In the Saskatoon city playoffs: …………………………………………………… In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Aden Bowman Bears spanked the 8th-seeded Walter Murray Marauders 69-45 as Dave Deibert scored 20 and Ryan Leier 18. Steve Lovelace led the Marauders with 15. The Marauders also included Adam Wilson, Damien Forbes, Chad Schmidt. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Bishop J. Mahoney Saints clipped the 4th-seeded Bedford Road Redmen 78-64 as Marc Colette scored 26. Chris Von Hagen led the Redmen with 21. The Redmen also included Kevin Venne, Cory Venne, Jerimiah Kowalchuk. …………………………………………………… The 2nd-seeded Holy Cross Crusaders dusted the 7th-seeded E.D. Feehan Trojans 80-63 as Brett Hardy scored 14. David Sand led the Trojans with 16. The Trojans also included Herlbert Nicolas, Rob Lintott, Greg Nichol, Lorne Podiluk, Gord Desjarlais, Steve Prokopchuk. …………………………………………………… In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Evan Hardy Souls nipped the 6th-seeded Mount Royal Mustangs 59-58 as Steve Dawe scored 23. Bryan Blushke led the Mustangs with 15. The Mustangs also included Trevor Mirtle, Jason Proctor, Kevin Luc, Steeg Holmes. …………………………………………………… In the semis, the Holy Cross Crusaders mauled the Evan Hardy Souls 110-63 as Rodney John scored 24 and Tony Chad 18. Brent Morton led the Souls with 27. The Souls also included Steve Dawe, Jason Boersma, Chris Cyca, Danny York. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the Aden Bowman Bears clocked the Bishop J. Mahoney Saints 82-58 as Ryan Leier scored 19 and Scott Dehm 18. Marc Colette led the Saints with 27. Jamie Petersen added 10. The Saints also included Brad Tkachuk, Trev Schiller. …………………………………………………… In the final, the Holy Cross Crusaders nipped the Aden Bowman Bears 62-61 as point guard Brett Hardy hit a free throw with four seconds to play. Hardy led the Crusaders with 18. The Bears led 23-5 early and 30-28 at the half. Hardy told the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix that “it was the heart of this team that made us win. We just dug down and went for it and kept on going because we wanted it so bad.”
In the Regina city playoffs: …………………………………………………… In the quarterfinals, the Martin Monarchs edged the Campbell Tartans 88-83 as Pryor Nabis scored 28. Jason Pelzer led the Tartans with 20. The Tartans also included Jeremy Peters, Steve Winkelman, Cory Scheel, Jon Mitchell, Dev Krukoff, Tyler Stuart, Jeremy Doke. …………………………………………………… The Usher Unicorns clipped the Luther Lions 92-80 as Mike Schutz scored 29. Nathan Schellenberg led the Lions with 18. Ian Smith added 18. The Lions (coached by Paul Humbert) also included Brett Blair, Kristian Fraser, Shane Boyes. …………………………………………………… The Balfour Redmen dispatched the Michael A. Riffel Royals 94-85 as Scott Goebel scored 32. Chris Warnecke led the Royals with 22. The Royals (coached by Bill Allen) also included Patrick Fleming, Michael Allen, Troy Martin, Mike Warnecke. …………………………………………………… In the last quarterfinal, the Sheldon-Williams Spartans dusted the Dr. Martin LeBoldus Golden Suns 97-72 as Devin Elliott scored 21. Butch Elgear led the Golden Suns with 31. The Golden Suns also included Mike Stewart, Dave Straub, John Womack. …………………………………………………… In the semis, the Martin Monarchs defeated the Usher Unicorns 83-78 as Heith Martin scored 23, Craig Eros 18 and Chris Zimmer 14. Trevor Ludtke led the Unicorns with 26. Mike Schutz added 18. The Unicorns (coached by Kevin Heinemann) also include Casey Ward. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the Balfour Redmen dispatched the Sheldon-Williams Spartans 91-78 as Steve Kummerfeld scored 24. A.J. Schepers led the Spartans with 18. The Spartans (coached by Kevin Koster) also included Steve Podwin, Ryan Michell, Jeff Bingaman, Devin Elliott, Bob Axtel, Craig Storer. …………………………………………………… In the final, the Balfour Redmen edged the Martin Monarchs 92-85 in overtime as Jason Pratt scored 26 and Scott Goebel 22. Heith Martin led the Monarchs with 28. Trent Douglas added 16.
In the provincial quarterfinals, the Yorkton Regional Raiders edged the Saskatoon Aden Bowman Bears 66-64 as Trent Szabo scored 29, Gary Nichols 13, Darren Balaberda 12, Evan Fritzke 4, Kelly Hancock 4 and Cory Patterson 4. Scott Dehm led the Bears with 15. David Dribert 14, Ryan Leier 11, Kent Bacon 9, Shane Haubrich 7, Glen Cey 6 and Dilp Ninan 2. The Bears (coached by John Cleland) also included Andy Catton, Bob Blackmon, Brent Hoffman, Glenn McKenzie, Scott Barron, Dave Deibert, Josh Pendleton.
In the other quarterfinal, the 5th-seeded Estevan Elecs dispatched the 4th-seeded Regina Martin Monarchs 67-60 as Tim Barnstable scored 15, Mike Bolianatz 11, Wes Jickling 10, Kelly Ynick 9, Andrew Wahba 8, Darren Korf 6, Rod Thompson 4, Miles Hoste 2 and Jason Rogers 2. Elecs coach Darren Abel told the Regina Leader-post that “I told the boys this is our weekend to earn some respect. I think we’ve done in our first game.” Wahba said “we were ripped off with the rankings. Nobody gave us or Yorkton much of a chance here. Now, maybe we’ll see them in the final.” Martin led 33-31 at the half and 44-39 before Estevan went on a decisive 14-0 run. Chad Eros led the Monarchs with 21. Heith Martin added 11, Pryor Nabis 10, Jason Coleman 8, Chris Zimmer 8 and Blair Litzenberger 2. The Monarchs (coached by Ray Jacoby) also inclueed Trent Douglas, Steve Nelson. Eros said “we’d be two feet away from the hoop and miss. They really weren’t doing anything special on defence. … It’s a shocking end to the season.” Barnstable said the Elecs blanketed Heith Martin. “We said ‘get a hand in his face’ because not everybody can hit their shot with somebody in their shirt. We figured if we shut him down, that’d fluster him and take the three-pointer out of their arsenal.”
In the semis, the 6th-seeded Yorkton Regional Raiders nipped the 2nd-seeded Regina Balfour Redmen 73-70 as Darren Balaberda scored 17, Brian Bolingbroke 12, Trent Szabo 12, Evan Fritzke 11, Jamie Sheasby 9, Gary Nichols 9 and Kelly Hancock 4. Sheasby told the Regina Leader-Post that “this is huge. Even the guys at school didn’t think we could do it. They were saying ‘see you Friday. We’ll party with you’. … My Dad always tells me free throws are the key. … That’s how we won this game (hitting 9 of their last 10 points from the line).” Balfour led 29-18 early but Yorkton ripped off a 9-0 run that knotted the score at 40 at the half and then opened the second half with a 7-2 run. The Redmen took a 62-61 lead on two free throws by Scott Goebel but Gary Nicholls responded with a layup and later, Trent Szabo notched an and-one with 21.5 seconds to play to pull out the win for the Raiders. Szabo said “the key was we broke their press. Every coach we talked to said their press could kill you. We broke it pretty well.” Jason Pratt paced the Redmen with 26. Steve Kummerfeld added 20, Rhett Burgess 10, Darron Johnson 10, Scott Goebel 4 and Blake Stevenson 4. Redmen coach Glen Fekula said “they gained confidence as the game progressed. A couple of their guys who we wanted shooting the ball more than others hit some big shots to sustain their confidence. They didn’t really have a down part or a drought.”
In the other semi, the top-seeded Saskatoon Holy Cross Crusaders dispatched the 5th-seeded Estevan Elecs 89-75 as Jon Farthing scored 21, Mike Willick 20, Brett Hardy 16, Allan Deacon 10, Tony Chad 10, Rodney John 4, Jeff Schow 4, Tarsch Bakos 2 and David Buttinger 2. Kelly Yunick paced the Elecs with 16. Andrew Wahba added 13, Darren Korf 9, Tim Barnstable 8, Wes Jickling 7, Mike Cundall 6, Mike Boliantz 5, Rod Thompson 5, Jason Rogers 3 and Jason Tessier 3.
In the bronze medal match, the 2nd-seeded Regina Balfour Redmen clocked the 5th-seeded Estevan Elecs 99-61 as Scott Goebel scored 27, Rhett Burgess 14, Blake Stevenson 12, Jason Pratt 9, Steve Kummerfeld 6, Dallas Bird 6, Darron Johnston 6, Simon Dujardin 6, Jamie Virgo 5, Brett Ward 4, Corey Longhurst 2 and Shawn Creighton 2. Darren Korf paced the Elecs with 23. Jason Rogers added 6, Rod Thompson 6, Mike Cundall 6, Mike Bolianitz 5, Kelly Yunick 4, Mike Hoste 3, Jason Tessier 3, Wes Jinckling 2, Tim Barnstable 2 and Chad Wilhelm 1.
In the final, the top-seeded Saskatoon Holy Cross Crusaders defeated the 6th-seeded Yorkton Regional Raiders 76-55 as Mike Willick scored 18, Brett Hardy 17, David Buttinger 12, Rodney John 9, Allan Deacon 8, Jon Farthing 8 and Tony Chad 4. Darren Balaberda paced the Raiders with 23. Trent Szabo added 16, Gary Nicholls 14, Kelly Hancock 6, Evan Fritzke 4 and Jamie Sheasby 2. Crusaders coach Barry Rawlyk told the Regina Leader-post that “my wife (Kathy Maki) has been teasing me that they’re going to bronze me when I die because the other three times we were here (In 1988, 1992 and 1993), we ended up with bronze. Now I can throw this gold medal back at her.” Yorkton led 13-4 early but the Crusaders rallied to knot the score at 45 at the half. Rawlyk said “we just tried to keep things on an even keel. We really felt if we could command the tempo and build from our defence, we’d be able to win. Having said that, giving up 45 points in the first half was new territory for us. We’d never done that so we knew we had to step it up on defence in the second half.” Raiders coach Jim Nichols said “we were right where we wanted to be. … In the second half, they went to zone and we struggled with it. We missed some shots, some calls didn’t go our way and we started to get frustrated.” Darren Balaburda opened the second half with a bucket but the Crusaders countered with an 11-0 run and never again trailed. They held Yorkton to seven points in the last 10 minutes. Hardy told the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix “I thought winning the city final was great but that was just a hurdle. This is the big prize right here. Nothing compares to this.”
The bronze medalist Regina Balfour Redmen: Scott Goebel; Rhett Burgess; Blake Stevenson; Jason Pratt; Steve Kummerfeld; Dallas Bird; Darron Johnston; Simon Dujardin; Jamie Virgo; Brett Ward; Corey Longhurst; Shawn Creighton; Chris Gartun; coach Glen Fekula; assistant Burgess; trainer Kari Hembroeff
The silver medalist Yorkton Regional Raiders: Darren Balaberda; Trent Szabo; Gary Nicholls; Kelly Hancock; Evan Fritzke; Jamie Sheasby; Gary Nichols; coach Jim Nichols
The gold medalist Saskatoon Holy Cross Crusaders: Mike Willick; Brett Hardy; David Buttinger; Rodney John; Allan Deacon; Jon Farthing; Tony Chad; Jeff Schow; Tarsch Bakos; Paul Brunsdon; Allan Deacon; Tom Deutscher; Daniel Gallays; Tarsch Bakos; coach Barry Rawlyk; assistant B. Powell