Saskatoon regionals and city quarterfinals: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Bishop J. Mahoney Saints crushed the 8th-seeded Bethlehem Stars 74-30 as T.J. Zwarych scored 14. John Santos led the Stars with 8. The Stars (coached by Dan Kozun) also included Dallas Androsoff, Emmett Fortosky, Ryan Wurtz, Brad Holst, James Ibias, Michel Painchaud, Logan Fischer, Matthew Koban and Brant Detilleux. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Walter Murray Marauders whipped the 4th-seeded Aden Bowman Bears 61-46. Graham Black essentially playing one handed for the Marauders. He had a broken bone in his right (shooting) wrist but he was the difference maker, scoring 21 points, including key back-to-back buckets early in the fourth quarter. He hit the ground hard a few times and resorted to trying left-handed free throws, but nothing kept him down. “A Grade 12 kid will play when it comes to playoffs,” Murray coach Trevor Mirtle said. Black missed the last two regular season games after injuring his wrist two weeks ago against Holy Cross. Still, there was little doubt he’d dress versus Bowman. His fourth-quarter baskets against the Bears pushed Murray’s lead to 16 and the Marauders never looked back. Texted Mirtle: “When he is 100 per cent, (he) is (the) top prospect in (the) city.” Mirtle also said “we respect Aden Bowman and their program. It’s a tough place to win. It’s always hard anytime to play on the road, especially in the playoffs – With us being a lower seed, we’re going to have to do it the remainder of the playoffs.” The Marauders led by just one at halftime but held the Bears to three points in the opening six minutes of the third quarter. Murray’s lead built to 47-34 after three, and Bowman was never closer than 12 the rest of the way. Lucas Derksen scored 13 for Bowman. “I thought the difference was our defence,” said Mirtle. “We knew if we played solid man-to-man defence, executed the game plan, we could do what we needed to do.” The Bears included Kieran McKay, Tyler Wacker, Lucas Derksen, Kyle Siemens, Preston Njaa, Mekelty Wisse, Zach Piere, Jared Libke, Tyler Hurlburt, Ali Rehman, Scott Barrie, Kyrin Cybenko and Brett Solberg. …………………………………………………… The 3rd-seeded Holy Cross Crusaders stomped the 4th-seeded Tommy Douglas Tigers 80-56. Leading scorer Daniel Ostertag has been hobbled by back problems, but scored 15. The Crusaders played without second-leading scorer Mitch Hillis, who broke his collarbone before playoffs began. Reid Noyes topped the Crusaders with 18. Simon Butros led the Tigers with 19. The Tigers also included Nusa Youde, Sam Dueck, Logan Schmautz, Adam Rognstad, Ryan Turple, Justin Ly, Austin Tarasoff, Sol Sanderson, Zac Laliberte, Jordan Funk, Travis Gryba, Jason Mclean and Brayden Denomy. …………………………………………………… In the last quarterfinal, the 2nd-seeded Evan Hardy Souls clipped the 7th-seeded Centennial Chargers 87-58 as Alex Unruh scored 35 and Bogdan Anca 30. In the regular season, grade 11 student Unruh led the league with 24.8 PPG, while Anca was eighth, at 16.7 per game. Tim Quiring had 29 for the Chargers, who also included Preston Olson, Dane Bartel, Ashtyn Newell-Olson, Jeremy Jorgenson, Abdullah Iftikhar, Kyle Sonntag, Rav Grewal, Joey Pandher, Brady Woodcock, Jay Postnikoff and Yuriy Fedoriv. …………………………………………………… In the semis, the top-seeded Bishop J. Mahoney Saints dispatched the Walter Murray Marauders 81-70. The Saints led by double-digits most of the way, including 43-24 at halftime. Seb Turcotte led the Saints with 19 points. Anthony McEwen, Filip Dodig and T.J. Zwarych also hit double figures. Leading scorer Tyson Leibel added 8. Lukas Fehr led the Marauders with 30. Saints coach Brett Hoffman was elated by the balanced scoring. “That’s the way we want it. It’s way easier for teams to stop you when they can key on one guy. We really spread it around.” …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Evan Hardy Souls edged the 3rd-seeded Holy Cross Crusaders 78-71 after rallying with a 29-11 run in the final quarter. Brad Hollman banked a trey for the Crusaders to give them an 11-point lead after three quarters. But Souls coach Barclay Patterson told his troops not to panic. “Our theme for the playoffs has been the story of the Tortoise and the Hare. We need to play the role of the tortoise. That’s how we handled it.” With Holy Cross leading 60-49, the Crusaders sent four Grade 12s and one Grade 11 onto the court. Hardy had the exact inverse: one Grade 12 and four Grade 11s. The Souls rose to the occasion. Chad Fulton hit two three-pointers off the bench. Leading scorer Alex Unruh and senior Bogdan Anca scored 29 between them. “The leadership on our team, it was interesting coming out for the fourth quarter,” said Patterson. “I thought it was going to come down to maybe some rookie decision-making but instead they showed they’ve played in some high-level games and that they can play with any team in the city and the province, too.” For three quarters, Hardy’s Anca settled for three-pointers. In the fourth, he started attacking the rim and, as defenders were forced to react, got his whole team involved. “Bogdan played the smarter role and decided to make his teammates better rather than try and put all the weight on his back himself,” said Patterson. Senior Kurt Pilon only scored six points for Hardy, but his last two were huge. Pump-faking Ostertag into the air with less than two minutes left and Hardy up just three, Pilon – the nephew of former U of S men’s coach Greg Jockims – got the bucket and the foul. “We call him the Silent Assassin, one, because he doesn’t talk to any of us,” Patterson said with a grin. “Two, he gets us key rebounds when we need it.” The Souls got big buckets in the fourth quarter from top scorers Bogdan Anca and Alex Unruh, along with Chad Fulton hitting a pair of huge three-pointers off the bench. At the same time their offence was lighting it up, the Souls defence shut down the Crusaders, limiting them to just 10 points in the final frame. “We chipped away at it one basket at a time, one defensive possession at a time,” said Patterson. Anca led the Souls with 31 points. Daniel Ostertag scored 18 for the Crusaders. …………………………………………………… In the bronze medal match, the Walter Murray Marauders nipped the Holy Cross Crusaders 70-66. …………………………………………………… In the final, the top-seeded Bishop J. Mahoney Saints eked out a 62-61 win over the 2nd-seeded Evan Hardy Souls on a short jumper by Seb Turcotte with 3.1 seconds left on the clock. Trailing by one after a three-pointer by dynamic Souls guard Alex Unruh, Turcotte established perfect position under the basket, receiving a pass from veteran Filip Dodig for the basket. “This is unbelievable. It’s something you dream of,” said Turcotte. The Souls had come all the way back from an 18-point first-quarter deficit to take their first lead of the game with just 1:42 remaining. The Saints, coached by Brett Hoffman, also included Tyson Leibel.
In the Regina regionals and city quarterfinals: …………………………………………………… The top-seeded Riffel Royals stomped the 8th-seeded Winston Knoll Wolverines 107-32. …………………………………………………… The Balfour Redmen clocked the Sheldon Williams Spartans 97-65. The Spartans included Josh Stauber, Kyle Clarke, Max Kraus, Ryan Delwo, Nick Essar, Brayden Colin, Quinn Bancescu, Lian Hason-Jensen, Greg Blackmore, Nate Sandbeck, Cohen Richards and Landon Smith. …………………………………………………… The Campbell Tartans thumped the Thom Trojans 88-47. …………………………………………………… In the last quarterfinal, the Dr. Martin LeBoldus Golden Suns clipped the Luther Lions 80-48. The Lions (coached by Joel Hunter, assisted by Adam Hunter and Josh Fink) included Noel Aito, Xavier Kosolofski, Fa Khoza, Matt Wincherauk, Zach Hanson, Spencer Hack, Will Lerach, Erik Heuck, James Hilderman, Will Johnson, Brandon Beaudin-Herney, Ethan Anderson and Mitch King. …………………………………………………… In the semifinals, the Riffel Royals dumped the Balfour Redmen 89-77. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the Dr. Martin LeBoldus Golden Suns nipped the Campbell Tartans 83-82. …………………………………………………… In the bronze medal match, the Balfour Redmen dumped the Campbell Tartans 67-54. …………………………………………………… In the final, the Riffel Royals clipped the Dr. Martin LeBoldus Golden Suns 76-60. The senior city title was the first for Michael A. Riffel High School, which opened 27 years ago. “Our goal all year was to make history and do something nobody else has done,” said Lance Pitka, who scored 22. Riffel had not competed in a 5A boys city final for 20 years. LeBoldus was the defending city champion. “I’m really proud of these guys, and I’m really proud of our basketball program, too,” Royals head coach Wade Hackl said. The Royals led 41-39 early in Thursday’s second half before Riffel gained some separation by going on a 16-6 run. LeBoldus never got closer than seven points. Travis Sylvestre added 16 for Riffel, Julan Lynch 14 and Brandon Thompson 13. Emmanuel Jacobs led the Golden Suns with 24. Joe De Ciman added 16 and Matt Turchet 11.
In the provincial quarterfinals, the Regina Riffel Royals (Regina-1st) whipped the Saskatoon Holy Cross Crusaders (Saskatoon-4th seed) 79-58 as Lance Pitka scored 18. Daniel Ostertag led the Crusaders with 28. Holy Cross played without its second-leading scorer Mitchell Hillis, who broke his collarbone at a Team Canada football evaluation camp earlier in the month. “It’s always tough. I think if we had all our guys healthy, we really could have made a run at the end of the season. But that’s just sometimes how a season goes,” Ostertag said. “They just have a great all-around team. We’ve had some guys out so that’s really tough, but I think we fought hard the whole game.” Despite their woes, Cross led 23-18 in the second quarter. That advantage quickly evaporated, however, as the Royals went on an 18-2 run in the first five minutes of the second quarter to go ahead for good. The Crusaders were within six at half, but their third-quarter shooting woes, coupled with a Riffel team that refused to let up, meant the end for Cross. Cross coach Kevin Harbidge said “you can always think like that but you can’t live in the past. If you live in the past, you’re just going to be a bitter old man. The effort was there but the ball’s not dropping. You just have to give credit to the other team.” The Crusaders (coached by Harbidge, assisted by Andrew Bitz) also included Brad Hollman, Eli Mearns, Michael Haimanot, Jordan Tarasoff, Emil Timon, Jeremy Kuin, Jordan Sych, Eric Eyolfson, Ben Mann, Reid Noyes, Taylor Hammel and Brett Lang.
The Regina Balfour Redmen (Regina-3rd seed) stomped the Saskatoon Evan Hardy Souls (Saskatoon-2nd-seed) 79-49.
The Regina Campbell Tartans (Regina 4th) whipped the Saskatoon Bishop J. Mahoney Saints (Saskatoon-1st) 98-76 as Connor Gorman scored 18. Filip Dodig led the Saints with 17. The Tartans led the Saskatoon city champions throughout and enjoyed a double-digit cushion for the majority of the game. “I don’t really think this is much of an upset at all,” said senior guard Naz Mohammadi. “As a team, we feel we can really go far at provincials. We’re a fourth seed, but we only lost by one point to LeBoldus in the (Regina Intercollegiate Basketball League) playoff semifinal. We were one point away from playing against Riffel in the city final. So, I think we’re better than what we’re ranked here. Saskatoon has some talented teams, but down here in Regina, it’s a pretty tough league we play in. Riffel had a great year, LeBoldus is really good, Balfour is always good … so I guess we deserve the fourth seed, but we feel we play a lot better than that.” The Tartans dominated the paint and got balanced scoring from their starters. The Tartans dominated in the paint at times thanks to their decisive size advantage over the Saints. “When we play, we’re very good,” said Campbell coach Terry Burns. “But we have some young guys on the team and we’re a little up and down. Consistency is a big thing for us. We need to be consistent with our play. Carrying this over to (today) will be the key for us.” The Saints (coached by Brett Hoffman, assisted by Scott Fernquist and Kevin Buchholz) also included T.J. Zwarych, Daymen Ashmeade, Zach Yuzdepsk, Tyson Pylypow, Ryan Nieman, Colin Fraser, Jake Stebner, Will Watson, Anthony McEw, Tyson Leibel and Seb Turcotte.
In the last quarterfinal, the Regina Dr. Martin LeBoldus Golden Suns (Regina-2nd-seed) clubbed the Saskatoon Walter Murray Marauders (Saskatoon-3rd-seed) 90-62 as Joe DeCiman scored 37. Mano Balakrishan led the Marauders with 19.
In the semis, the Regina Riffel Royals dumped the Regina Balfour Redmen 66-59 despite trailing 36-24 at the half. “The first half, they took the energy right out of the game and our guys didn’t respond,” said Riffel coach Wade Hackl. “We talked about transition game, we talked about getting the ball up and down the floor and we talked about being more aggressive. The great thing about these guys is I really don’t have to say too much. They know how to win. I’m not surprised we came back but it sure was a hell of a battle.” Jeff Propp led Riffel with 19 points. Riley Wilson had 17 for Balfour.
In the other semi, the Regina Campbell Tartans stomped the Regina Dr. Martin LeBoldus Golden Suns 80-47 after leading 41-26 at the half. Connor Gorman led the Tartans with 22. Mack Burns added 17. Joe DeCiman led the Golden Suns, coached by Wade Bartlett, with 13. Emmanuel Jacobs added 11.
In the bronze medal match, the Regina Balfour Redmen edged the Regina Dr. Martin LeBoldus Golden Suns 78-73 as Dalton Ulrich scored 21. Joe DeCiman led the Golden Suns with 22. The Golden Suns (coached by Wade Bartlett, assisted by Garrett Kot and Mike Morgan) also included Ochieng Adede, Robbie Avram, Ryan Donnelly, Jean Maurice Ebrolie, Mitch Picton, Daniel Probe, Ethan Reis, Nehemia Tekeste, Matt Turchet and Ben Wallace.
In the final, the Regina Riffel Royals defeated the Regina Campbell Tartans 82-49 after leading 46-23 at the half. Julan Lynch led the Royals with 23. Ritchie Sindani paced the Tartans with 15. Travis Sylvestre added 10. The provincial title was the school’s first. “This is the best team that our school has ever had,” said Royals coach Wade Hackl. “These players are the best that our school has ever assembled. This is a special group. This is a bit of a monkey off our back. There have been some teams in the past that have come close, but these guys broke through and did it not only for themselves but for the program. They realized how special it was for our school.” The Royals raced out to an early 22-7 advantage after the opening quarter and led 46-23 at the half. “This is what we were shooting for all year,” Julan Lynch said. Forward Travis Sylvestre noted that “to be able to make history like we did this year, it’s amazing,” added forward Travis Sylvestre, who will join the U of R Cougars next season. “To have our names attached to those championship banners in the gym, it’s special. For us Grade 12s, to do all of this in our last year is the perfect way to end it. We won our last game. … “We had a great season, but this is the last thing to really finish it for us. We did it. Words can’t describe it.” Guard Jeff Propp said “I don’t think you could have asked for much more in a season than what we had,” said guard Jeff Propp. “We piled up a bunch of W’s and won some pretty big tournaments. It’s pretty sweet to be a part of school history like this. Whenever they refer back to this season, we’ll be the team they’re talking about.”
The bronze medalist Regina Balfour Redmen: Dalton Ulrich; Sawyer Lawlor; Brandon Buttazoni; Matthew Frass; Brady MacKay; Tanner Brightman; Liam Schwartz; Kyle Dudley; Kristopher Charuk; Riley Wilson; Mitchell Nelson; Brett Buchanan; Nygel Shingoose; coach Glen Fekula; coach Mick Panko; statistician Kyle Sokalski
The silver medalist Regina Campbell Tartans: Connor Gorman; Mack Burns; Ritchie Sindani; Naz Mohammadi; Evan Johnson; coach Terry Burns
The gold medalist Regina Riffel Royals: Lance Pitka; Julan Lynch; Travis Sylvestre; Jeff Propp; Brandon Thompson; Kendal Daniels; Branden Enright; Millard Walker; Ben Parker; Dakota Schmidt; Matthew Shelest; Joshua Thompson; Dallas Wilde; Christian Masaosy; coach Wade Hackl; assistant Al Collins; assistant Jordan Sisco; assistant Julius Landry