In the regional qualifiers and Regina city playoffs: …………………………………………………… In the opening round, the Martin Monarchs stomped the Usher Unicorns 103-63 as Alek Arsenic scored 28. Chris Chorney led the Unicorns with 17. The Unicornds (coached by Heith Martin) also included Jesse Sakires, Jon Silbernagel. …………………………………………………… The Archbishop M.C. O’Neill Titans clipped the F.W. Johnson Wildcats 78-66 as John Uhren scored 22. Troy Kolish led the Wildcats with 20. The Wildcats (coached by Jeff Perry) also included Shane Slater, Aideen Zareh, Shaheen Zarch, Mike Mahoney. …………………………………………………… The Michael A. Riffel Royals spanked the Luther Lions 87-69 as Colin Brown scored 22. James Davis led the Lions with 23. The Lions (coached by Craig Perreault, assistant Troy Casper, assistant Robin Young) also included John Whitmore, Josh Radigk, Nathan Persson. …………………………………………………… In the quarterfinals, the Balfour Redmen clubbed the Michael A. Riffel Royals 97-78 as Whit Hornsberger scored 32, Brad Ahern 22 and Jon Salgado 18. Trevor Selinger led the Royals with 19. The Royals (coached by Mark Gottselig) also included Joel Hunter, Chris Tretiak, Ryan Ziegler, Colin Brown. …………………………………………………… The Campbell Tartans dispatched the Dr. Martin LeBoldus Golden Suns 88-81 as Tylor Campbell scored 23. Craig Schweitzer led the Golden Suns with 35. The Golden Suns (coached by Glen Kozey) also included Scott Graham, Mike Mahoney, Dano Collins. …………………………………………………… The Sheldon-Williams Spartans clipped the Archbishop M.C. O’Neill Titans 77-64 as Matt Cherkas scored 33. John Uhren led the Titans with 35. The Titans (coached by Dave Ripplinger) also included Steven Enns, Efren Linantaud, Mike Towle. …………………………………………………… In the last quarterfinal, the Winston Knoll Wolverines dusted the Martin Monarchs 84-69 as Drew Hunter scored 24. Cole Lawson led the Monarchs with 14. The Monarchs (coached by Ray Jacoby) also included Alek Arsenic, Nat Shaefer. …………………………………………………… In the semis, the Balfour Redmen clocked the Campbell Tartans 89-61 as Whit Hornsberger scored 39. Chad Hopkin led the Tartans with 20. The Tartans (coached by Glenn Szabo) also included Jordan Musleh, Tylor Campbell, Jehmal Manning. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the Sheldon-Williams Spartans dispatched the Winston Knoll Wolverines 86-75 as Trent Folk scored 24. Joel Hunter led the Wolverines with 30. The Wolverines also included Chris Tretiak, Dallyn Smith, Doug Fisher. …………………………………………………… In the final, the Balfour Redmen torched the Sheldon-Williams Spartans 80-60 as Whit Hornsberer scored 41. Zach Michell led the Spartans with 18.
In the regional qualifiers and Saskatoon city playoffs: …………………………………………………… In the quarterfinals, the Aden Bowman Bears clipped the Walter Murray Marauders 70-57 as Rylan Berton scored 23 and Marco Brandsema 19. The Bears led 32-30 at the half. The Marauders were coached by Paul Gagnon. …………………………………………………… The Holy Cross Crusaders clocked the Mount Royal Mustangs 91-67 as Greg Kotoschorek scored 19. Mike Linklater led the Mustangs with 27. …………………………………………………… The Evan Hardy Souls whipped the Marion Graham Falcons 77-48 as Sean Homenick scored 18. The Souls led 44-15 at the half. Mark Milne led the Falcons with 16. …………………………………………………… In the last quarterfinal, the Bishop J. Mahoney Saints torched the Bedford Road Redmen 77-51 as Lee Kolla scored 22. Cory Mitchell led the Redmen with 20. …………………………………………………… In the semis, the Bishop J. Mahoney Saints clubbed the Evan Hardy Souls 79-64 as Lee Kolla scored 21 and Dan Reid 21. Kirk Gordon led the Souls with 18. The Souls also included Sean Homenick. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the Holy Cross Crusaders smacked the Aden Bowman Bears 88-65 as Samson Haimanot scored 31. Rylan Berton led the Bears with 24. The Bears also included Marco Brandsema. …………………………………………………… In the final, the Holy Cross Crusaders defeated the Bishop J. Mahoney Saints 95-85 in overtime as Mike Espeseth scored 32, Mitch Grant 15 and Greg Kotschorek 9.
In the small cities playoffs: …………………………………………………… In the quarterfinals, the Moose Jaw A.E. Peacock Toilers dusted the Prince Albert Carlton Crusaders 86-48. The Crusaders included Dennis Dalziel. …………………………………………………… The Yorkton Regional Raiders blasted the North Battleford Comprehensive Vikings 81-54. The Vikings included Mike Rachenmacher. …………………………………………………… The Swift Current Colts torched the Weyburn Eagles 82-60. The Eagles included Jeremy Groening. …………………………………………………… In the last quarterfinal, the Prince Albert St. Mary’s Marauders clipped the Estevan Elecs 67-56. …………………………………………………… In the semis, the Moose Jaw A.E. Peacock Toilers spanked the Swift Current Colts 70-45 as Quentin Randall scored 33. Barry Peters led the Colts with 18. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the Prince Albert St. Mary Marauders clipped the Estevan Elecs 67-56. …………………………………………………… In the final, the Moose Jaw A.E. Peacock crushed the Prince Albert St. Mary Marauders 70-53 as Quentin Randalls scored 19. Cory Lavalee paced the Marauders with 12.
In the quarterfinals, 3rd-seed Regina Sheldon-Williams Spartans defeated the 6th-seeded Prince Albert St. Mary Marauders 87-67 as Trent Folk scored 25, Matt Cherkas 20, Zach Michell 16, Pin Sisouphone 10, Rob Preston 10, Michael Dedmon 4 and Chad Fergusson 2. Dan Simair led the Marauders with 23. Ryan Pocha added 22, Cory Lavallee 10, Rick Laheye 7, Garrett Anderson 3 and Keston Cook 2, while Scott Langlois, Tyrone Wilson, Can Szeszorak, Curtis Bender and Daryl Gareau were scoreless.
In the other quarterfinal, the 4th-seeded Saskatoon Bishop J. Mahoney Saints defeated the 5th-seeded Moose Jaw A.E. Peacock Toilers 74-67 as Lee Kolla scored 23, Dustin Fruson 23, Josh Kinzel 13, John Muyres 7, Mitch Grant 6 and Matt Reid 2. Quentin Randall paced the Toilers with 25. David Stephens added 13, Ryan Gottselig 11, James Beer 9, Jeremy Smith 4, Patrick Connolly 3 and Kevin Tarabawka 2.
In the semis, the 2nd-seeded Saskatoon Holy Cross Crusaders defeated the Regina Sheldon-Williams Spartans 98-56. The only shot the Holy Cross senior boys basketball team missed Friday night was when Samson Haimanot overshot the bucket at halftime. He shrugged it off with a smile. “Anytime you can put 98 points on the board, your offence is obviously clicking,” Crusaders coach Barry Rawlyk told the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. Derek Boechler, who scored 22 and was one of four Crusaders in double-digit scoring, said the squad executed the game plan. “We had been working all week on defensive rotations, looking to stop their big perimeter shooters. Our defence was clicking on all cylinders.” Holy Cross forced dozens of turnovers and converted most of them. “We executed really well; we knew if we stuck to our game plan, we could be successful,” said Rawlyk. “Our defence played about as well as it could.” It was a close game for most of the first half. The Crusaders pulled away in the final six minutes, going on a 21-7 run. Led by Boechler, the team hit its first five shots and went from 56-36 to 67-36. “These games are really fun, when everything is clicking and the ball is getting distributed to everybody,” said Boechler. George Antonopoulos added 19 for the Crusaders, Mark Roblin 17, Mike Espeseth 12, Samson Hainanot 7, Robert Lovelace 7, Greg Kotschorek 6 and Brian Hinz 2. Trent Folk led the Spartans with 22. Zach Michell added 13, Matt Cherkas 9, Pin Sousophone 9, Michael Dedman 2 and Michael Howlett 1.
In the other semi, the top-seeded Regina city champion Balfour Redmen defeated the Saskatoon Bishop J. Mahoney Saints 100-75. The Redmen controlled the game from start to finish. Jon Salgado and Brad Ahern had their way inside, combining for 19 points in the opening 20 minutes. Whit Hornsberger, Regina’s leading scorer, and Josh Lemieux were deadly from the perimeter. Balfour hit its first six shots in a 14-0 run to open the second half. “We’ve been a second-half team all year, it always takes us some time to adjust,” Hornsberger told the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. “At the start of the second, we really blew them away.” It was a frustrating night for Dustin Fruson and the Saints. “That wasn’t pretty,” said Fruson. “We got off to a slow start. I don’t know where the intensity was.” Hornsberger paced the Redmen with 31. Jon Salgado added 16, Josh Lemieux 15, Henok Beyene 12, Brad Fekula9, Brad Ahern 9, Dagan Harding 2 and Matt Sali 1. Dustin Fruson led the Saints with 18. Lee Kolla added 17, Dan Reid 17, Mitch Grant 10, Matt Reid 7 and Josh Kinzel 6.
In the bronze medal match, the Regina Sheldon Williams Spartans defeated the Saskatoon Bishop J. Mahoney Saints 102-86 as Matt Cherkas scored 39, Zach Michell 24, Trent Folk 22, Rob Preston 6, Andrew Watt 5, Pin Sisouphone 4 and Michael Dedman 2. Mitch Grant led the Saints with 28. Dan Reid added 25, Dustin Fruson 14, Matt Reid 6, John Muyres 5, Lee Kolla 4, Josh Finzel 2 and Tyler Sharp 2. The Saints (coached by Brian Carduner) also included Brian Riley.
In the final, the Saskatoon Holy Cross Crusaders upset the Regina Balfour Redmen 86-75. It was a total team effort for the Crusaders. Some stroked three-pointers, a couple dominated inside, others concentrated on defence. “The kids turned it on when they needed to,” Crusaders coach Barry Rawlyk told the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. “All I said at halftime was anyone who doesn’t think we can win this game shouldn’t bother coming out on the floor.” The Crusaders “came out firing,” said forward Derek Boechler, who scored 21. “Even though we were down (44-40) at half, we knew we were in good condition and if we kept running, kept executing, we’d be all right,” said Boechler, his voice half gone. With forward Samson Haimanot on the bench in foul trouble, Holy Cross had little inside presence in the first half other than Boechler. Balfour forward Jon Salgado swatted anything the Crusaders tried under the hoop and scored 16 points in the half. “They were hitting everything,” said Haimanot. “Salgado chucked anything up and it went in. We felt we’d win as long as we played how we did in the first; they couldn’t keep up the way they did.” The tables, as Boechler and Haimanot expected, turned in the second half. Aggressive defence, full-court trapping and sharp shooting led to a Holy Cross explosion. The team went on a 24-9 burst to open the half. With Haimanot back on the floor, scoring 11 points, and Boechler continuing his fine play, the floor opened up for Crusaders’ sharp shooters. George Antonopoulos, with 18 points, and Mark Roblin and Mike Espeseth, each with 16, stretched the Balfour defence. Samson Hainamot added 11 and Robert Lovelace 4. And on the other end, an unsung hero played valuable minutes. Rob Lovelace came into the game after Espeseth left to get bandaged. When Espeseth was ready to check back in, Rawlyk didn’t want to take Lovelace off. The defence Lovelace played on Balfour guard Whit Hornsberger was suffocating, holding him to nine points in the second frame. Hornsberger had torched Holy Cross for 18 in the first and finished with 27 points. “Rob really stepped up and filled the role,” said Rawlyk. “His play won’t show up on the stats sheet but he gave us great minutes.” Said Lovelace: “Feels good helping us win Hoopla.” Balfour coach Glen Fekula knew the run at the start of the second was hard to overcome. “In a championship game, against a good team, you can’t afford to give up runs like that,” he said. “We didn’t adjust to their traps and in this game, it only takes a couple, three possessions to turn the tide. Hats off to them.” Boechler was soaking up the atmosphere after the game, cutting down the net, and relishing avenging the loss to Balfour in last year’s final. “This is an unbelievable way for us Grade 12s to go out. I couldn’t picture it any better.” Brad Ahern added 16 for the Redmen, Jon Salgado 16, Derek Wingar 12 and Brad Fekula 4.
The bronze medalist Regina Sheldon-Williams Spartans: Matt Cherkas; Trent Folk; Zach Michell; Pin Sousophone; Michael Dedman; Michael Howlett; Rob Preston; Chad Fergusson; Andrew Watt; coach Jason Nicurity
The silver medalist Regina Balfour Redmen: Jon Salgado; Brad Ahern; Whit Hornsberger; Josh Lemieux; Brad Fekula; Dagan Harding; Derek Wingert; David Kirby; Matt Sali; Joe Podavin; Mike Hammerlindl; Henok Beyene; coach Glen Fekula; assistant Scott Babcock; assistant Rob Thomson; trainer Jenine Kushniryk
The gold medalist Saskatoon Holy Cross Crusaders: George Antonopoulos; Mark Roblin; Mike Espeseth; Derek Boechler; Rob Lovelace; Samson Haimanot; Greg Kotschorek; Brian Hinz; coach Barry Rawlyk; assistant Shaun Nechvatal