REGULAR SEASON
| PLAINS | CENTRAL | |||||||
| Regina | 13-7 | 18-9 | James Hillis | Alberta | 15-5 | 28-10 | Don Horwood | |
| Brandon | 12-8 | 21-14 | Jerry Hemmings | Calgary | 11-9 | 22-13 | Dan Vanhooren | |
| Winnipeg | 7-13 | 12-19 | Dave Crook | Lethbridge | 8-12 | 10-16 | Mike Connolly | |
| Manitoba | 2-18 | 4-23 | Rick Suffield | Saskatchewan | 7-13 | 12-19 | Greg Jockims | |
| WEST | ||||||||
| U.B.C. | 15-5 | 27-11 | Kevin Hanson | |||||
| Trinity Western | 12-8 | 22-12 | Stan Peters | |||||
| Simon Fraser | 10-10 | 15-12 | Scott Clark | |||||
| Victoria | 8-12 | 12-17 | Guy Vetrie | |||||
Playoff non-qualifiers:
Manitoba Bisons: Ryan Dulder, David Wiebe, Jatinder Johal, Yacine Bara, Chris Hildebrand, Glenne Manlig, Ivan Saric, Hassani Borrice, Kevin Westell, Vinny Dumas, Damian Drzewiec, Allen Gervais, Chris Byrnes, coach Rick Suffield
Saskatchewan Huskies: James Kenyon, Seth Lang, Matthew Greenberg, Scott Clark, Mitchell Grant, Emmanuel Chiek, Kevin Langdon, Trent Folk, Sam Lamontagne, Jemahl Manning, Trevor Cranston, Mark Thompson, Dan Langdon, Kyle Grant, coach Greg Jockims
Victoria Vikings: Chris Marsh, Chris Trumpy, J.R. Bailey, Eric Rushton, Bryan Taylor, Shaun Doherty, Jason Crawford, Reagan Daly, Ashley Yeaman, Ross McDonald, Michal Osusky, Steve Moore, Tylor Hynd, Luck Walia and Ross Macdonald, coach Guy Vetrie, assistant Craig Beaucamp
In the Pacific Division semis, Trinity Western defeated Simon Fraser 70-58; 63-62 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, Trinity Western prevailed 79-58. …………………………………………………… In game two, forward Jon Lundgren hits game winner with 15 seconds to play to advance Trinity Western to the Pacific Division finals with a 63-62 victory over Simon Fraser. Guard Luke McKerrow had hit a three-pointer with 36 seconds to play to give the Clan a 62-61 lead. But McKerrow missed a chance to win for the Clan when he was double-teamed in the dying seconds and failed to get a shot off. SFU led 36-33 at the half, out-rebounded Trinity Western 38-34 and held the Spartans to .397 from the floor. The loss ended a befuddling season for the Clan, who won 16 of their first 18 games and were ranked the top team in the country before nosediving to losses in 14 of their final 17 games. “We had life tonight and the chance to win this game but we weren’t able to execute when we needed it most,” said Clan coach Scott Clark. “It’s very disappointing because in our hearts we know we are a better team than we showed the second half of this season.” Trinity Western led 30-26 at the half. Adam Friesen led the Spartans with 23 points and 9 boards, while Lundgren scored 21 and Logan Kitteringham 8, while nabbing 15 boards. Dan Young scored 6, David Martens 3 and Brad Unger 2. The Spartans shot 23-58 from the floor, 4-12 from the arc and 13-14 from the line, while garnering 34 boards, 14 assists, 13 turnovers, 7 blocks and 11 steals. “This is one of the defining moments of our program,” said TWU coach Stan Peters. Pasha Bains (6-18) and Brent Charleton (6-9) led the Clan with 15 apiece. Luke McKerrow added 11, Sean Stewart 7, Shaun Halverson 6, Raj Mander 5 and Jeff Antwi 3. The Clan shot 24-60 from the floor, 10-26 from the arc and 4-5 from the line, while garnering 38 rebounds, 17 assists, 17 turnovers, 3 blocks and 4 steals. The Clan (coached by Scott Clark) also included Jordan Mason, Mike Klizs, Emmy Unaegbu, John Boateng, Erik Albrecher and Ross Naka.
In the Central Division semis, Calgary defeated Lethbridge 96-89; 82-79 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, Calgary prevailed 96-89. …………………………………………………… In game two, Calgary edged Lethbridge 82-79 as John Riad scored 19 and Chris Harris 13. The Pronghorns (coached by Mike Connolly) included Allan Spoonhunter, Ton Hudel, Darcy Day Chief, Nick Baldwin, Ryan Reed, Matthew Bekkering, Simon Straith, Leo West, Carlos Morales, Danile Bosters and Chris Shaw.
In the Great Plains Division semis, Brandon defeated Winnipeg 83-62; 89-58 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, the 10th-ranked Bobcats put on a sterling defensive display as they whacked Winnipeg in game one of the divisional final. Brandon broke to a 10-0 lead and stretched their margin to 47-14 at the half. American import Gene Shipley dominated, scoring 18 points, grabbing 10 boards and 2 blocks in 29 minutes of action. “Every one of our guys came out to play tonight,” said Shipley, who was 8-10 from the field and 2-2 at the free throw line. “Everyone was making shots. Everyone was playing defense. Everything was working. I’m very pleased with the effort, the coaches are pleased. It’s the best game we’ve played in a long time.” The Bobcats eased off the pedal in the second half, allowing Winnipeg to cut the margin to 19 with 9 minutes to play. “I’d give our team an A+ in the first half, and a C in the second half,” added BU assistant coach Donald ‘Tex’ Phillips. “There were so many positives in the first half… guys were playing unselfishly, we played as a team on both sides of the ball. At the start of the second we didn’t come out with that killer instinct.” Nikosey Quick added 13 for Brandon, while dishing out 9 assists and grabbing 3 rebounds. Dido Bunema scored 14 while 5th year ‘Cat Joe Prue scored 8 alongside 6 boards. Blaine LaBranche scored 7, Eric Davis 4, Sean Thistle 5, and O’Neil Gordon 4. Aldin Smalling led Winnipeg with 26 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals. Dan Duggan dropped 10 points along with 3 boards, and Erfan Nasajpour scored 8 points while grabbing 5 rebounds and dishing out 6 assists. Brandon shot 33-59 from the floor, 3-11 from the arc and 14-15 from the line. Winnipeg shot 25-63 from the floor, 4-11 from the arc and 8-11 from the line. Brandon out-rebounded Winnipeg 40-19. …………………………………………………… In game two, Brandon pounded Winnipeg by 21 to sweep the series. Winnipeg kept it close until midway through the second half, when the Bobcats ripped off a 31-3 run. Dan Duggan led Winnipeg with 23 points and 10 boards. Aldin Smalling added 12 and Erfan Nasajpour 11. The Wesmen (coached by Dave Crook) also included Dave Brar, Tony Richter, J.P. Lynch, Tosin Opanubi, Casey Gooch, Omar Simpson, Matt Molitowsky, Phil Swart, Oliver Leslie, Paul Alao and Kevin Yeboah.
In the Great Plains Division final,
Regina defeated Brandon 85-83; 89-79 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one,
Regina defeated Brandon 85-83. Brandon took an early 10-point lead on the shooting
of Nikosey Quick. Regina
responded with its own run on shooting by Joel Hunter and Brenan Schwartz to
take a slim lead at the half. The Cougars extended their lead to 12 but the
visiting Bobcats rallied back on the inside play of Gene Shipley to tie in the
last minute. But Brenan Schwartz hit a driving layup with 3.1 seconds to play
to win it for Regina. Shipley led Brandon
with 20 points. Joe Prue added 15, O’Neil Gordon 14, Nikosey Quick 9, Sean
Thistle 8, Mustafa Cetin 8, Dido Bunema 4, Blaine La Branche 3 and Selvin
Lennon 2. The Bobcats shot 30-57 from the floor, 6-14 from the arc, 17-22 from
the line while collecting 32 boards, 20 fouls, 17 assists, 11 turnovers, 2
blocks and 6 steals. Schwarz led Regina
with 30 points. Joel Hunter added 17, William Porter 14 and 9 boards.
Aleksandar Arsenic scored 9, Zach Michell 6, Ryan Michell 4, Jason Drummond 2,
Gregory McKoy 2, Bryden Wright 1. The Cougars shot 31-60 from the floor, 9-19
from the arc and 14-24 from the line while garnering 31 rebounds, 17 fouls, 11
assists, 11 turnovers and 6 steals. Regina led 46-42 at the half. “I had my
grumpy face on,” Schwartz said. “I was very intense, very excited and had the
adrenaline flowing. I wanted the first game so bad because it’s so important in
a best- of-three series like this. We want to beat these guys so bad as a group.
We want to send them home knowing that they’re not going to get the wild-card
(spot in the Canada West tournament) and that they’re done for the year. I
especially want that because it’s my last chance to do that. And I want to go
as far as I can before my university basketball career ends.” The Cougars
opened the scoring with a three-pointer by Ryan Michell just 46 seconds into
the game – and they didn’t lead again until the 16:18 mark. Brandon led by as
many as 12 points in the first half – it was 31-19 at the 12:00 mark – but
Schwartz led Regina back. He scored 13 of his 18 first-half points in the final
five minutes to help Regina take a 46-42 lead at the break. The second half
went the other way, as the Cougars built a 12- point lead – it was 71-59 at the
midway point – only to have the Bobcats storm back. “Near the end, we got too
tentative with the ball,” said Regina guard Joel Hunter. “It was like we looked
at the clock and said, ‘There’s six minutes left. There’s five minutes left.
There’s four minutes left.’ We slowed it down and that favoured them a bit.
They’d get a rebound and go on a run on us.” Gordon’s dunk gave Brandon an
82-80 lead with just over two minutes left in regulation time, but a Michell
free throw and two free throws by Will Porter put Regina ahead 83-82 with 52
seconds left. After Brandon’s Gene Shipley hit a free throw with 24 seconds
left to tie the score, the Cougars patiently got the ball to Schwartz with six
seconds left. He drove to the basket and, over two defenders, put up a shot
that bounced off the rim twice and spun in. Gordon’s heave at the buzzer
bounced away. “We kind of lost our zip, our intensity on defence,” Schwartz
said. “Because of that, we needed that shot at the end. I don’t want to win
like that. I want to blow them out of the gym.” Gordon noted “these guys are
for real, man. They’re no fluke. They’re playing in their home gym – and they
only lost one game here all year. It’s a battle now. We’ve got to get it to
Sunday.” …………………………………………………… In game two, Regina roared out to a big lead and
cruised to an 89-79 win to earn their first Great Plains division title.
William Porter notched 17 points and 16 boards for Regina. Alek Arsenic added
22 points and 13 boards. “After a while, you start doubting yourself,” said Regina
coach James Hillis, who lost three finals to Brandon as a Cougars player and
five as their head coach. “It’s like, ‘What have we got to do to get this
done?’ “We’ve had opportunities. I remember 1998-99, when we had Brandon here
(for a regular-season series). We win, we have the final here. They’re on the
(free-throw) line, down two with 2.2 seconds left and the kid misses the free
throw. The guy on the second block breaks (U of R post) Tyler Wright’s nose.
(Regina’s) Dale Holmes and (Brandon’s) Richard Lovelace are wrestling for the
ball going out of bounds and the ref calls a foul on Dale. It’s his fifth and
it’s on the best free-throw shooter in the country. (Lovelace) goes to the line
and sinks two free throws to send it to overtime. “Tyler can’t see straight
because his nose is broken and we don’t have Dale for the overtime – and we
lose. After a moment like that, you go, ‘I’m George Costanza (the perennial
loser on Seinfeld). It is just not meant to be’.” When the Cougars accomplished
the task against the Bobcats, Hillis said it was for all of the former Cougars
players who had lost to Brandon over the years – alumni like Holmes, Chris
Biegler, Kevin Gilroy, Bill Johnson, Terry Ross, Scott Goebel and Steve
Burrows. I said to the guys in the dressing room, ‘That’s a proverbial
10,000-pound gorilla off my back.’ To finally get (the Bobcats) feels great.”
Brenan Schwartz, who’d contemplated enrolling at Brandon, and has
second-guessed himself for years. “We kept losing to them and losing to them. I
started thinking, ‘Maybe had I gone there, I could have gone to nationals.’ Not
taking anything away from this program, but that’s the way I thought. Then Ryan
(Michell) came back (from the NCAA), Alek (Arsenic) settled in, Joel (Hunter)
and Zach (Michell) came in and we really started to gel. We have a bunch of
guys who can play different spots and who can play well. Coming into this
season, I was completely confident. When we went to Clear Lake for our team
retreat, we were sitting around the fireplace one night and I said, ‘We are
going to win (the Great Plains Division).’ Everyone believed then – and now
we’ve accomplished that goal.” Michell noted “it’s a great thing to have happen.
There are bigger things ahead of us, but we’ll take (Saturday night) and enjoy
it.” Brandon guard Nik Quick said the Cougars “deserved it. They worked hard
for it. Brenan Schwartz, he’s a helluva leader. He was the (Great Plains) MVP
and he showed why.” Schwartz had 12 points and six rebounds. Joel Hunter scored
18 points off the bench, including 16 in the first half. Regina was unconscious
in the opening half, hitting 9-13 from the arc and 22-36 from the line. A 14-0
run during a five-minute span gave the Cougars a 35-21 lead and the advantage
grew to 57-33 at halftime. But the Bobcats rallied, outscoring Regina 16-5 in
the first seven minutes of the second half to make it 62-49. The lead stayed in
double digits for most of the half before dropping to just six – 83-77 – with
two minutes to play. But some clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch kept
Regina ahead. Joe Prue, who hit five treys, finished with 25 points to lead the
Bobcats. Michell said the Cougars had chemistry. “We had a good team last year,
but we were surprised when we won. We knew we were a good team, but we didn’t
know what we could do. This year, we’d get in tight games and we’d think,
‘We’re going to win the game’.” Hillis concurred noting that all season, “we felt
if we were in a game down the stretch that we’d win. That became a rallying
cry. No matter how bad the decisions were that we made in a game – and we made
horrible ones – we’d make the right one down the stretch. No matter how bad our
defence was – and our stats show that I can’t coach defence – we would find a
way in the last three minutes to get stops. That became contagious – and here
we are.” Along with Prue and Quick, the Bobcats (coached by Jerry Hemmings) included
Gene Shipley, Dido Bunema, O’Neil Gordon, Mustafa Cetin, Sean Thistle, Junior
Lennon, Eric Davis, Blain LaBranche, Gil Cheung, Matt Rainey, Ricardo Brown,
Ali Andeku, Selvin Lennon and M.J. Anderson.
In the Central Division final,
Alberta defeated Calgary 89-74; 63-78; 83-82ot (2g-1). …………………………………………………… In
game one, the Bears throttled Calgary 89-74. The Bears defence forced 18 turnovers
in the first half, and they stole the ball 13 times as they cruised to a 53-31
lead at the half. The reserves maintained a 20-point edge until the final seven
minutes. “We had the early mentality that we had to take risks,” said guard
Tyson Jones, who limited Calgary
guard John Riad to 10 first half points. “This is playoff basketball, you have
to do that,” said Jones, who shot 8-8 from the floor. “We cared more about the
performance and not about the result and we won big.” The Bears opened with nine
quick points from Phil Scherer. Dean Whalen nailed a pair from beyond the arc
to give them a 15-point lead after 10 minutes. Scherer finished with 21 points.
Whalen added 17. “I’m as shocked as anyone said Riad, who finished with 13
points. Reserve Sean Newland led Calgary
with 16. Calgary had 28 turnovers to Alberta’s 13. “We have
to protect the ball better,” said Riad. “No matter who you’re playing, if you
give up that many turnovers, you’re not going to get within 10.” Horwood said
that “when we come out and are prepared to play, we’re a tough team to beat.”
…………………………………………………… In game two, playing without Scherer, the Bears get killed
78-63 by the Dinosaurs. Phil Sudol scored 23 for Alberta. ……………………………………………………
In game three, Alberta prevailed 83-81 in overtime, despite playing without
Phil Scherer, who’d suffered an ankle injury in game two. Alberta was completely out of sync and fell
behind quickly by double digits. They trimmed the margin to single digits
shortly before the half and then finally dug in defensively early in the second
half. After Dean Whalen hit a few quick hoops, the crowd came to life, while Calgary guard John Riad
picked up his fourth foul. Alberta
appeared to be taking command when 6-1 Dinos point guard Whit Hornsberger
caught fire, scoring 20 in the half. But Alberta
guard Mike Melnychuk responded with his own run, keeping the Bears in the
contest. Observers said the refs made four game-deciding calls down the stretch
and blew all four; two for each team. But the two blown calls against Calgary,
a clean strip on a three-pointer and five-second violation on the ensuing
inbounds play, while a Dino was calling time out, led to five Bear points,
which evened the game with seven seconds to play and forced overtime. Calgary
got a five-point lead in the extra session but squandered it late. With the
game tied and the ball and 45 seconds to play, Calgary misses, grabs the offensive board and
gets it to Hornsberger, who calls for a flattened 1-4. He is bumped on the way
to the hole, but after a good no call, gets a reasonable look with about 8
seconds left. It rims out, and Melnychuk comes back the other way. He
scrambles, goes baseline, gets contact with the help defender (who looked set),
Melnychuk misses, ref blows the whistle and sends him to the line with 0.9
seconds left. Calgary
calls 2 timeouts, but Melnychuk ices the first free throw to win the game. “With
Phil out, I knew that I had to carry and the load and I didn’t do that
Saturday,” said Melnychuk. Calgary led 35-28 at the half but Melnychuk took
control in the second. He finished with 34 points. Dean Whalen added 17. Whit
Hornsberger led Calgary with 32 points, including 26 in the second half. Jon
Riad scored 16. “Hornsberger was unreal down the stretch,” said Bears coach Don
Horwood. “If he acted like a normal human being out there, we’d have won by
nine or 10 points. Every time we did anything, he answered with unbelievable
shots. The Dinos (coached by Dan Vanhooren) also included Chris Wright, Aman
Heran, Chris Harris, Surinder Grewal, Sean Newland, Jon Salgado, Ian Ferguson,
Brady Byam, Mike Stevens, Mark Gillrie, Glen Smith and Mike Kuznickas.
In the Pacific Division finals, U.B.C. defeated Trinity Western 83-90; 92-66; 69-67 (2g-1). …………………………………………………… In game one, Trinity Western stunned U.B.C. 90-83 in overtime at the T-Birds War Memorial Gym as Adam Friesen nailed 5-11 from beyond the arc, including an NBA-range triple that gave the Spartans an 86-81 edge with 1:27 to play in overtime and the shot clock at 3 seconds. Friesen spun on U.B.C. stopper Corey Ogilvie and drained the prayer. He finished with 31 points as the Spartans handed the Birds their first home loss in 13 games and just their third in 17 home contests all season. TWU jumped out to a 12-4 lead three minutes into the first half. But the T-Birds finally found their legs after a week’s layoff and took a 22-21 lead mid-way through the opening frame. Led by Russell’s shooting and point guard Karlo Villaneuva’s passing the T-Birds then ripped off a 9-2 run capped by a Pat McKay layup to take a 42-34 lead with four minutes to play in the half. The Spartans responded with a 9-3 run to rally within 45-43 at the break. The lead changed hands several times in the early stages of the second half until an 8-0 run gave TWU a seemingly secure 71-62 lead with 7:20 remaining in the game. But back-to-back triples from Kyle Russell and Pat McKay cut the margin to three points with six minutes to play, and two minutes later Villanueva stripped Jon Lundgren in the open court and raced in for the uncontested lay up to put UBC back out in front. A Logan Kitteringham lay-up put the Spartans up 77-76 with 29 seconds left on the clock but the lead was short lived. Russell tied the score seven seconds later, drawing the foul and hitting one of two free throws. Friesen controlled the ball in the half court, looking for the final shot, but Villanueva nabbed his third steal and the T-Birds called a time out with three seconds remaining. Villanueva’s desperation last-second short came up short and the game was extended to overtime. The two squads continued to match each other for the first two minutes of overtime – tied 81-81. Then with the Spartans up 83-81 TWU’s Adam Friesen once again did the impossible to seal the game for the Spartans. As the shot clock was winding down Friesen hit a turnaround three pointer from six feet behind the line, with UBC’s Corey Ogilvie just inches away. The bucket energized the TWU fans and gave the Spartans an insurmountable 86-81 lead with 1:27 remaining. Kyle Russell kept the Thunderbirds alive by going one for two from the line to cut the lead back to four points, 86-82. Then TWU’s Ryan Jobs put the exclamation point on the win with back-to-back buckets, including an thunderous dunk to give the Spartans a 90-82 lead with :10 remaining. Russell once again went one for two from the line to make the final 90-83. UBC went 0-for-8 in the extra period, scoring all six of their points from the foul line. The Spartans were 4-for-6 in overtime, led by Friesen’s seven points. Friesen finished with 31 points. Forward Logan Kitteringham chipped in 23 points and dominated the glass at both ends of the floor, grabbing a game-high 18 rebounds, 10 of them on the offensive end. Dan Young added 10, Dave Martens 10, Jon Lundgren 7, Ryan Jobs 4, Brad Unger 3 and Andy VanderMeulen 2. The Spartans shot 32-71 from the floor, 8-23 from the arc and 18-27 from the line while garnering 46 boards, 24 fouls, 15 assists, 19 turnovers, 3 blocks and four steals. Fifth-year swingman Kyle Russell led the Birds with 32 points, 9 boards and 6 assists. Karlo Villanueva added 17, Pat McKay 14, Casey Archibald 12, Corey Ogilvie 4 and Aaron Frampton 4. The T-Birds shot 27-63 from the floor, 8-24 from the arc and 21-32 from the line, while collecting 36 boards, 19 fouls, 19 assists, 17 turnovers, 1 block and 9 steals. TWU had 23 second change points to UBC’s 8. “Friesen played all 45 minutes. He got carried in some ways by the fan support,” said Peters. “That was our focus – to make this a home series. The floor is a little bit different, but the environment is the same. When I saw that we had a couple of busloads of people coming out here, I knew we had a chance to do this. It was huge for us. It made us feel comfortable.” Hanson said; “I think it’s quite an embarrassment. We’re playing in our home gym and we’ve got fans behind our bench heckling our players? I think this says to our department that somebody needs to promote us more.” Kitteringham noted that the game “was unbelievable, both on and off the court.” Villanueva added that “Trinity has been surprising people all season long and they did it again tonight. They’re hard to play against because they work very well as a team.” UBC trailed 71-62 with a little more than seven minutes to go, but rallied to take a 76-75 lead when guard Casey Archibald canned a pair of free throws with 1:43 remaining. TWU centre Logan Kitteringham made a put-back of a Friesen shot with 29 seconds left to put the Spartans up again, then UBC swingman Kyle Russell hit one of two foul shots with 21 seconds left to tie it 77-77. UBC had a shot to win in regulation, but point guard Karlo Villanueva couldn’t get a heavily-contested layup to fall at the buzzer. UBC missed all eight shots from the floor in the extra session and TWU cruised to victory. …………………………………………………… In game two, Kyle Russell dominated as UBC spanked Trinity 92-66. Russell scored 19 in the first half as the Thunderbirds took a 42-33 lead and then added 14 in the second half to finish with 32 points, along with 9 rebounds and 9 assists in 31 minutes of play. “Kyle played inspired tonight,” said head coach Kevin Hanson. “That’s what you need in playoff time. Your studs have to perform and he certainly performed. Kyle proved tonight that he’s MVP of his division.” Russell also did a stellar job on Spartan Adam Friesen, containing him to 11 points. “Kyle did a tremendous job defensively,” said Hanson, who was impressed with his entire team’s work ethic. “I thought our intensity was supreme tonight,” he added. Russell said defensive intensity proved the difference. “That’s all it was. Just caring about stops. We played poorly last night, maybe due to the layoff, and tonight we were better. It just comes down to effort. “He [Friesen] killed us last night. He’s a really good player and he’s tough to defend one on one. We just have to force into our help defence and tonight our help was there. Last night it was non-existent.” The two teams were tied at 26 with about seven minutes to play in the first half when U.B.C. exploded with a 13-2 run. They took total command early in the second half when Russell and Karlo Villanueva each drained a three-pointer to give U.B.C. a 15 point lead. Spartan Logan Kitteringham was held to four points and two boards, one night after putting up 23 points and grabbing 18 rebounds. The muscular forward was relegated to the bench for much of the game in foul trouble, taking a second-half technical when he flopped on the floor in front of an official to make a point about a perceived dive. TWU head coach Stan Peters followed up Kitteringham’s display with a technical of his own, upset at what he thought was some overly physical UBC defence on Friesen. “Adam wasn’t able to create the space he can normally generate,” said Peters. “UBC played with a lot of desperation tonight. They played to their strengths and I don’t think we played to ours.” Hanson said the supportive home crowd aided the Thunderbirds. “They played a big factor when we went on our runs. Our sixth man helped us more tonight than their sixth man helped them.” Peters said “UBC came out and played to their strength, while we had trouble playing to ours. When we play to our strength we can compete with anyone. When we do not we struggle.” Jon Russell hit 13-13 from the line as he amassed 32 points, Corey Ogilvie added 14, Pat McKay 12, Casey Archibald 8, Karlo Villanueva 7, Aaron Frampton 4, Pete Hodson 4, Greg Sandstrom 4, Jama Mahlalela 3, Ryder McKeown 2 and Brian Host 2. The T-Birds shot 28-58 from the floor, 10-19 from the arc, 26-28 from the line and garnered 41 boards, 24 fouls, 19 assists, 18 turnovers, 3 blocks and seven steals. U.B.C. scored 32 points in the paint to Trinity’s 32. Each scored 14 points off turnovers. U.B.C. had 16 second chance points to Trinity’s 8 and 23 bench points to Trinity’s 15. Russell said “defensive intensity – that’s all it was tonight. We took great care in the defensive area of the game and it produced a nice victory for us.” Peters noted that “Adam wasn’t able to create the space he usually creates tonight and that’s an issue I had with the officials.” Peters and Kitteringham hit with technicals midway through second half. “UBC’s whole objective was to physically take Adam out of the game and I just questioned the officials and to the legality of the methods in the second half. But Kevin did a great job in motivating his players for tonight’s game and making sure that they knew their assignments. UBC was playing with some determination and was the better team tonight.” …………………………………………………… In game three, fourth-year forward Pat McKay drained a jumper from just inside the arc with 2.4 seconds to play to lift host UBC to a 69-67 win at the War Memorial Gym and give the Thunderbirds the Pacific division title. UBC opened up a 40-27 lead at the half thanks to a 7-0 run in the final one minute 30 seconds of the first frame, but the visiting Spartans would not quit, battling back from a deficit as large as 14 points to tie the contest. Trailing 63-55 with 2:42 remaining, Spartans forward Jon Lundgren drained a three-point shot, cutting the margin to five points, and then with just over a minute remaining, TWU’s Adam Friesen nailed a triple to shave UBC’s lead to a single point at 65-64. After a pair of Kyle Russell free throws restored a three-point advantage for the home side, Friesen found iron on another three-point attempt but the ball ricocheted back out to Jon Lundgren, who sank another long ball to tie the tilt 67-67 with 24.7 seconds remaining. The T-Birds called timeout, Russell, standing at the top of the key, worked the clock down to eight seconds. Then he drove to the lane and kicked out to Corey Ogilvie. The Spartan defenders rushed at Ogilvie who then swung the ball to McKay at the top of the jump circle. McKay then faded to hit the high arching shot over top of a TWU defender for the winning bucket with 2.6 seconds on the clock. TWU’s Adam Friesen made a three-quarter court desperation shot as the buzzer sounded, but it missed the mark. “We really battled back tonight,” said TWU head coach Stan Peters. “We executed our game plan in the second half and the defense that we played over the final twenty minutes was probably the best that we have played all year.” Kyle Russell led the Thunderbirds with 18 points, adding seven rebounds and six assists. Pat McKay scored 14, Ryder McKeown 11, Karlo Villanueva 8, Corey Ogilvie 7, Pete Hodson 5, Casey Archibald 4 and Brian Host 2. UBC shot 24-56 from the floor, 5-20 from the arc, and 16-25 from the line, while garnering 36 boards, 21 fouls, 17 assists, 8 turnovers, 1 block and four steals. Adam Friesen led TWU with 18 points and seven rebounds. Jon Lundgren added 15, David Martens 13, Dan Young 11 and Logan Kitteringham scored 9 and grabbed 14 boards before fouling out late in the second half. Andy VanderMeulen scored 1. The Spartans shot 25-56 from the floor, 6-17 from the arc and 11-19 from the line, while garnering 38 boards, 24 fouls, 11 assists, 11 turnovers, 3 blocks and 3 steals. UBC scored 32 points in the paint to Trinity’s 20 and 13 points off turnovers to Trinity’s 7. The Spartans had 8 second chance points to UBC’s 7. UBC had 22 points from the bench to Trinity’s 1. Hanson noted that “I rode Pat McKay pretty hard. …I gave him a week long lesson in media etiquette. Now I think he’s going to have a big smile looking back at me.” McKay, who hit a jumper with 2.4 seconds to play, after Russell drove and dished the ball to Ogilvie, who was swarmed and kicked it out to McKay for the 17-foot winner, had said in an earlier television interview that U.B.C. would win. “I got a bit of flak, but I was just speaking from my heart.” He added that in it was the second best moment in his basketball career, next to winning a national title with Fraser Valley in 2000. “Kyle called a great play in those final few seconds and I was fortunate enough to nail the winner.” Hanson noted that “all day long I had been thinking it was going to come down to a buzzer (beater) and I had about five set plays in my mind. As soon as I got to the huddle (in the timeout), Kyle was calling the play. He was certain that he’d be triple-teamed after we inbounded the ball and he called exactly what we ran – to the baseline to Corey out to the perimeter if there was no shot. It was Kyle’s play all the way. We changed our defence in the last two games by putting Kyle on Adam. Adam outmatched us in the first game and we knew we had to contain him to be successful in the series. Kyle asked for the assignment to guard Adam after Thursday’s game. He took it as a personal challenge to guard Trinity’s best offensive player and did a great job in the second and third games.” Lundgren paced Trinity Western with 16 points. Dan Young added 15, Friesen 11, David Martens 5, Steve Janzen 5, Kitteringham 4, Brad Unger 3, Ryan Jobs 3, David Bron 2 and Andy VanderMeulen 2. The Spartans shot 22-57 from the floor, 5-15 from the arc, 17-22 from the line and garnered 26 boards, 23 fouls, 12 assists, 14 turnovers, 2 blocks and 9 steals.
Trinity Western is selected as the wild card in the final four, held at U.B.C.
In the Final Four semis, UBC earned a berth in the nationals with an 80-69 win over Regina. UBC jumped out to a 12-3 lead just five minutes into the contest as Kyle Russell and Karlo Villanueva set the tone with two steals apiece and the T-Birds’ transition game took control. UBC outscored Regina 14-2 off the fast break in first period, finishing the game with a 22-2 fastbreak advantage. Villanueva hit a pair of free throws in the final minute of the opening half to bolster the ‘Birds’ lead to 12 points (41-29), the widest margin of the frame. “We were able to establish our game early on and that was the difference tonight,” said UBC head coach Kevin Hanson. “Karlo played an outstanding first half.” The pint-sized guard finished with a game-high seven assists to go along with 12 points and six rebounds. Russell led all scorers with 21 points, adding nine rebounds and four assists. The Cougars scored the game’s first basket on a jumper by Alek Arsenic, but then were outscored 12-1 by the T-Birds in the subsequent five minutes. Regina eventually pulled to within three points at 14-11, but UBC scored 13 of the next 18 points to lead 27-16 with seven minutes left in the half. The Cougars cut the lead to 31-26 with four minutes remaining before they were outscored 10-3 down the stretch – including 5-0 in the half’s final two minutes. The T-Birds took a 41-29 lead to the dressing room. The Cougars scored five of the first eight points after the intermission, but an 8-0 run gave UBC a 52-34 advantage. The lead stayed in double digits for the remainder of the half, peaking at 22 (60-38). The closest Regina got was within 11 when it was 76-65. UBC shot 12-for-14 (85.7 percent) from the foul line to Regina’s 11-for-19 (57.9 percent). UBC out-rebounded Regina 46-31. Aleksandar Arsenic led Regina with 24 points and 11 boards. Ryan Michell added 19, Brenan Schwartz 13, Joel Hunter 6, Will Porter 3, Jason Drummond 3 and Matthew Cherkas 1. The Cougars hit 27-65 from the floor, 4-20 from the arc and 11-19 from the line while garnering 31 boards, 17 fouls, 14 assists, 13 turnovers and 8 steals. Kyle Russell led U.B.C. with 21 points and 9 boards. Pat McKay added 17 points and 9 boards. Karlo Villanueva scored 12, Corey Ogilvie 9, Casey Archibald 9, Ryder McKeown 8 and Aaron Frampton 4. U.B.C. shot 31-65 from the floor, 6-23 from the arc and 12-14 from the line, while garnering 46 boards, 17 fouls, 19 assists, 18 turnovers, 3 blocks and 7 steals. Regina scored 40 points in the paint to UBC’s 48 and 18 points off turnovers to UBC’s 11. UBC had 17 second chance points to Regina’s 5 and their bench outscored the Cougars bench 17-10. UBC had 22 fastbreak points to Regina’s 2. Regina coach James Hillis said “we were one game away from getting nationals and we lost; that’s it. I’m sad for the guys who won’t get there. I’m sad for (fifth- year guard) Brenan Schwartz and I’m sad for (fifth-year guard) Ryan Michell – the guys who won’t get another kick at this cat. “We just didn’t keep down the keys we identified to beating them. We had to take care of their transition game and they had 24 transition points in the first half and probably 20 more in the second half. That’s just something we can’t give up. It’s not like we’re in the land of the tall trees, with a couple of 7-footers around. We’re supposed to be one of the smaller, more mobile teams. We need to defend the transition game.” Forward Alek Arsenic paced the visitors with 24 points and 11 rebounds, while Michell finished with 19 points. Great Plains Division MVP Brenan Schwartz was held to 13 points on 6-of-15 shooting.
In the other semi, Alberta defeated Trinity Western 82-74 as Phil Scherer dominated, despite playing with two torn ligaments in his right ankle. The teams traded leads throughout the first half as Alberta took a 43-40 edge at the break. Alberta’s second half defense shifted to a box and one on TWU’s all-star guard Adam Friesen. The constant double-teaming limited Friesen, who finished with 13 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, to five points on four shots from the field in the second half. The “Junk” defense gave the Spartans problems. After TWU’s Jon Lundgren tied the contest for the ninth time at 47-47, the Bears rattled off seven straight points – the last five from Scherer – and finally looked to be taking charge. Alberta expanded its lead to 67-56 on a Scott Gordon layup with 9:06 remaining but the Spartans would not quit. But TWU stormed back with the help of more than 2,000 supporters to pull within a single point of Alberta at 69-68 with just over three-and-a-half minutes remaining. But the Bears capitalized on their bonus situation, managing to sink several key free throws down the stretch, including five from Scherer. The Golden Bears quickly built their lead back to five points, 73-68 with 2:30 remaining. But just like two “heavy weights” the Spartans took the punches but did not fold. Five seconds later they cut the lead back to one bucked 73-71. But time was running out for the Spartans. After Alberta built their lead back to four points, a lay-up by TWU’s Ryan Jobs cut the Bears lead back to 2 points, 76-74 with 28 seconds remaining. With the shot clock turned off the Spartans were forced to foul to get the ball back. Alberta never gave the Spartans a chance to get even as the Bears closed out the game going 6-6 from the line. “This was a great performance by Phil, and by our entire team,” said Alberta head coach Don Horwood. “We’ve been through so much with injuries and the like, I’m just so proud of these guys.” The importance of Scherer’s contribution was magnified by the fact that several Bears were in foul trouble in the late going, including centre Kevin Petterson and post Brandon Park, who eventually fouled out. “Towards the end of the game, my ankle was starting to hurt really badly,” said Scherer, “but this makes it all worth it. It’s unbelievable. We’re back.” Central division MVP Scherer finished with 25 points. “I took an anesthetic before the game and felt okay until the warmup for the second half. That’s when the pain started coming back but I managed to finish the game. The way our guys supporting me was just unbelievable,” Scherer said. Horwood said that “if this is any other game than a national tournament qualifier, Phil Scherer doesn’t play. It was a gutsy performance by Phil and every one of our guys. Trinity was a very tough opponent as you would expect at this late stage of the season.” Mike Melnychuk added 22 points and grabbed six rebounds, Dean Whalen 12, Phil Sudol 9, Brandon Park 5, Scott Gordon 4, Gavin Fedorak 3. The Bears shot 22-56 (.393) from the floor, 9-24 (.375) from the arc and 27-32 (.844) from the line while garnering 36 boards, 24 fouls, 7 assists, 11 turnovers, 3 blocks and 2 steals. TWU scored 34 points in the paint to Alberta 24. The Bears scored 15 points off turnovers to Trinity’s 10 and had 15 second chance points to Trinity’s 12. Trinity outscored Alberta off the bench 17-12. The score was tied 9 times and there were 8 lead changes. Logan Kitteringham scored 16 to pace Trinity. Dan Young added 15 and 11 boards. Adam Friesen notched 13, Brad Unger 12, Jon Lundgren 10, Ryan Jobs 5 and David Martens 3. The Spartans hit 25-61 (.410) from the floor, 4-16 from the arc and 20-29 (.690) from the line, while garnering 33 boards, 23 fouls, 16 assists, 8 turnovers, 1 block and 1 steal.
In the bronze medal match, Trinity Western defeated Regina 92-88. “It was hard coming here for this game, but once we got here we realized that we were playing for our seniors, guys who don’t get to play any more after this,” said TWU guard Dave Martens, pointing to Brad Unger and Ryan Jobs. “This is a good first step for us.” Regina coach James Hillis, who had starters Zach Michell (ankle) and Joel Hunter (shoulder) on the bench because of injury said “we battled hard. Those are difficult games to play, the ones that are devoid of meaning. But it’s a league directive; they want you to play. It was tough, but we demonstrated that we play hard when we put the uniform on and step across the line.” Ryan Michell paced Regina with 27. Brenan Schwartz added 24. The Cougars hit just .042 from beyond the arc. The Cougars (coached by James Hillis) also included Alek Arsenic, William Porter, Zach Michell, Jason Drummond, Matt Cherkas, Jordan Kozey, Gregory McKoy, Bryden Wright, Bradley Fekula, Rod Jelinek, David Rainnie, Michael Enns, Garrett Schmidt and Joel Hunter.
In the final, the third-ranked U.B.C. Thunderbirds upset the 2nd-seeded Alberta Golden Bears 82-79 to elate 2,500 raucus home fans. Playing his final home game, Kyle Russell scored a career high 43, including 19 at the foul line, while registering 5 boards and 5 assists. “It’s nice to go out on a win,” said Russell. “I just wanted to have fun and play hard.” Russell scored 20 as the T-Birds took a 44-39 lead into the locker room, but he had no idea how well the night was going from a personal standpoint. “Is that what I had?” U.B.C. coach Kevin Hanson said “what an unbelievable game for a senior to leave a gym like this. Once again he just said, ‘we’re not losing this game,’ and just put us on his wing.” Alberta had taken an early 15-10 lead as Mike Melnychuk came out firing, notching 11 of the Bears first 13 points – including three triples over the head of 5’3” guard Karlo Villanueva. The Bears upped the margin to six points when Melnychuk hit his fourth three-point shot of the first half to make it 31-25 with just over eight minutes to play. UBC chipped away and took its first lead when Russell nailed a three-pointer to give the T-Birds a 37-35 edge with 3:20 on the clock. The home side outscored Alberta 10-2 on the fast break in the first half, keyed by Villanueva’s return after a brief respite for match-up purposes. The T-Birds led for the first 10 minutes and 50 seconds of the second half before Melnychuk swayed the advantage with a jumper that gave Alberta a 66-65 lead. But the Albertans edge was short-lived as Russell scored 11 of UBC’s next 13 points in a three-minute span to restore a 78-72 T-Bird lead with 4:53 remaining in the game. The Bears were able to cut the deficit to a single point but two miscues in the backcourt in the final minute resulted in a pair of needless turnovers and UBC was able to hang on. Alberta played without central division MVP Phil Scherer, who was sporting crutches thanks to two torn ligaments in his right ankle. Melnychuk said the officiating proved the difference. “First of all, we played tonight without Phil, who averaged 22 ppg for us all season and was our scoring leader. Then there’s that wide, wide disparity in fouls. Were we ‘homered’ by the refs? I wouldn’t say that they decided the game but I think the disparity was there for everyone to see. A 27-9 fouls advantage for UBC is pretty tough to swallow. Kyle Russell played a great game but the fact was that he went to the foul line 23 times.” Hanson noted that “Alberta was missing an incredible player in Phil Scherer tonight and he might have made the difference for them. But I don’t think Alberta has an argument in terms of the fouls called to Kyle. He was drawing guys from 6 feet to 6-10 trying to guard him and they fouled him on virtually every turn. Kyle took it upon himself to make sure that we didn’t lose this game. He took the weight of the whole team on his shoulders.” Russell hit 11-19 from the floor and 19-23 from the line. Casey Archibald added 19 points on 7-13 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 7 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Corey Ogilvie scored 6 on 3-4 from the floor, while Pat Mckay notched 5 on 2-7 from the floor and 3 boards. Ryder McKeown scored 5 on 3-4 from the line and 6 boards. Karlo Villanueva scored 2, while dishing 9 assists. Aaron Frampton added 2, while Brandon Ellis, Pete Hodson and Brian Host were scoreless. The Thunderbirds hit 25-48 (.521) from the floor, 5-19 (.263) from the arc and 27-35 (.771) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 19 assists, 22 turnovers and 7 steals. Melnychuk paced the Bears with 23 points on 8-19 from the floor, 4-10 from the arc, 3-6 from the line, 8 assists and 6 steals. Dean Whalen added 20 on 8-13 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc and 2 boards. Phil Sudol scored 16 on 7-11 from the floor, 8 boards and 2 assists. Kevin Petterson notched 10 on 5-6 from the floor and 4 boards. Gavin Fedorak scored 4 on 4-4 from the line. Scott Gordon, Cody Darrah and Brandon Park each scored 2, while Tyson Jones was scoreless. The Bears also included Phil Scherer, Paul Marr, Darryl Salmon. The Bears hit 31-60 (.517) from the floor, 8-21 (.381) from the arc and 9-15 (.600) from the line, while garnering 22 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 24 fouls, 18 assists, 19 blocks and 14 steals. “I just wanted to come out and play hard,” said Russell. “We knew that if we won Friday night we were in [nationals], but you come out here and as soon as the ball goes up you’re competing. We wanted to win and they wanted to win and that’s what happens. The biggest thing is that in a game like that is you have to hit free throws, you have to get defensive stops and you have to run your offence.”
At the end of the season, Brandon’s Jerry Hemmings goes on sabbatical and ends up coaching in Syria. He’ll be replaced for the season by Reggie Carrick, a graduate of Camrose, Alberta’s Augustana University College, and Delta State University in Mississippi, where he earned a Master of Education. “I believe that the job at Brandon is the premier coaching position in Canadian basketball,” says Carrick. “I am really looking forward to joining the Bob cats and will, through my leadership, work to maintain the university’s high standards.” Carrick coached at the University of Northern British Columbia from 1999-2001 before becoming an assistant coach and then interim head coach at West Virginia University of Technology, a division II NCAA institution. He then became general manager and associated head coach with the Charleston Miners of Pro Basketball USA before the league folded.
In September
2004, just prior to the start of the season, Victoria coach Guy Vetrie dies of
a heart attack while jogging, three days before his 52nd birthday. He is
survived by spouse Lil, daughter Kirsten and son Ryan. Vetrie was entering his
14-year as head coach at the university after coming to Victoria in 1989. He
amassed 543 career victories and was named Canada West “Coach of the Year” on
six occasions. Vetrie began his coaching career as an assistant at Laurentian
University, where he worked for one season. From there he moved on to
coach the Saskatchewan Provincial Elite team for two seasons. In 1979, Vetrie
made his break in to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport as a head coach with
the University of Saskatchewan Huskies where he served until 1988. Vikings
assistant Craig Beaucamp assumes the reins the reins on an interim basis.
Beaucamp was an assistant from 2001 and was working on a master’s degree in
coaching studies, having earlier been certified as a Level IV National Coaching
Certification Program (NCCP) coach. Beaucamp led Saskatchewan’s Melfort
Collegiate Senior High School varsity boys and girls basketball teams to nine
consecutive Final-4 Provincial championship appearances. He has served as
both head coach and assistant for the Saskatchewan U-17 provincial team and has
numerous years of experience as director of various basketball camps. “We are
very pleased to have a coach of Craig’s quality stepping in as interim coach,”
says Victoria Coordinator of Athletics James Keogh. “Craig has demonstrated his
commitment to the Vikes and his thorough knowledge of the team, the
student-athletes, the Vikes program, and the sport of basketball will be very
important as he guides this team through a challenging season.”
The bronze medalist Trinity
Western Spartans: Dave Martens; Brad Unger; Ryan Jobs; Adam Friesen; Jon
Lundgren; Logan Kitteringham; Dan Young; Brian Redekop; Andy VanderMeulen;
Steve Janzen; David Bron; Kyle Kooger; Kris Erhardt; John Locht; Luke Lundall;
Jordan Maryniuk; coach Stan Peters; assistant Dave Heidebrech
The silver medalist Alberta Golden Bears: Michael Melnychuk; Phil Sudol; Kevin Petterson; Dean Whalen; Phil Scherer; Gavin Fedorak; Tyson Jones; Scott Gordon; Brandon Park; Darryl Salmon; Paul Marr; Todd McClenaghan; Ian Mobach; Tyler Coston; Cody Darrah; Phil Sudol; coach Don Horwood; assistant Scott Martell; assistant Murray Scambler; assistant Cliff Rowein; trainer Lesley Lush; trainer Shane Wiens; SID Bob Stauffer
The champion British Columbia Thunderbirds: Kyle Russell; Pat McKay; Corey Ogilvie, Karlo Villanueva; Aaron Frampton; Brandon Ellis; Casey Archibald; Jama Mahlalela; Pete Hodson; Ryder McKeown; Greg Sandstrom; Brian Host; Pat Sponaski; coach Kevin Hanson; assistant Vern Knopp; manager Scott Locke; trainer Kelly Smith; SID Marc Weber