In the regional qualifiers and Regina city playoffs: …………………………………………………… In the quarterfinals, the Michael A. Riffel Royals torched the Thom Trojans 11-58 as Bryden Wright scored 29 and Magnum Kish 29. Devin Starviala paced the Trojans with 11. The Trojans (coached by Bob Baragar) also included David Sadowski. …………………………………………………… The Dr. Martin LeBoldus Golden Suns whipped the Archbishop M.C. O’Neill Titans 63-44 as Jordan Kozaey scored 14. Clark Gates led the Titans with 12. The Titans (coached by David Ripplinger) also included Erik Weinberger, Ronny Torres. …………………………………………………… The Campbell Tartans whipped the Winston Knoll Wolverines 110-86 as Colin Finch scored 27 and Jason Frick 27. Robert Taylor led the Wolverines with 32. The Wolverines (coached by Steve Burrows) also included Rate Quest, Sean Coburn, Kyle Schmalenberg, Brandon Legard. …………………………………………………… In the last quarterfinal, the Balfour Redmen dispatched the Sheldon-Williams Spartans 105-94 as Levi Vann scored 39. Luke Derkson led the Spartans with 29. The Spartans (coached by Ray Jacoby) also include Dano Tallman, Luke Sayer, Blaine Allison. …………………………………………………… In the semis, the Dr. Martin LeBoldus Golden Suns defeated the Campbell Tartans 81-69 as Sheldon Bruce scored 22. Jason Frick led the Tartans with 18. The Tartans (coached by Glenn Szabo) also included Kerry Graybiel, Paul Snowdy, Rory Livingstone, Colin Finch. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the Balfour Redmen dispatched the Michael A. Riffel Royals 83-74 as Levi Vann scored 22. Bryden Wright led the Royals with 21. The Royals (coached by Mark Gottselig) also included Magnun Kish, Jazon Ziegler, Aaron Silzer, Derek Molnar. …………………………………………………… In the final, the Dr. Martin LeBoldus Golden Suns clipped the Balfour Redmen 85-69 as Jordan Kozey scored 35 and Tommy Elliott 17.
In the regional qualifiers and Saskatoon city playoffs: …………………………………………………… In the quarterfinals, the Mount Royal Mustangs edged the Bedford Road Redmen 81-78 on a late driving layup by Wade Holowaty. Ryan Lynchuk led the Mustangs with 29. Jeff Thomson led the Redmen with 25. …………………………………………………… The Aden Bowman Bears spanked the Bishop J. Mahoney Saints 81-65 as Adam Patola scored 30. Nick Hanson led the Saints with 25. …………………………………………………… The St. Joseph Guardians defeated the Evan Hardy Souls 65-56 as Ryan Rogal scored 21. Ryan Kautson led the Souls with 16. …………………………………………………… In the last quarterfinal, the Holy Cross Crusaders dusted the Walter Murray Marauders 76-56 as Patrick Trumpy scored 12. Greg Mullen led the Marauders with 12. …………………………………………………… In the semis, the Aden Bowman Bears nipped the St. Joseph Guardians 69-65 as Adam Patola hit a bucket and two free throws in the final minute. Patola led the Bears with 25. Mark Breker led the Guardians with 21. The Guardians also included Cam penner, Ryan Rogal. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the Holy Cross Crusaders defeated the Mount Royal Mustangs 64-57 as Kevin Hoffman scored 22 and Jordan Harbidge 14. Ryan Lynchuk led the Mustangs with 25. The Mustangs also included Wade Holowaty. …………………………………………………… In the final, the Holy Cross Crusaders defeated the Aden Bowman Bears 63-54. Jordan Harbidge pilfered the ball for a runout and then nailed a trey as the Crusaders took command down the stretch. The Crusaders led 27-25 at the half. Kevin Hoffman paced the Crusaders with 12. Harbidget added 10 and Patrick Trumpy 10. Andrew Spragud led the Bears with 24. Cody Dyck added 11.
In the small cities draw quarterfinals: …………………………………………………… The Moose Jaw A.E. Peacock Toilers defeated the Estevan Elecs 84-79 as Allan Knights scored 23. Shawn Wilhelm paced Estevan with 15. …………………………………………………… The Swift Current Colts defeated the Weyburn Eagles 71-57 as Brad Ludwar scored 21. Curtis Baillie paced Weyburn with 21. …………………………………………………… In the last quarterfinal, the North Battleford Vikings defeated the Prince Albert Carlton Crusaders 77-66 as Troy Bugler scored 16. Jon Urton paced Carlton with 23. Carlton led 38-28 at the half. The Crusaders (coached by Kelly Klassen) also included Marc Lebo, Jeff Ruszkowski, Paul Kuzbik, Braden Willis, Sean Elmer. …………………………………………………… In the semis, the Swift Current Colts defeated the Moose Jaw A.E. Peacock Toilers 67-58 as Jordan Wagner scored 17. Richard Marquardt led Peacock with 19. Swift Current led 37-27 at the half. …………………………………………………… In the other semi, the Yorkton Regional Raiders, who’d received a quarterfinal bye, defeated the North Battleford Vikings 78-47 as Sean Gottschall scored 28. Vernon Buffalo led North Battleford with 12. Yorkton led 39-23 at the half. …………………………………………………… In the final, the Yorkton Regional Raiders nipped the Swift Current Colts 67-66 as Cory Strandberg scored 22. Jordan Wagner led Swift Current with 23. Yorkton led 35-25 at the half.
In the quarterfinals of the provincial 4A draw, held at Regina Miller, the 4th-seeded Regina Balfour Redmen pounded the 5th-seeded Yorkton Regional Raiders 82-51 as Levin Vann scored 18 and Mike Euteneier 14. Cory Strandberg led Yorkton Regional with 15. Mike Euteneier, a 6-5 post, was a tower of strength, having recovered from an ulcer earlier in the season. “I was really weak and tired,” Euteneier told the Regina Leader-Post. “I had no energy. I couldn’t really do anything. I’d get out there (on the floor) and I just sucked. I didn’t play like I should have. I didn’t even want to play because I was playing so badly. At first, I thought I was out of shape. I didn’t know how I could be – I had just played football – but I thought that maybe playing inside was the difference. After a while, I thought, ‘What is wrong with me?’ I was scared because I didn’t know what was going on. I didn’t go to my parents at first; I just thought I was doing crappy. Then I finally went to them and said something was wrong. My mom (Sandy), who’s a registered nurse, said, ‘Let’s go see what’s wrong.’ Tests for mononucleosis were negative. Further examinations discovered an ulcer, caused by a pain medication Euteneier had been taking since undergoing knee operations in March of 2001. “I was supposed to take two per day,” Euteneier said. “I’d take a few more on (basketball) game days so my knees wouldn’t hurt.” Euteneier replaced the drug with other pills (vitamins, iron supplements and stomach pills) to soothe his stomach and boost his energy level. He also got two units of blood through a transfusion in January. “The next day we had a game — and I had a great game,” said Euteneier, whose hemoglobin dropped from its normal level of 180 to 84 at the height of his sickness. “Ever since, I’ve felt great. Every once in a while, I get tired, but I get my blood checked right away. (The hemoglobin count) is steadily going up. It’s 130 now. My doctor told me I shouldn’t play. He said, ‘It’s bad for your health.’ I said, ‘I don’t care. I’m going to play.’ It’s my Grade 12 year; I have to play.” The Raiders also included Sean Gottschall.
In the other quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Saskatoon Aden Bowman Bears dumped the 6th-seeded Swift Current Colts 85-77. The Bears trailed for most of the affair, struggling turnovers, poor shot selection and dismal marksmanship. Swift Current led 9-0 early, 44-43 at half, and was within striking distance the rest of the way, but Bowman persevered, got big shots from Cody Dyck and Andrew Spagrud down the stretch. “When we miss our first seven shots and they come out on fire, you know it’s going to be a tough night,” Bowman coach Paul Humbert told the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. “Our team’s always given the effort. Our decision making wasn’t good tonight, but the effort was there and that was huge.” Bowman guard Landon McPhee said “we were a little rushed and a little flat. It took us a while to get going.” Humbert said the wake-up came in the for three dunks by grade 11 forward Spagrud, including a two-hander over a Colt defender, a left-handed jam, and a one-hander. “It’s tough to say a play in the first half won the game, but Spags woke us up. When you’re playing a team that’s fearless, that’s tough to go against. They had no conscience and we haven’t seen a team come at us like that.” Bowman built a 68-57 lead but the Colts rallied within one with five minutes to play. “They were unbelievable. They just kept coming at us,” said McPhee. “At times, we felt uneasy by that, but I don’t think we ever thought we’d lose the game. We stayed confident, even when we weren’t playing our best.”
In the semis, the 2nd-seeded Regina city champion Dr. Martin LeBoldus Golden Suns defeated the 3rd-seeded Saskatoon Aden Bowman Bears 82-60. The difference was a 29-10 Suns run over the first 12 minutes of the second half which swelled a 43-35 lead to 72-45. “We just weren’t playing our game,” Bowman forward Andrew Spagrud told the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. “Too many turnovers, we weren’t aggressive. We did it to ourselves.” Jordan Kozey was on fire for LeBoldus, and their 1-3-1 zone defence, with long-limbed Tommy Elliott at the top, wreaked havoc on Bowman’s offence. The teams traded the lead 11 times in the first half before a late Golden Suns surge gave them a 43-35 lead at the break. LeBoldus then went to a 1-3-1 zone early in the second half which bamboozled the Bears. Aden Bowman didn’t score for seven minutes (an Andrew Spagrud free throw ended that streak) and didn’t have a field goal for nine minutes (a Spagrud layup ended that skid). By then the LeBoldus lead had grown to 70-44. “When we readjusted our defence, that’s what really stepped it up for us,” said Riley Loffler, who had 11 points. “The other thing was our secondary players came through for us. … Getting here is something I’ve wanted to do since elementary school. After winning the city championship, we’ve been on an emotional high. This is my Grade 12 year. To have a chance at winning city and provincial titles means everything to me.” Jordan Kozey led the Golden Suns with 27. Spagrud paced the Bears with 31.
In the other semi, the 4th-seeded Regina Balfour Redmen stunned the top-seeded Saskatoon Holy Cross Crusaders 83-74. The Crusaders led 33-18 early, but the Redmen started to crash the boards and dominated the boards. Holy Cross’s lead, which was built largely due to three-point shooting from Patrick Trumpy, Jordan Harbidge and Kevin Hollman, was trimmed to 38-36 by halftime, and the Redmen’s physical play inside wore the Crusaders down. “They’ve got some real physical kids,” Crusaders coach Barry Rawlyk told the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. “It was a question of how much banging (the officials) were going to allow. It was a paradox for us . . . they let the kids play, but we had a lot of guys in foul trouble. I guess that’s basketball.” Karl Schubach scored 21 and nabbed 20 boards for the Redmen. Levi Vann added 15. “For some reason, we always get off to a slow start,” Schubach told the Regina Leader-Post. “It takes us a while to get our wheels going. Once we do, wonderful things happen.” The Redmen pulled to within 38-36 by halftime and took the lead for good on a Mike Euteneier bucket 8.5 minutes into the second half. Patrick Trumpy led Holy Cross with 19 points. Schubach said that “we wanted the (city championship) more than the provincials. It was more important to us. But we’re glad we’re here — and we’re glad we’ve got another shot at LeBoldus.”
In the bronze medal match, the 3rd-seeded Saskatoon Aden Bowman Bears defeated the top-seeded Saskatoon Holy Cross Crusaders 77-65 as Adam Patola scored 24. Bowman gained a small measure of revenge from its city final loss to Holy Cross. “This is a nice way to finish up the year,” Bowman’s Adam Patola, who scored 24, told the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. “We shot the ball pretty well and played some good defence.” Matthew Lichtenwald paced the Crusaders with 15. The Crusaders (coached by Barry Rawlyk, assistant Gerge Antonopoulos) also included Patrick Trumpy, Kevin Hoffman, Adam Wilchuk, Tyler (Jason?) Sander, Brett Boechler, Gregg Bowes, Jordan Harbidge, Thomas Irving, Michael Lichtenwald, Kirk Styles, Chad Williams, Darron Williams and David Larson.
In the final, the Regina Balfour Redmen defeated the Regina Dr. Martin LeBoldus Golden Suns 91-76 despite finishing the regular season in fifth place in the Regina league and an 85-69 loss to the Suns in the city final. Levi Vann led Balfour with 36 points. Jordan Kozey led the Suns with 20. Balfour coach Glen Fekula told the Regina Leader-Post that it was “a sweet victory over a really good team,” the school’s first in two years. The Redmen had lost to the Golden Suns in the Regina city finals. “This definitely makes up for that. There’s a lot more focus on the city championship, but this is a provincial championship. It means you’ve won your last game of the season. There were six teams here — and we’re the gold medalists.” Fekula said the squad got off to a slow start on the season. “The players don’t know this, but I had a good feeling about this team. We had good post players, a good shooter and a good point guard. We had all the ingredients of a championship team. It was just a matter of executing and playing good defence.” Guard Levi Vann noted that “actions speak louder than words. We definitely don’t suck. We all knew the potential was there. It was just a matter of bonding together and getting the job done.” Vann scored 22 in the first half. Forward Karl Schubach then took over in the second half, during which he scored 20 of his 28 points. It seemed Schubach got the ball down low on every second-half possession as Balfour easily handled the Suns’ 1-3-1 zone. “All the credit goes to Mr. Fekula,” said Schubach, who nabbed 19 boards. “We had a practice (Saturday). He took 10 minutes and said, ‘I’ve got something. This will work.’ He wanted to attack down low — and it worked.” The Redmen never trailed. They led 50-38 at halftime and kept a comfortable advantage for the early part of the second half before LeBoldus rallied. The Golden Suns got to within 75-72 with 5:37 left to play and had a chance to tie on their next possession, but they turned over the ball. Vann then scored the game’s next five points and the outcome was sealed as the Redmen iced it at the line. “We knew we had it,” Vann said. “Everybody kept their composure. Losing our heads wasn’t an option.” Sheldon Bruce added 20 for LeBoldus. “It was the last game of my high school career,” said Kozey. “You want to win, but so do they. I’m just happy to be part of the high school scene. I looked around at the crowd and all the fans were cheering for everybody. It was a good game. I’m just happy to have been here.” Vann told the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix that “cities are forgotten. We’re the best in the province. We’ve lost six or seven straight to them, but we always thought we could beat them. It was only a matter of time, and this was our time.”
The bronze medalist Saskatoon Aden Bowman Bears: Andrew Spagrud; Adam Patola; Cody Dyck; Landon MacPhee; Nishant Batta; Mike Butler; Mike Dempsey; Tom Harrington; Mike Hoffman; Todd Rendall; Brennan Rusnell; Jordan Wan; coach Paul Humbert; assistant Trevor McLeod; manager Katie Richardson
The silver medalist Regina Dr. Martin LeBoldus Golden Suns: Jordan Kozey; Tommy Elliott; Sheldon Bruce; Riley Loffler; Matt Womack; coach Dale Holmes; assistant Scott Goebel; assistant Dave Hambleton;
The gold medalist Regina Balfour Redmen: Levi Vann; Mike Euteneier; Teale Orban; Nebo Kostic; Tyler Syhlonyk; Sven Talic; Charlie McCrystal; Henok Berhe; Nick Brown; Scott Larrivee; Chris Vukman; Chris Pineda; coach Glen Fekula; assistant Brad Fekula; assistant Rob Thomson; assistant Scott Babcock; trainer Selena Holdsman; trainer Roberta McAfee-Hasz