In the opening round: …………………………………………………… The Caronport Cougars stomped the Humboldt Mohawks 91-31 as Trevor Nerdahl scored 17, Kenton Braun 14 and Matt Adams 13. T. Schantz led Humboldt with 7. J. Hay added 6 and D. Bildfell 6. …………………………………………………… The Meadow Lake Carpenter Spartans dumped the Yorkton Sacred Heart Saints 57-48 as M. Sarauer scored 16, T. Friedrich 12 and J. Karpenko 11. J. Wintonyk led Sacred Heart with 17. C. Monette added 11 and T. Chornomud 9. …………………………………………………… The Regina Usher Unicorns defeated the Rosetown Royals 72-56 after leading 34-23 at the half. Diphile Iradukunda and Tyler Gunstenson each scored 17 to lead Usher. Brett Gray notched 16 for Rosetown. …………………………………………………… The Lumsden Devils clipped the Melfort Comets 74-65 after leading 32-31 at the half. Reece Thue paced Lumsden with 21. Darren Taylor led Melfort with 31. The Comets also included Brendan Holaday. …………………………………………………… The Moose Jaw Vanier Vikings defeated the Warman Wolverines 74-61. …………………………………………………… The North Battleford John Paul II Crusaders dumped the Regina F.W. Johnson Wildcats 75-53. Wildcats included Travis Williams, Tom Perras, David Kassatz, Shaun Hodgkinson, Shae Thomas, Ian Peras. …………………………………………………… The Greenall Balgonie Griffins waxed the Nipawin L.P. Miller Bears 66-36 as Adam Kehler scored 21. Gabby Morrow paced the Bears with 9. …………………………………………………… The Moose Jaw Central Cyclones defeated the Regina Martin Monarchs 79-64 ad Dylan Barker scored 28. Shawn Kary led Regina Martin with 29. The Monarchs (coached by Paul McGregor) also included Brad Ferguson, Trevor Tetzlaff, Jan Haw, Blayne Morrow.
In the quarterfinals, the Caronport Cougars defeated the Meadow Lake Carpenter Spartans 72-56 as Trevor Nerdahl scored 24, Matt Adams 21 and Dan Jensen 10. J. Karpenko led Meadow Lake with 14. T. Friedrich and M. Sarauer each added 13.
The Regina Usher Unicorns defeated the Lumsden Devils 64-54 despite trailing 25-22 at the half. Tyler Gunstenson led Usher with 18. Dan Linka paced Lumsden with 15. The Devils also included Eric Hicks, Reece Thue, Charlie Sanderson.
The Moose Jaw Vanier Vikings stomped the North Battleford John Paul II Crusaders 68-48.
In the last quarterfinal, the Balgonie Greenall Griffins clipped the Moose Jaw Central Cyclones 63-54. The Cyclones included Dylan Chute, Jeff Kits, Ryan Mepham.
In the semis, the Caronport Cougars edged the Regina Usher Unicorns 63-59 as Trevor Nerdahl scored 30. Matt Adams added 12. Jon Atcheson led Usher with 16. “We just knew Trevor was going to be in a box-and-one,” Cougars coach Gib Hinz told the Moose Jaw Times-Herald. “We were getting open looks and the guys were tentative to put it up. We had to use all our time-outs to kick the guys in the pants to get them to shoot. And if we miss, we rebound.” Matt Adams hit four treys in the third quarter. As for Nerdahl, Hinz said, “even when they tie him up, he ends up with 30. Our defence picked it up. We had some good steals and we flustered Usher.” Dan Jensen added eight rebounds for the Cougars.
In the other semi, the Moose Jaw Vanier Vikings spanked the Balgonie Greenall Griffins 57-40. The Vikings broke open a tight match in the final quarter. Tylan Fraser led Vanier with 21. Billy McGrath added 15 and Travis Livingston 13. Parker Butterfield led the Griffins with 11. “It’s unbelievable,” Vikings coach Ned Andreoni told the Moose Jaw Times-Herald. The Vikings took command with a 17-4 run in the fourth quarter. “We had a good fourth quarter,” said Andreoni. “We shot pretty good from the outside. Cody Bourdages and Caleb Buckingham each made some big baskets for us late in the game. Those shots gave us a good cushion.” The Vikings struggled early after post Quinn Murphy quickly got in foul trouble. “Quinn got three fouls in the first two minutes he was out there. He plays equal time with Adam (Leptich) so that put us in some trouble.”
In the bronze medal match, the Balgonie Greenall Griffins crushed the Regina Usher Unicorns 54-41. Taylor Fuchs broke open a close affair in the fourth quarter. Tyler Gunstenson led the Usher will solid play in the post. Parker Butterfield and Tanner Dunlop each notched 13 for Balgonie. Diphile Iradukunda led Usher with 14. The Unicorns (coached by Ryan Josephson) also included Justin Eiswirth, Tyler Gunstenson, Jason Janssen, Jon Atcheson, Rory Fletcher.
In the final, the Moose Jaw Vanier Vikings defeated the Caronport Cougars 88-78 in overtime. Trevor Nerdahl paced Caronport with 55 points. “It was pretty crazy but we lost so it didn’t feel as great as it normally would,” Nerdahl told the Regina Leader-Post. “I had no idea. I thought I only had 30 points but at the end of the game, everyone told me. I was like, ‘holy cow!’. I was into the game and I wanted to win so I didn’t really think about how many points I actually scored. When I look back in a few weeks or months or years, I’ll probably be more proud of it than right now. Right now, I’m pretty upset we lost.” Coach Gib Hinz said Nerdahl “has been a special player. He arrived in Caronport last year (from Elmira, Ont.) and I think he just got his feet wet. This year, we’ve just jumped on his shoulders and hung on to his coattails – whatever cliché you want to use. He has had some spectacular moments.” Hinz also said Vanier deserved a win, after years of serving as a punching bag. Several of the Vikings had attended his basketball camp at Briercrest. “So here I’ve spent a lot of time every summer teaching them how to win a provincial championship and what do we do? We hand them one. They’re really good boys. It was kind of fun to watch the kids that you’ve worked with during the summer. All of a sudden, you’re playing against them and going through the congratulatory handshakes and looking them in the eye. I thought: ‘man, I shouldn’t have taught you so well’. Ned Andreoni, their coach, is just a tremendous guy. I’m really pleased he’s wearing the gold this year.” Vanier led by 13 heading into the final quarter but Caronport rallied to an eight-point lead with two minutes to play. Caleb Buckingham hit a free throw to force overtime and in the extra session, the Vikings dominated. “It’s a great feeling for them,” said Andreoni. “It’s a great group that put it all together.” Tylan Fraser led the Vikings with 25.
The bronze medalist Balgonie Greenall Griffins: Adam Kehler; Parker Butterfield; Egiroh Omene; Taylor Fuchs; Tanner Dunlop; Dane Waldahl; coach Darcy McKeown
The silver medalist Caronport Cougars: Dan Stonechild; Kevin Vallinga; Trevor Nerdahl; Warren Moffat; Dan Guenter; Ory Hagan; Eric Hammerschick; Kenton Braun; Matt Adams; Dan Jensen; Mike Ellergodt; Chad Verity; coach Gib Hinz; assistant Ryan Wiesner; assistant Jon Thiessen; assistant Gene Wolverton; statistician Amy Larson
The gold medalist Moose Jaw Vanier Vikings: Tylan Fraser; Bill McGrath; Caleb Buckingham; Quinn Murphy; Adam Leptich; Cody Bourdages; Travis Livingston; coach Ned Andreoni