| POOL A | SASK | ONT | NB | NFLD | ALTA | Record | ||
| Saskatchewan | —– | 73-66 | 64-56 | 84-47 | 83-76 | (4-0) | ||
| Ontario | 66-73 | —– | 92-55 | 130-50 | 104-66 | (3-1) | ||
| New Brunswick | 56-64 | 55-92 | —– | 78-55 | 69-59 | (2-2) | ||
| Newfoundland | 47-84 | 50-130 | 55-78 | —– | 81-75 | (1-3) | ||
| Alberta | 76-83 | 66-104 | 59-69 | 75-81 | —– | (0-4) | ||
| POOL B | BC | QUE | NS | MAN | PEI | Record | ||
| British Columbia | —– | 86-80 | 73-41 | 81-73 | 75-38 | (4-0) | ||
| Quebec | 80-86 | —– | 71-55 | 102-89 | 80-45 | (3-1) | ||
| Nova Scotia | 41-73 | 55-71 | —– | 67-64 | 78-59 | (2-2) | ||
| Manitoba | 73-81 | 89-102 | 64-67 | —– | 69-46 | (1-3) | ||
| Prince Edward Island | 38-75 | 45-80 | 59-78 | 46-69 | —– | (0-4) | ||
| Semi | Quebec 64 Saskatchewan 60 | |
| Semi | Ontario 57 British Columbia 56 | |
| 9th | Alberta 64 Prince Edward Island 42 | |
| 7th | Manitoba 77 Newfoundland & Labrador 74 | |
| 5th | Nova Scotia 54 New Brunswick 53 | |
| Bronze | Saskatchewan 53 British Columbia 50 | |
| Final | Ontario 73 Quebec 63 | |
In the nationally televised pool A opener, held in Regina as part of the Canada Summer Games, host Saskatchewan stunned Ontario 73-66 before a rabid crowd of 2,000. “It was a nice energy to walk into,” said Saskatchewan coach James Hillis. “You don’t even get that at university. At that point, there was only about 600 people there and they were all screaming and you kind of get a little tingly. It was nice for the guys to get that.” Saskatchewan led 34-20 at the half. Kai Williams paced Saskatchewan with 22. Chris Bodnar added 17, Kolten Solonon 13, Marc van Burck 6, David Neufeld 6, Kris Heshka 6 and Paul Gareau 3, while Lance Aldcorn, Zlatan Cilimdzic, Rory Kohlert, Tinashe Mutswangwa were scoreless. Darryl Smith led Ontario with 11. Jordan Henry added 9, Alex Johnson 9, Ian Francis-Ambrose 8, David Joseph 8, Devin Brennan-McBride 7, Scott Brittain 7, Ashly July 5, Nutshi Lukusa 2, Tshing Kasamba 0, Zachary Nagtzaam 0 and Alexander Veit 0. “Our challenge is, this is not the biggest game of the tournament and we don’t want this to be the highlight,” said Saskatchewan coach James Hillis. “We’re excited. We’re happy that we won. That’s the goal, to win and put your best game on the floor. But … and it’s a huge but. This is just one game. There are some excellent teams left to play. We felt we had to approach all these games with as much focus and attention on one opponent as the next. I think we did that.” Kai Williams said Saskatchewan benefited greatly from the local support. “It’s a home-town crowd so it’s easy to feed off them.” Chris Bodnar called it “unbelievable. Any time you can play in your home town, especially with so many guys from Regina (on the team), nothing beats that.” It was a historic victory for Saskatchewan, which hadn’t beaten Ontario since the 1989 Games in Saskatoon. “This game was broadcast on CBC so everybody was nervous but we were well-prepared for the game,” said Williams. “They’re a great opponent so we had to put the nerves aside.” Bodnar said “obviously we knew how strong Ontario is. We watched film, we prepared, got the X’s and O’s done. The preparation was there. It was just a matter of going out and playing.” Saskatchewan executed its game plan with the skill of a surgeon. The home side also won some key battles within the game, in particular a 46-45 rebounding advantage against a bigger, more athletic opponent. “It’s a big win,” Williams continued. “We might rarely beat them but, when it comes down to it, it doesn’t matter who you play. This is the Canada Games, so we have to win. If Ontario was one of those wins then that’s great because they’re a great opponent and that shows we’re coming up to their level.” …………………………………………………… Ontario whipped Newfoundland & Labrador 130-50 after leading 64-23 at the half. Ontario rebounded Newfoundland 77-25 and hit 19-31 from the line, while Newfoundland was 11-18. Ian Francis-Ambrose led Ontario with 20. David Joseph added 18, Devin Brennan-McBride 12, Alex Johnson 12, Darryl Smith 12, Ashly July 12, Tshing Kasamba 11, Mutshi Lukusa 9, Jordan Henry 8, Alexander Veit 8, Scott Brittain 4 and Zachary Nagtzaam 4. Stephen Singleton led Newfoundland and Labrador with 10. Cody Langdon added 8, Chad Warren 8, Michael Mutrey 7, Michael Barbour 6, Mark Noseworthy 5, Mark Shave 4 and Greg O’Brien 2, while Mark Abbott, Andrew Daley, Matthew Fox and Justin Penney were scoreless. …………………………………………………… New Brunswick dumped Alberta after leading 69-59 at the half. New Brunswick out-rebounded Alberta 44-43, while hitting 19-27 from the line. Alberta was 17-22 from the line. Elliott Thompson paced New Brunswick with 20. Andrew Wright added 14, Josh Graham 12, Graeme Scott 9, Stephen Bohan 3, Mitchell McQuade 3, Manny Wilby 3, Alexander Desroches 2 and Justin Conn 1, while Kennedy Coleman-Eustance, Adam Creaghan and Ryan MacPherson were scoreless. Terrence Blake led Alberta with 12. Tyler Fidler added 10, Chris Giles 8, Christopher Unsowrth 7, Christopher Tron 6, Quinn VanGaalen 6, Gregg Frankson 5, Thomas Pearson 2, Reed Siemieniuk 2 and James Suderman 2, while Landon Lonsberry and Devon Wannop were scoreless. …………………………………………………… Newfoundland & Labrador edged Alberta 81-75 after leading 39-29 at the half. Newfoundland out-rebounded Alberta 54-41 and hit 24/35 from the line, while Alberta was 9-22. Stephen Singleton led Newfoundland with 17. Michael Barbour added 15, Cody Langdon 12, Matthew Fox 9, Chad Warren 9, Justin Penney 6, Greg O’Brien 4, Michael Mutrey 3, Mark Noseworthy 2 and Mark Shave 2, while Mark Abbott and Andrew Daley were scoreless. Tyler Fidler led Alberta with 23. Terrence Blake added 19, Quinn VanGaalen 8, Christopher Tron 7, Landon Lonsberry 5, Gregg Frankson 3, James Suderman 3, Chris Giles 2 and Christopher Unsworth 2, while Thomas Pearson, Reed Siemieniuk and Devon Wannop were scoreless. …………………………………………………… Saskatchewan defeated New Brunswick 64-56 after leading 32-26 at the half. Saskatchewan out-rebounded New Brunswick 40-33 and hit 15-28 from the line, while New Brunswick as 13-16. Chris Bodnar paced Saskatchewan with 17. Lance Aldcorn added 10, Kai Williams 9, Paul Gareau 8, Kris Heshka 7, Kolten Solomon 5, David Neufeld 4 and Marc van Burck 4, while Zlatan Cilimdzic, Rob Fry, Rory Kohlert and Tinashe Mutswangwa were scoreless. Andrew Wright led New Brunswick with 20. Graeme Scott added 16, Justin Conn 7, Josh Graham 5, Elliot Thompson 5 and Alexander Desroches 3, while Stephen Bohan, Kennedy Coleman-Eustace, Adam Creaghan, Ryan MacPherson, Mitchell McQuade and Manny Wilby were scoreless. The defence rests. “We are playing good defence, which is great,” said coach James Hillis. “I have to start reading some books because I’m not used to coaching these kind of scores. But when you get into these (close) games you have to play defence because not every shot is going to go in. We missed a couple layups, we had a tough time at the free-throw line, things like that. But you still need to win the game. A win is a win in round-robin and, boy, you take ’em all. I think this one brought us back down to earth. We were flying pretty high with Ontario and it’s tough to not (have a letdown).” Saskatchewan led by as much as 11 points in the first half and took a 32-26 lead into the break. New Brunswick held its only lead of the night — a one-point margin — early in the first quarter but Regina’s Lance Aldcorn came off the bench and ignited his squad with 10 points, including two three-pointers. New Brunswick, which relied almost exclusively on its perimeter game, stayed close thanks to the hot hand of Andrew Wright and Graeme Scott. “There are some offensive execution things that we have to do better,” said Hillis. “Where we did a bad job is, we allowed a tremendous defensive team which is possibly the scrappiest team I’ve ever seen — and I mean that in a positive way — to get into a tempo that we’re not very good at. On the positive side, it’s nice to not do everything perfectly and still win.” …………………………………………………… New Brunswick shredded Newfoundland & Labrador 78-55 after leading 39-18 at the half. New Brunswick out-rebounded Newfoundland 39-36 and hit 12-20 from the line, while Newfoundland as 20-29. Elliot Thompson paced New Brunswick with 23. Graeme Scott added 12, Adam Creaghan 9, Ryan MacPherson 8, Josh Graham 7, Kennedy Coleman-Eustace 5, Manny Wilby 5, Justin Conn 3, Stephen Bohan 2, Alexander Desroches 2 and Andrew Wright 2, while Mitchell McQuade was scoreless. Michael Barbour led Newfoundland with 14. Stephen Singleton added 11, Mark Noseworthy 10, Greg O’Brien 5, Cody Langdon 5, Chad Warren 4, Andrew Daley 2, Matthew Fox 2 and Michael Mutrey 2, while Mark Abbott, Justin Penney and Mark Shave were scoreless. …………………………………………………… Ontario squashed Alberta 104-66 after leading 60-30 at the half. Ontario out-rebounded Alberta 53-32 and hit 16-31 from the line, while Alberta was 19-27. David Joseph paced Ontario with 25. Scott Brittain added 15, Alex Johnson 12, Devin Brennan-McBridge 10, Mutshi Lukusa 9, Jordan Henry 9, Ashly July 8, Ian Francis-Ambrose 5, Zachary Nagtzaam 5, Tshing Kasamba 5, Darryl Smith 2 and Alexander Veit 0. Chris Giles led Alberta with 21. Tyler Fidler added 11, Terrence Blake 9, Quinn VanGaalen 5, James Suderman 4, Thomas Pearson 3, Reed Siemieniuk 3, Christopher Tron 2 and Landon Lonsberry 2, while Gregg Frankson, Christopher Unsworth and Devon Wannop were scoreless. …………………………………………………… Saskatchewan tripped Alberta 83-76 despite trailing 46-40 at the half. Saskatchewan out-rebounded Alberta 42-35 and hit 22-31 from the line, while Alberta was 15-20. Kris Heshka led Saskatchewan with 15. Kolten Solomon added 14, Chris Bodnar 13, Paul Gareau 12, Kai Williams 12, Marc van Burck 6, David Neufeld 3, Lance Aldcorn 3, Zlatan Cilimdzic 2, Tinashe Mutswangwa 2, Rob Fry 1 and Rory Kohlert 0. Terrence Blake and Quinn VanGaalen each scored 20 to lead Alberta. Gregg Frankson added 9, Thomas Pearson 5, Christopher Unsworth 6, Christopher Tron 5, Reed Siemieniuk 5, Tyler Fidler 2, James Suderman 2 and Chris Giles 1, while Landon Lonsberry and Devon Wannop were scoreless. Kolten Solomen scored 7 to key a 13-0 run in the four quarter to lead Saskatchewan to the win. “That was our biggest game of the tournament,” offered Solomon, a 16-year-old guard from Regina. “This is a blast. The other players are getting me comfortable. My confidence is up. They’re giving me support. It’s all them.” The hot-shooting Albertans were lights-out from three-point range, hitting seven of 15 shots from beyond the arc as they took a 46-40 lead into halftime. “Everyone expected this game to be the game — winner goes to the medal round,” noted Saskatchewan coach James Hillis. “I think for them, they were just going, ‘Hey, we’re playing for pride, we’re playing in front of the biggest crowd we’re going to play in front of in this tournament. This is our medal round game.’ Hats off to them. They just did an outstanding job shooting the basketball.” Alberta’s first-half effort proved to be the wakeup call Saskatchewan needed. “I guess we got scared as a team and played harder,” noted Solomon. “We didn’t want to lose.” Saskatchewan tightened up its defence in the second half and Alberta’s shooters went cold as Saskatchewan re-took the lead on the final shot of the frame to go up 56-55. The home side didn’t look back as it outscored Alberta 27-21 in a dominant fourth-quarter effort. “Our guys were kind of upset with ourselves (in the first half),” explained Hillis. “We thought there were a couple things we could do (defensively) and it didn’t work. We don’t have a hundred points in our guns. We just don’t have it. We didn’t do a good job covering their shooters. We made some adjustments in the second half to take that way.” …………………………………………………… Ontario throttled New Brunswick 92-55 after leading 45-28 at the half. Ontario out-rebounded New Brunswick 44-19 and hit a perfect 16-16 from the line, while New Brunswick was 12-14. Ashly July led Ontario with 16. Ian Francois-Ambrose added 14, Jordan Henry 12, Devin Brennan-McBride 12, Mutshi Lukusa 12, Darryl Smith 6, David Joseph 6, Scott Brittain 4, Alex Johnson 4, Zachary Nagtzaam 4, Alexander Veit 2 and Tshing Kasamba 0. Andrew Wright and Manny Wilby each scored 11 to lead New Brunswick. Graeme Scott added 10, Stephen Bohan 8, Elliot Thompson 6, Josh Graham 6 and Ryan MacPherson 3, while Kennedy Coleman-Eustace, Justin Conn, Adam Creaghan, Alexander Desroches and Mitchell McQuade were scoreless. …………………………………………………… Saskatchewan stomped Newfoundland & Labrador 84-47 after leading 44-21 at the half. Saskatchewan out-rebounded Newfoundland 47-24 and hit 10-19 from the line, while Newfoundland was 7-18. Lance Aldcorn led Saskatchewan with 19. Kris Heshka added 12, Tinashe Mutswangwa added 11, Zlatan Cilimdzic 9, Rory Kohlert 9, David Neufeld 8, Kai Williams 7, Marc van Burck 6, Paul Gareau 2, Kolten Solomon 1, Rob Fry 1 and Chris Bodnar 0. Chad Warren paced Newfoundland with 12. Andrew Daley added 10, Michael Mutrey 10, Mark Shave 5, Mark Noseworthy 4, Greg O’Brien 4 and Michael Barbour 2, while Mark Abbott, Matthew Fox, Cody Langdon, Justin Penney and Stephen Singleton were scoreless. “I think we’ve definitely gotten better; we’ve elevated our game,” offered Saskatchewan forward Tinashe Mustwangwa. “Coming into this whole thing, we were focused. We knew what we were capable of. It was just a matter of proving to other people that we could be the team that we’re becoming now.” The 84-point effort was Saskatchewan’s largest offensive output of the tournament — and it did it without a few of the usual suspects. None of the team’s starters played more than 15 minutes as Hillis utilized his entire bench. The players responded with some impressive individual performances. “It’s important to be confident,” said Aldcorn, who continued his red-hot shooting with a 5-for-7 effort from three-point land. “This wasn’t our biggest game so we’re really looking forward to Quebec. I don’t think about (having a letdown). We just have to look forward to the next game, try to be as prepared as possible and win it.” Coach James Hillis said “we played hard and got some good contributions off the bench. We have a couple guys nicked up, as does every team in this tournament, so we needed guys off the bench to make a good contribution.”
In pool B round-robin play: …………………………………………………… British Columbia stomped Nova Scotia 73-41 after leading 27-21 at the half. BC out-rebounded Nova Scotia 49-20, while hitting 18-30 from the line. Nova Scotia was 9-16. Robert Sacre paced British Columbia with 16. Brent Malish added 13, Braydon Janzen 11, Doug Plumb 9, Calvin Westbrook 6, Scott Leigh 5, Alex Murphy 4, Graham Bath 3, Michael Berg 3, Jordan Mara 2 and Eric Casey 1, while Connor Agnew was scoreless. Tremaine Fraser paced Nova Scotia with 8. Juleous Grant added 7, Casey Fox 6, Ben Johnson 5, Patrick McIver 5, Mike Poole 4, John David Howlett 2, Jonathan MacLanders 2 and Luke Reynolds 2, while Andreas Franz, Jeremiah Goree and Demar Parsons were scoreless. …………………………………………………… Quebec crushed Prince Edward Island 80-45 after leading 31-21 at the half. Quebec out-rebounded PEI 36-25 and hit 16-17 from the line, while PEI was 10-18. Lofulo-Etoile Imama led Quebec with 17. Kristopher Joseph added 16, Anaclet Mulumba Mbayi 8, Olivier Champagne-Parent 8, Max Zuyderhoof Craig 8, Francis Martel 6, Nicolas Dahito 4, Rigo Katahwa 4, Robinson Odoch-Opong 3, Timotey A. Lachance 2, Samuel Emond 2 and Michael Pauze Flannery 2. Steven Hardy paced PEI with 11. Zaq White added 6, Mitch Eamer 6, Jacob Ayangma 5, Brandon Watters 5, Robert McSwain 4, Greg Wright 3, Tim Butler 2, Matthew Nobles 2 and Alex Stevenson 1, while Jeremy Coffin and Evan Heckbert were scoreless. …………………………………………………… Quebec edged Manitoba 102-89 after leading 53-41 at the half. Quebec out-rebounded Manitoba 39-37 and hit 29-36 from the line, while Manitoba was 24/34. Kristopher Joseph paced Quebec with 21. Max Zuyderhoff Craig added 19, Lofulo-Etoile Imama 15, Michael Pauze Flannery 10, Samuel Emond 10, Robinson Odoch-Opong 6, Olivier Champagne-Parent 6, Anaclet Mulumba Mbayi 4, Timotey A-Lachance 4, Nicolas Dahito 4 and Rigo Katahwa 3, while Francis Martel was scoreless. James Horaska led Manitoba with 25. Nick Lother added 15, Daniel Lother 14, Michael James 10, Jordan Nostedt 6, Peter Lomuro 6, Michael Smalley 5, Daniel Purvis-Collins 3, Michael Hebert 3, Craig Sharpe 2 and Benjamin Kingdon 2, while Abraham Daniels was scoreless. …………………………………………………… British Columbia thrashed Prince Edward Island 75-39 after leading 40-22 at the half. BC out-rebounded PEI 48-27 and hit 12-13 from the line, while PEI was 9-16. Calvin Westbrook paced British Columbia with 19. Brent Malish added 16, Michael Berg 8, Doug Plumb 8, Robert Sacre 8, Scott Leigh 5, Connor Agnew 5, Eric Casey 2, Braydon Janzen 2 and Alex Murphy 2, while Graham Bath and Jordan Mara were scoreless. Steven Hardy, Zaq White and Greg Wright each scored 9 to pace PEI. Tim Butler added 5, Jacob Ayangma added 4, Matthew Nobles 2 and Mitch Eamer 1, while Jeremy Coffin, Evan Heckbert, Robert McSwain, Alex Stevenson and Brandon Watters were scoreless. …………………………………………………… British Columbia edged Quebec 86-80 after leading 35-29 at the half. British Columbia out-rebounded Quebec 38-29 and hit 29-32 from the line, while Quebec was 13-23. Calvin Westbrook paced British Columbia with 25. Brent Malish added 12, Alex Murphy 11, Robert Sacre 11, Doug Plumb 10, Braydon Janzen 9, Eric Casey 6 and Michael Berg 2, while Connor Agnew 0, Graham Bath 0, Scott Leigh 0 and Jordan Mara 0. Kristopher Joseph paced Quebec with 30. Samuel Emond added 13, Lofulo-Etoile Imama 13, Max Zuyderhoff Craig 8, Timotey A.Lachance 5, Olivier Champagne-Parent 3, Anaclet Mulumba Mbayi 3, Michael Pauze Flannery 3 and Francis Martel 2, while Nicolas Dahito, Rigo Katahwa and Robinson Odoch-Opong were scoreless. …………………………………………………… Nova Scotia nipped Manitoba 67-64 after leading 38-27 at the half. Manitoba out-rebounded Nova Scotia 52-44 and hit 11-17 from the line, while Nova Scotia was 17-34. Patrick McIver led Nova Scotia with 16. Mike Poole added 15, Juleous Grant 12, Tremaine Fraser 8, Luke Reynolds 7, Jeremiah Goree 5, John David Howlett 2, Casey Fox 1 and Ben Johnson 1, while Andreas Franz, Demar Parsons and Jonathan MacLanders were scoreless. Nick Lother paced Manitoba with 22. Michael Hebert added 12, Peter Lomuro 11, Michael James 9, Daniel Lother 4, Jordan Nostedt 4 and James Horaska 2, while Abraham Daniels, Benjamin Kingdon, Daniel Purvis-Collins, Craig Sharpe and Michael Smalley were scoreless. …………………………………………………… Quebec clipped Nova Scotia 71-55 after leading 42-22 at the half. Quebec out-rebounded Nova Scotia 44-34 and hit 20-34 from the line, while Nova Scotia was 8-13. Francis Martel paced Quebec with 15. Lofulo-Etoile Imama added 13, Kristopher Joseph 12, Anaclet Mulumba Mbayi 11, Max Zuyderhoff Craig 7, Michael Pauze Flannery 5, Robinson Odoch-Opong 4, Oliver Champagne-Parent 3 and Rigo Katawha 1, while Timotey A. Lachance, Nicolas Dahito and Samuel Emond were scoreless. Mike Poole paced Nova Scotia with 16. Juleous Grant added 10, Jonathan MacLanders 7, Patrick McIver 7, Jeremiah Goree 6, Demar Parsons 4, Luke Reynolds 3 and Tremaine Fraser 2, while Casey Fox, Andreas Franz, John David Howlett and Ben Johnson were scoreless. “It was a tough game,” said forward Jeremiah Goree. “They were an athletic team and we weren’t knocking down shots, so that caused problems.” …………………………………………………… Manitoba defeated Prince Edward Island 69-46 after leading 34-21 at the half. Manitoba out-rebounded PEI 42-30 and hit 8-15 from the line, while PEI was 7-12. Nick Lother paced Manitoba with 17. Michael Hebert added 12, Michael James 10, Daniel Purvis-Collins 8, Daniel Lother 7, James Horaska 4, Jordan Nostedt 3, Abraham Daniels 3, Craig Sharpe 2, Michael Smalley 2 Peter Lomuro 1 and Benjamin Kingdon 0. Matthew Nobles paced PEI with 15. Alex Stevenson added 8, Greg Wright 5, Brandon Watters 5, Steven Hardy 4, Zaq White 3, Robert McSwain 2, Jacob Ayangma 2 and Tim Butler 2, while Jeremy Coffin, Mitch Eamer and Evan Heckbert were scoreless. …………………………………………………… Nova Scotia pummeled Prince Edward Island 78-59 after leading 31-25 at the half. Nova Scotia out-rebounded PEI 35-31 and hit 11-14 from the line, while PEI was 15-25. Patrick McIver led Nova Scotia with 8. Mike Poole added 16, Luke Reynolds 12, Jonathan MacLanders 9, Jeremiah Goree 8, Tremaine Fraser 7, Casey Fox 3, Demar Parsons 3 and Andreas Franz 2, while Juleous Grant, John David Howlett and Ben Johnson were scoreless. Zaq White led PEI with 19. Greg Wright added 12, Matthew Nobles 8, Jacob Ayangma 7, Steven Hardy 7, Mitch Eamer 3, Brandon Watters 2 and Tim Butler 1, while Jeremy Coffin, Evan Heckbert, Robert McSwain and Alex Stevenson were scoreless. …………………………………………………… British Columbia defeated Manitoba 81-73 after leading 43-32 at the half. BC out-rebounded Manitoba 81-73 and hit 21-26 from the line, while Manitoba was 6-17. Michael Berg led British Columbia with 18. Doug Plumb added 12, Scott Leigh 11, Eric Casey 10, Brent Malish 9, Alex Murphy 9, Robert Sacre 5, Connor Agnew 3, Brandon Janzen 3 and Graham Bath 1, while Jordan Mara and Calvin Westbrook were scoreless. Nick Lother led Manitoba with 23. James Horaska added 18, Michael James 10, Michael Hebert 8, Peter Lomuro 4, Abraham Daniels 2, Benjamin Kingdon 2, Jordan Nostedt 2, Daniel Purvis-Collins 2 and Craig Sharpe 2, while Daniel Lother and Michael Smalley were scoreless.
In the semis, Quebec edged Saskatchewan 64-60 despite trailing 38-25 at the half. Quebec’s Michael Pauze Flannery hit a trio of treys in the final minute to sink the dagger in the hosts. “It’s an awesome feeling, especially with the crowd against me. That’s why you play. You play for yourself but when the crowd is against you, you know you have to step up your game. It’s motivation.” Flannery had missed his previous seven shots from the arc before going on the tear and scoring Quebec’s final 10 minutes in a span of 1:22. With Quebec trailing 58-54, he hit a trey with 1:53 to play. He added another 33 seconds later to give Quebec its first lead of the game. Kolten Solomon responded with a bucket to knot the score at 60 but Flanner hit a trey with 33.7 seconds remaining and then iced it with a free throw with 9.3 seconds on the clock. “I wasn’t really thinking about the missed shots,” said Flannery. “I was just shooting the ball. Once I hit the first one my confidence was up and I just let the next ones go.” Saskatchewan coach James Hillis said he was proud of his troops. “They played their hearts out. It’s a little bit of an empty feeling right now because I know they want to be in that game. It’s tough for me to watching them in that locker room and try to console them because I don’t have much to say.” Saskatchewan led by as many as 15 in the third quarter but went cold in the final frame. Kai Williams drilled a trey to give Saskatchewan a four-point lead with three minutes to play but then Flannery went to work. “It was a big shot to win the game and hats off to him for hitting it but I think if I would have gotten out there quicker it would have been different,” said Williams. “it’s not a great feeling right now. Playing for bronze will definitely be difficult for me but out teammates are great. They’re keeping their heads up so it won’t be too tough for us to come out and play that game.” Saskatchewan out-rebounded Quebec 48-39 and hit 5-14 from the line, while Quebec as 10-21. Kristopher Joseph led Quebec with 19. Lofulo-Etoile Imama added 11, Michael Pauze Flannery 10, Max Zuyderhoff Craig 6, Olivier Champagne-Parent 5, Samuel Emond 5, Francis Martel 3, Anaclet Mulumba Mbayi 3 and Robinson Odoch-Opong 2, while Timotey A. Lachance, Nicolas Dahito and Rigo Katahwa were scoreless. Kai Williams led Saskatchewan with 22. Paul Gareau added 11, Kolten Solomon 9, Kris Heshka 6, Tinashe Mutswanga 4, Marc van Burck 4, Lance Aldcorn 3 and Chris Bodnar 1, while Zlatan Cilimdzic, Rob Fry, Rory Kohlert and David Neufeld were scoreless. Quebec coach David King said he didn’t mine playing the heavy before 2,500 rabid fans supporting the hosts. ““That’s the best atmosphere I’ve seen in a long time. It’s more meaningful when they’re against you and you come up with the win in front of a crowd like that. But I’ll be honest. The people of Saskatchewan have been great. I think they’ve embraced all the athletes. They appreciate the effort.”
In the other semi, Ontario nipped British Columbia 57-56 despite trailing 36-27 at the half. British Columbia out-rebounded Ontario 39-36 and hit 3-4 from the line, while Ontario was 8-15. Devoe Joseph led Ontario with 13. Devin Brennan-McBride added 12, Carlyle Francis-Ambrose 11, Scott Britain 8, Ashly July 6, Dwayne Smith 5 and Jordan Henry 2, while Alex Johnson, Tshing Kasamba, Chretien Lukusa, Zachary Nagtzaam and Alexander Veit were scoreless. Brent Malish and Robert Sacre each scored 18 to lead BC. Eric Casey added 9, Calvin Westbrook 7, Michael Berg 2 and Alex Murphy 2, while Connor Agnew, Graham Bath, Braydon Janzen, Scott Leigh, Jordan Mara and Doug Plumb were scoreless.
In the ninth-place playoff, Alberta defeated Prince Edward Island 64-42 after leading 38-8 at the half. UPEI went on a 22-2 run to open the second half and make the final score vaguely respectable. Alberta (coached by Mike Connolly) out-rebounded PEI 44-34 and hit 14-21 from the line, while PEI was 12-22. Chris Giles led Alberta with 11. Devon Wannop added 10, James Suderman 7, Terrence Blake 6, Tyler Fidler 6, Reed Siemeniuk 5, Christopher Tron 5, Quinn Van Gaalen 5, Thomas Pearson 4, Christopher Unsworth 3, Gregg Frankson 2 and Landon Lonsberry 0. Jacob Ayangma led PEI with 16. Zaq White added 14, Tim Butler 5, Greg Wright 3, Mitch Eamer 3 and Alex Stevenson 1, while Jeremy Coffin, Steven Hardy, Evan Heckbert, Robert McSwain, Matthew Nobles and Brandon Watters were scoreless.
In the seventh-place match, Manitoba edged Newfoundland & Labrador 77-74 after leading 47-35 at the half. Manitoba out-rebounded Newfoundland 37-32 and hit 11-15 from the line, while Newfoundland was 27-34. Daniel Lother led Manitoba with 20. Michael James added 14, James Horaska 12, Benjamin Kingdon 10, Michael Hebert 8, Jordan Hostedt 8, Peter Lomuro 8, Abraham Daniels 3 and Michael Smalley 2, while Nick Lother, Daniel Purvis-Collins and Craig Sharpe were scoreless. Manitoba (coach Dan Becker, assistant Randy Kusano, manager Jeff Laping) also included Adam Dobriansky and Mike Mallin. Chad Warren led Newfoundland with 20. Michael Barbour added 16, Michael Mutrey 8, Andrew Daley 7, Matthew Fox 5, Mark Abbott 4, Greg O’Brien 4, Justin Penney 4, Cody Langdon 3, Mark Shave 2, Mark Noseworthy 1 and Stephen Singleton 0.
In the fifth-place match, Nova Scotia nipped New Brunswick 54-53 despite trailing 26-23 at the half. Both teams garnered 36 boards, while Nova Scotia hit 11-18 from the line and New Brunswick was 10-12. Patrick McIver led Nova Scotia with 11. Ben Johnson added 9, Juleous Grant 7, John David Howlett 6, Mike Poole 6, Tremaine Fraser 5, Jeremiah Goree 4, Luke Reynolds 3, Casey Fox 2, Jonathan MacLanders 2, Andreas Franz 0 and Demar Parsons 0. Graeme Scott paced New Brunswick with 12. Elliot Thompson added 10, Andrew Wright 8, Justin Conn 7, Josh Graham 6, Stephen Bohan 6, Kennedy Coleman-Eustace 2 and Manny Wilby 2, while Adam Creaghan, Alexander Desroches, Ryan MacPherson and Mitchell McQuade were scoreless. Patrick McIver drilled a pair of free throws with 40 seconds on the clock to give Nova Scotia the win. “Fifth place is huge for our team,” said McIver. “For next time, it really helped us get into a very winnable pool.”
In the bronze medal match, Saskatchewan edged British Columbia 53-50 despite trailing 29-21 at the half. Kolten Solomon nailed a three-pointer in the final seconds to give Saskatchewan the win. “it didn’t hit me right away,” Solomon said. “I didn’t any feeling at all. I was blank. I don’t even know what happened. I just shot the ball and it went int.” British Columbia out-rebounded Saskatchewan 33-29 and hit 8-12 from the line, while Saskatchewan was 18-26. Marc van Burck paced Saskatchewan with 15. Kolten Solomon added 12, Kai Williams 9, Paul Gareau 6, Kris Heshka 6 and Tinashe Mutswangwa 4, while Lance Aldcorn, Chris Bodnar, Zlatan Cilimdzic, Rob Fry, Rory Kohlert and David Neufeld were scoreless. Calvin Westbrook led BC with 26. Alex Murphy added 9, Robert Sacre 6, Brent Malish 5, Braydon Janzen 2 and Michael Berg 2, while Connor Agnew, Graham Bath, Eric Casey, Scott Leigh, Jordan Mara and Doug Plumb were scoreless. The victory gave Saskatchewan its first top-three finish in men’s basketball since winning silver at the 1989 Games in Saskatoon. “We said coming in here that we thought we were a good enough team to medal,” offered coach James Hillis. “The kids set a higher standard for themselves and said they wanted to win every game. It’s unfortunate (to not accomplish that goal) but this is a huge positive. We go out winners. We go out medalists.” Forward Kris Heshka said “we basically played as a team. We were undefeated going into (the semi-finals) and we did that as a team. Everything just fell into place.” Post Marc Burck said “we came out flat (against B.C.); everybody saw that. We couldn’t believe we lost that game. This was Saskatchewan’s year. The coach got us going. He was amazing. He did a great job for us this summer.” Saskatchewan slowly chipped away at the deficit, outscoring B.C. in each of the final two quarters. The lead finally changed hands on Kolten Solomon’s clutch three-pointer with just 30 seconds left and Kai Williams put the game away by draining two free throws with 14.7 seconds on the clock. “That was our finish,” added Van Burck. “We wanted the gold but when we got the bronze it was OK. Everyone is happy with what we did and what we accomplished for Saskatchewan.”
In the final, Ontario defeated Quebec 73-63 after leading 35-32 at the half. Guard Alex Johnson said the squad was determined to end on a high point after losing the tournament opened to Saskatchewan in a nationally televised game. “It gave us a lot of motivation. We were now coming in as the underdog. Everybody was doubting us.” Johnson scored 11. Montreal’s Kris Joseph, who led Quebec with 19, said a silver medal was a great outcome. “It feels good because coming into the tournament, we were ranked fourth. … We were tired. We had to push ourselves 10 times harder and that caught up with us in the finals.” Ontario coach Ray Rana said the loss to Saskatchewan proved advantageous. “It’s the first time we’ve lost since I’ve been a coach in a national championship so, in retrospect, sure you could say it helped us. We have a lot of tough kids and they weren’t going to settle for anything less than at least having an opportunity to play for a medal. I think our toughness came out in big games.” Johnson said Ontario “just wanted it more. It’s the Canada Games. We’re going to go down in history.” Rana said the only thing better would have been a rematch with Saskatchewan in the final. “But it wasn’t meant to be.” Quebec out-rebounded Ontario 39-38 and hit 10-13 from the line, while Ontario was 8-20. Dwayne Smith led Ontario with 15. Devin Brennan-McBride added 13, Alex Johnson 11, Scott Brittain 10, Carlyle Francis-Ambrose 8, Devoe Joseph 8, Jordan Henry 6 and Ashly July 2, while Tshing Kasamba, Chretien Lukusa, Zachary Nagtzaam and Alexander Veit were scoreless. Kristopher Joseph led Quebec with 19. Francis Martel added 12, Lofulo-Etoile Imama 9, Michael Pauze Flannery 9, Max Zuyderhoff Craig 5, Timotey A.Lachance 2, Olivier Champagne-Parent 2, Samuel Emond 2, Anaclet Mulumba Mbayi 2, Nicolas Dahito 1, Rigo Katahwa 0 and Robinson Odoch-Opong 0.
The bronze medalists from Saskatchewan: Marc van Burck; Kolten Solomon; Kai Williams; Paul Gareau; Kris Heshka; Tinashe Mutswangwa; Lance Aldcorn; Chris Bodnar; Zlatan Cilimdzic; Rob Fry; Rory Kohlert; David Neufeld; coach James Hillis; assistant Mick Panko; assistant Steve Burrows
The silver medalists from Quebec: Kristopher Joseph; Francis Martel; Lofulo-Etoile Imama; Michael Pauze Flannery; Max Zuyderhoff Craig; Timotey A.Lachance; Olivier Champagne-Parent; Samuel Emond; Anaclet Mulumba Mbayi; Nicolas Dahito; Rigo Katahwa; Robinson Odoch-Opong
The gold medalists from Ontario: Alex Johnson; Ashly July; Jonathon House; Carlylse Francis; Dwayne Smith; Tshing Kasamba; Scott Brittain; Boris Bakovic; Geoff McLaughlin; Devin Brennan-McBridge; Javari Williams; Jessie Simmons; Zach Nagtzaam; Chretien Lukusa; Devoe Joseph