REGULAR SEASON
| Victoria | 16-4 | 27-7 | Guy Vetrie | |||||
| U.B.C. | 15-5 | 26-9 | Bruce Enns | |||||
| Alberta | 13-7 | 30-10 | Don Horwood | |||||
| Calgary | 10-10 | 11-12 | Gary Howard | |||||
| Lethbridge | 3-17 | 9-20 | Dave Crook | |||||
| Saskatchewan | 3-17 | 7-27 | Steve Roth | |||||
Playoff non-qualifiers:
Lethbridge Pronghorns: Harbir Bains, Paul Blaskovits, James McLellan, Darren Boras, Cheyno Finnie, Cam Slomp, Brian Kannekens, Kent Hecker, Chad Bowie, Tim McLenahan, Peter White, Troy Parker, Ken Van Cleave, Mike Lynagh, coach Dave Crook, assistant Don Webb
Saskatchewan Huskies: Tim Conlin, Matt McCullough, Blair Garneau, Brent Allison, Brett Powell, Darrin Rask, Doug Wegren, Dean Wiebe, Andy Stepaniuk, Brad Schoenfeld, Barry Miller, Scott Hundseth, Dwayne Heidt, Brian Scherban, Mike Phillips, coach Steve Roth, assistant Greg Jockims
In the semis, third-place Alberta knocked off U.B.C. 91-85; 84-79 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… The Bears prevailed 91-85 in overtime in the opener as guard Sean Chursinoff scored 27, added four assists and forced four turnovers. Dave Youngs added 16. The contest was close all the way until Chursinoff forced U.B.C. guard Brian Tait to make a bad pass with 18 seconds to go in overtime with the scored knotted at 85-85. Bears point-guard Sean Chursinoff converted the miscue into a basket as Alberta scored six unanswered points in the final seconds. The T’Birds were led by J.D. Jackson 26, Jason Leslie 16 and Al Lalonde 15. The teams were tied at 40 at the half and at 78 after regulation. …………………………………………………… Alberta completed its sweep of the T-Birds, ranked number two in the nation, with an 84-79 victory in game two as Brian Halsey scored 20, Rick Stanley 19, Chursinoff 17. The Bears held J.D. Jackson to 14, while Mike Clarke added 24 and Al Lalonde 16 for the T-Birds. The T-Birds had spent a portion of the year ranked number one in Canada. “Nobody in their right mind could have expected us to come in here and take two straight games,” Alberta coach Don Horwood said. The key for Alberta in both wins was their strong defensive play. UBC’s scoring average this year has been around the 91-point mark, but the Golden Bears were able to keep the ‘Birds below that in both matches. “We were hard on defence. I think we wore them down. Keeping them at 79 and 85 points is a hell of a job against a team like UBC,” Horwood said. UBC was unable to get their shooting on the mark last night. The ‘Birds shot 64 per cent from the field in the first half but dropped to 13 per cent in the second, while Alberta was more consistent. The Alberta defence kept the UBC shooters tied up for most of the game. UBC’s usual big gun, J.D. Jackson had five points in the first half. “We got a bit frustrated at times,” UBC coach Bruce Enns said of his team, which trailed 42-41 at the half. “They did a real good job on us defensively and we just couldn’t get our shooting going.”
In the other semi, Victoria swept Calgary 105-81; 82-79 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, the (16-4) Vikings won the opener 105-81 as Geoff McKay scored 24, Tom Johnson 20, Dave Leischeid 17, Spencer Mckay 12, Clint Hamilton 12, Kevin Ottewell 9, Dave MacIntosh 7 and Rick Mesich 4, while Roger Rai, Mo Basso, Vesa Linnamo and Fraser Jefferson were scoreless. Geoff McKay told the Victoria Times-Colonist that “I felt that Dave (Lescheid) really set the tone for the game tonight. He was tough on the boards and he sent a message out early that we weren’t going to be intimidated. We played pretty well at both ends of the court tonight as a team.” The (10-10) Dinosaurs were led by Ian Minnifee 19. Brian Masikewich added 15, Rick Pease 13, Dexter Amour 13, Tony McDougall 6, Jeff Smith 6, Jamie Mulholland 5, Andrew Vaughan 2 and David Johnson 2, while Andy Moldowan, Jason Nike and Danny Smith were scoreless. …………………………………………………… In game two, Victoria eked out an 82-79 overtime victory as Spencer McKay scored 19, David McIntosh 13, Dave Lescheid 13, Kevin Ottewell 11, Tom Johnson 10, Geoff McKay 8, Clint Hamilton 6 and Rich Messich 2, while Roger Rai, Mo Basso, Vesa Linnamo and Fraser Jefferson were scoreless. Ottewell provided the winning points by driving the lane for an and-one with 18 seconds to play. Rick Pease led the Dinosaurs with 14. Ian Minnifee added 14, Brian Masikewich 12, Tony McDougall 10, Dexter Amour 9, Andrew Vaughan 8, Jeff Smith 6, Jamie Mulholland 4 and David Johnson 2, while Andy Moldowan, Jason Nike and Danny Smith were scoreless..
In the finals, Alberta defeated Victoria 57-74; 71-67; 81-69 (2g-1).
In game one, Victoria whipped Alberta 74-57. “We were brutal. Our offence was pathetic,” said Bears guard Sean Chursinoff. “It seemed like every time I went in there someone was making contact with me and it threw me off. It was a physical game. That’s the way the refs were going to call it and I have to be able to adjust to that.” Vikings guard Geoff McKay noted that “we played well defensively but our offence never really got going either. I thought (Bear forward) Brian Halsey had a good game but after that nobody really stood out.” Alberta shot 6-13 from the line and dished just six assists. “We just couldn’t seem to get going,” said forward Ed Joseph. “We’ll have to come out with more of a zone offence and move the ball much quicker tonight.” McKay, who scored 22, called it an “sloppy, ugly kind of game. There was no end-to-end offence and the crowd was really quiet. Maybe we never gave them anything to cheer about.” Tom Johnson added 17 for the Vikings, Kevin Ottewell 13, David Lescheid 11, Rick Mesich 5, Clint Hamilton 3, Spencer McKay 2 and David McIntosh 1, while Roger Rai, Maurice Basso, Vesa Linnamo and Chris Shriek were scoreless. Victoria led 35-24 at the half and effectively kept the ball out of the blocks while on defence. Brian Halsey led Alberta with 17. Sean Chursinoff added 9, Ed Joseph 8, Lorne Blatt 5, Rick Stanley 4, Bill LaVergne 4, Scott Karaim 4, Dave Youngs 3 and David Woolridge 3, while Clayton Pottinger, David Hogg, Mark Smith and Dale Van Hooren were scoreless.
In game two, Alberta eked out a 71-67 victory to earn coach Don Horwood’s first playoff victory against the Vikings in seven years at the helm. “We knew we could beat them, but you still have to prove it to yourselves,” said Horwood. Post Rick Stanley, who scored 12, said beating the Vikings has “just been a stupid mental block for this team.” Horwood drew up a number of plays for Sean Chursinoff on the baseline. He was able to either gun the open jumper or find big men Rick Stanley and Bill LaVergne in the blocks. Chursinoff finished with 15 points and 5 assists. Victoria never led after Alberta opened with a 9-0 run. “We allowed Chursinoff to penetrate the middle of our zone,” said 6-9 post Spencer McKay. “We tried the man defence but by then it was too late.” Horwood said “we made three adjustments in our offence tonight. Once Churzi was able to go to the hoop, it forced them to play and man-to-man defence against us and I don’t think anyone in the country has had much success against us using a man defence this year.” Victoria was able to claw no closer than two at any point, although they rallied to within that in the final minute. Victoria went to the free throw line 17 times in the first half while Alberta did not once get a free throw and found themselves in foul trouble quickly. “Hey, it’s a battle inside. No one wants to let anyone score,” said Stanley. Victoria out-rebounded Alberta 41-25. Dave Youngs added 13, while nabbing 8 boards, for Alberta, Bill Lavergne 12, Rick Stanley 12, Ed Joseph 11, Brian Halsey 4, Scott Karaim 2 and Lorne Blatt 2, while Clayton Pottinger, Dave Woolridge, David Hogg and Dale Van Hooren were scoreless. Alberta led 36-29 at the half. “That was the toughest defence we’ve played,” said Stanley. Spencer McKay paced Victoria with 18. Geoff McKay added 15, Kevin Ottewell 8, David Lescheid 8, Clint Hamilton 6, Tom Johnson 5, David McIntosh 2, Rick Mesich 2, Vesa Linnano 2 and Maurice Basso 1, while Roger Rai and Chris Shriek were scoreless.
In game three, Alberta defeated Victoria 81-69. Coach Don Horwood called it a “monumental” win. “To be embarrassed the way we were Friday night and then come back and beat them two straight the way we did.” Forward Ed Joseph noted “it’s hard to believe.” Horwood noted that “Victoria has been the benchmark program in Canada. If you’re going anywhere, you have to beat them.” The Bears defence forced 19 turnovers, while Canada West player of the year Sean Chursinoff scored 26, nabbed 5 boards and dished 9 assists. “We played so well today. We did everything exactly like we were supposed to do,” said Chursinoff. Ed and Dave (Youngs) and I talked about it this morning. We weren’t going to let it happen. We weren’t going to choke.” Viking Kevin Ottewell said “they wanted it more. Chursinoff and Youngs carried them. They’ve got a good supporting cast but those two guys were the difference.” Dave Youngs added 16 for the Golden Bears, Rick Stanley 15, Brian Halsey 10, Bill Lavergne 10, Scott Karaim 2 and Ed Joseph 2, while Clayton Pottinger, Lorne Blatt, David Woolridge, David Hogg and Dale Van Hooren were scoreless. Tom Johnson led the Vikings with 16. Geoff McKay added 15, Spencer McKay 14, David Lescheid 9, Kevin Ottewell 8, David McIntosh 3, Clint Hamilton 2 and Rick Mesich 2, while Roger Rai, Maurice Basso, Vesa Linnamo and Chris Shriek were scoreless. The 6-5 Chursinoff earlier expressed “shock” over winning player of the year laurels. “I didn’t even know there was an award like this. . . . The reason why I’m getting recognition is because the team has done so well this year. You’ve got to give the guys the credit.” The score was knotted at 34 at the half.
The co-bronze medalist British Columbia Thunderbirds: J.D. Jackson; Mike Clarke; Al Lalonde; David Williscroft, Jason Leslie; Derek Christiansen; Jeff Strother; Axel Christiansen; Brian Tait; Paul Cohee; Matthew Wubs; Peter Rubin; Finbar O’Reilly; coach Bruce Enns
The co-bronze medalist Calgary Dinosaurs: Rick Pease; Ian Minifee; Tony McDougall; Bruce Irving; Andrew Vaughan; Jeff Smith; David Johnson; Brian Masikewich; Dexter Armour; Jamie Mulholland; Danny Smith; Mark Loria; Andy Moldowan; Greg Engen; Andy Modowan; Jason Nike; coach Gary Howard; coach Wayne Thomas; assistant Steve Hamaliuk; assistant David Ginther
The runner-up Victoria Vikings: Spencer McKay; Geoff McKay; Tom Johnson; Kevin Ottewell; David Lescheid; David McIntosh; Clint Hamilton; Vesa Linnamo; Rick Mesich; Maurice Basso; Chris Schriek; Roger Rai; Fraser Jefferson; Trey McKay; coach Guy Vetrie; assistant Ian Hyde-Lay; assistant Scott Stinson; athletic director Ken Shields; SID Mona Ghiz
The champion Alberta Golden Bears: Sean Chursinoff; Dave Youngs; Rick Stanley; Brian Halsey; Bill Lavergne; Ed Joseph; David Wooldridge; Scott Karaim; Clayton Pottinger; Lorne Blatt; David Hogg; Dale Vanhooren; Chris Harrison, Scott Wilde; Mark Smith; coach Don Horwood; assistant Cliff Rowein; athletic director Dale Schulha; SID Tim Wight