In the Regina city semis, the Usher Unicorns edged the McGuigan Mustangs 66-64 as Perry Martens hit a layup with 20 seconds to play. Martens told the Regina Leader-Post that “the play was originally designed to come across to me on the offside and then I’d pivot and take the shot. But the play just seemed dead to me. Kevin (Reimer) had the ball and I just nodded at him that I’d cut across the key. I sealed my man and got the ball. I was only two feet from the basket so it was just like a practice shot. I had missed a couple earlier in the game but I made sure this one went in.” Usher’s Peter Nakonechy had given the Unicorns a 64-62 lead on a putback with 1:50 to play. McGuigan’s Rob Nistor countered with a driving layup. Usher coach Debbie White said “we have specific plays we set up when looking for the last shot. We’re not looking for specific players but options. Whoever’s open can take a shot … Usually, our game is on the inside. But McGuigan is a strong rebounding team and we got undone on the inside and couldn’t get any second shots. They shut down our inside game and the guys from the outside just came through. Guys that haven’t been in the limelight a lot this year came thru for us when we needed it.” Martens said “McGuigan played man-to-man on me so I just cleared out. So when the opposite man sagged, he couldn’t cover the outside shot and everyone was just hitting. I was surprised. I was the crashing the boards for rebound and there weren’t any.” McGuigan coach Darrel Puscus said “we knew they’d be tough and there was no way we were going to take them lightly. … The key was to stop Perry Martens and we didn’t do a good enough job in the first half. We made adjustments at half-time but he still overpowered us enough inside to make the difference.” Martens led the Unicorns with 26. Derek Macdonald added 16 and Peter Nakonechny 10. The Unicorns (coached by Debbie Smith) also included Kevin Reimer. Rob Nistor scored 19 to lead the Mustangs. Wallie Sich added 15 and Greg Krywulak 8. The Mustangs (coached by Darrel Puscus) also included Bill Weir, Brian Frolick. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the F.W. Johnson Wildcats bombed the Scott Blues 85-31 as Steve Burrows scored 16 and Todd Fast 15. The Wildcats led 50-14 at the half. Rob Pelletier led the Blues with 8. The Blues also included Darwin Laliberte, Garland Koch, Kelly Gorman, Warren Pearce. …………………………………………………… In the final, the Usher Unicorns dumped the F.W. Johnson Wildcats 70-63 as Peter Nokonechny scored 16, Derek MacDonald 15, Kevin Reimer 12, Perry Martens 11 and Blaine Pearce 10. Roger Smith led the Wildcats with 23. Vetaly Mariustan added 12 and Brian Butterfield 10. Unicorns guard Peter Nakonechny told the Regina Leader-Post that “it was sweet, a little extra special. We’ve been thinking about the four months of hard work and wasting it all for no reason. We came all that way last year and lost. We know what it felt like last year and didn’t want to go through it again.” The Wildcats led 31-28 at the half. Usher took its first lead at 50-48 at the 10:49 mark when Blaine Pearce stole the ball, drove for a layup and notched an and-one. Usher coach Debbie Smith said “it was determination, desire or something. We were 9 points behind and the I looked up at the clock and we were even again. They just wouldn’t die. They wouldn’t lose and they wouldn’t say no. They tightened up on defence and just plugged away on offence.” Wildcat Roger Smith knotted the score at 50 but the Unicorns outscored Johnson 20-13 over the final nine minutes. Usher’s Derek MacDonald said “we could feel the switch in momentum from the end of the first half to the middle of the second. We could feel we had the game – all we had to was take it to them and it was ours. When we fought back from the 9-point deficit and tied it up, you could see them sinking off and us rising, getting higher and higher. There was no denying us.”
In the South region quarterfinals: …………………………………………………… The Regina F.W. Johnson Wildcats clipped the Moose Jaw A.E. Peacock Toilers 77-64 as Brian Butterfield scored 22 and Steve Burrows 20. …………………………………………………… The Moose Jaw Central Cyclones stunned the Regina Usher Unicorns 62-51 as Jeff DeJong scored 26. Perry Martens led the Unicorns with 17. The Unicorns (coached by Debbie Smith) also included Peter Nakonechny, Derek MacDonald. …………………………………………………… The Yorkton Regional Raiders edged the Weyburn Composite Eagles 65-60 as Todd Sogocki scored 28. Wayne Cuthbert led the Eagles with 23. …………………………………………………… In the last quarterfinal, the Swift Current Composite Colts stomped the Estevan Composite Elecs 84-57 as Blair Doucet scored 25. …………………………………………………… In the semis, the Moose Jaw Central Cyclones versus the Yorkton Regional Raiders. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the Regina F.W. Johnson Wildcats defeated the Swift Current Colts x-x. …………………………………………………… In the final, the Regina F.W. Johnson Wildcats pounded the Moose Jaw Central Cyclones 84-68 as Roger Smith scored 23 and Steve Burrows 21. Steve McSherry as the Cyclones scored 18.
In the provincial semis, the Prince Albert Carlton Crusaders clocked the Moose Jaw Central Cyclones 85-64.
In the other semi, the Regina F.W. Johnson Wildcats pounded the Prince Albert St. Mary Marauders 85-62 as Steve Burrows scored 20, Brian Butterfield 17, Scott Aurarnenko 9 and Hladik 6. Grady Andrews led the Marauders with 23. Roger Dusseault added 10 and Clint Usselman 10. The Wildcats took command with a 16-0 run to break open a tight 29-24 affair. Wildcats coach Doug Bolander told the Regina Leader-Post that “one thing with kids is you never know what’s going to happen. They were working ahrd. You could see the flow coming and all of a sudden they went on a drive.”
In the bronze medal match, the Prince Albert St. Mary Marauders dispatched the Moose Jaw Central Cyclones 84-76.
In the provincial final, the Regina F.W. Johnson Wildcats defeated the Prince Albert Carlton Crusaders 78-63 as Brian Butterfield scored 15, Vitaley Marutisan 12, Steve Burrows 11, Scott Aurarnenko 8 and Hladik 8. The Wildcats were leading 22-21 in the first half when Scott Aurarnenko got into a “brief wrestling match,” according to the Regina Leader-Post. Tempers flared and the Wildcats promptly ripped off a 13-0 run. Wildcats co-coach Tim Pon said “the kids run on a lot of adrenaline and emotion. One or two things happen and they just keep rolling.” Wildcats forward Roger Smith said “we seem to start off slow and then have a good run. It all starts at the defensive end. And then they started panicking, threw up bad shots and that’s how we got our run going.” Wildcats co-coach Doug Bolander said that “we stressed defence first and offence second. You don’t need skills to play defence – it comes from the heart. That’s the key, our defence played so well.” The Wildcats led 37-27 at the half. The Crusaders rallied no closer than nine.
The bronze medalist Prince Albert St. Mary Marauders: Grady Andrews; Roger Dusseault; Clint Usselman;
The silver medalist Prince Albert Carlton Crusaders: Blair Garneau; Dave McArthur; Dean Lato; Carter Watson; coach Ken Andrusiak
The gold medalist Regina F.W. Johnson Wildcats: Steve Burrows; Todd Fast; Roger Smith; Vitaly Marutisan; Brian Butterfield; Scott Aurarnenko; Hladik; co-coach Doug Bolander; co-coach John Kuzbik