2004-05 CanWest - men - From Naismith to Nash

REGULAR SEASON

PLAINS				CENTRAL
Brandon	15-5	24-10	Les Berry	Saskatchewan	13-7	23-13	Greg Jockims
Regina	11-9	16-18	James Hillis	Calgary	12-8	18-16	Dan Vanhooren
Winnipeg	6-14	8-19	Dave Crook	Alberta	12-8	24-15	Don Horwood
Manitoba	3-17	4-22	Rick Suffield	Lethbridge	8-12	9-17	Mike Connolly
PACIFIC
Victoria	14-6	22-10	Craig Beaucamp
U.B.C.	11-9	16-14	Kevin Hanson
Simon Fraser	9-11	11-17	Scott Clark
Trinity Western	6-14	8-15	Stan Peters

Playoff non-qualifiers:

Lethbridge Pronghorns: Nick Baldwin, Tim Whitehead, Todd McClenaghan, Simon Straith, Scott MacKinnon, Richard Humphrey, Ali Andeku, Denver Corbiere, Michael DiPaolo, Kevin Monson, Joel Price, Eric Gallie, Chris Armstrong, coach Mike Connolly

Manitoba Bisons: Chris Dyck, Tim Pershick, Renold Marcelline, Chris Hildebrand, Tarik Tokar, Vyron Phillips, Myron Dean, Ndubuisi Okwumabua, Ryan Koleric, Allen Gervais; Damir Osmanovic; coach Dan Becker; assistant Ogo Okwumabua; assistant Randy Kusano; assistant Joan Themmen

Trinity Western Spartans: Adam Friesen, Logan Kitteringham, Brian Banman, Steve Janzen, David Bron, Donald Burton, Isaac Neubert, Michael Brouwer, Justin Vink, Terry Neufeld, Lafayette Baker, Luke Krueger, Marshall Peters, Michael Erickson, David Muller, Kris Erhardt, Graham Horton, coach Stan Peters, assistant Malcolm Campbell, assistant Bernie Love, manager Chris Gaudet

In the Great Plains Division semis, Regina defeated Winnipeg 109-66; 91-75 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, host Regina throttled Winnipeg 109-66 as Joel Hunter scored 24 on 8-14 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc, 4-4 from the floor and 4 assists. Tai Tuisamoa scored 7 on 2-6 from the floor and 7 boards. Bryden Wright scored 5 on 2-5 from the floor. Greg McKoy scored 4 and Zach Michell 0. Matthew Cherkas added 14 off the bench on 4-8 from the floor and 5-5 from the line. Adam Huffman scored 13 on 6-10 from the floor and 8 boards. Jordan Kozey scored 12 on 5-8 from the floor. Michael Enns scored 11 on 4-9 from the floor and 7 boards. Drew Kuzminski scored 10 on 3-7 from the floor. Bradley Fekula added 5 and Shea Murphy 2. Regina shot 40-82 (.488) from the floor, 7-22 (.318) from the arc and 22-29 (.759) from the line, while garnering 49 boards, 27 fouls, 25 assists, 12 turnovers, 5 blocks and 13 steals, including 5 by Enns and 3 by Fekula. Dan Shynkaryk led Winnipeg with 18 points on 6-11 from the floor, 6-7 from the line and 4 boards. Erfan Nasajpour scored 22 on 4-10 from the floor and 4 assists. Oliver Leslie scored 7 on 3-5 from the floor. Josh Sjoberg scored 2 and Tony Richter was scoreless. Ryan Roper added 14 off the bench on 2-7 from the floor and 8-10 from the line. Tyler Kohut scored 6, Jon Menjivar 4, Mo Williams 2, Phil Swart 2 and Owen Toews 0. The Wesmen shot 18-55 (.327) from the floor, 5-15 from the arc and 25-31 (.806) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, 26 fouls, 9 assists, 28 turnovers, 2 blocks and 5 steals. Regina led 59-34 at the half. …………………………………………………… In game two, Regina completed the sweep by dumping Winnipeg 91-75 as Joel Hunter scored 32 on 11-15 from the floor, 4-5 from the arc, 6-7 from the line and 2 steals. Bryden Wright notched 22 on 8-17 from the floor and 3-5 from the arc. Zach Michell scored 8 on 2-3 from the floor and 4 steals. Greg McKoy scored 4 and Tai Tuisamoa 2. Matthew Cherkas added 10 off the bench on 3-6 from the floor. Adam Huffman scored 4, Jordan Kozey 4, Drew Kuzminski 3 and Michael Enns 2, while Bradley Fekula and Shea Murphy were scoreless. Regina shot 30-70 (429) from the floor, 11-20 (.550) from the arc and 20-27 (.741) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, 22 fouls, 21 assists, 8 turnovers, 2 blocks and 11 steals. Regina led 40-39 at the half. With starters Greg McKoy, Zach Michell and Tai Tuisamoa spending most of the first half on the bench in foul trouble, the reserves bailed out the Cougars. Matt Cherkas scored nine straight points at one stage – including a rare four-point play – to help turn a 37-31 deficit into a 40-39 halftime lead. “I’m looking to score,” said Cherkas, who had 10 points in eight minutes. “If I’m open, I’m not shy about shooting the ball, even if I’ve been sitting on the bench for 15 minutes.” Joel Hunter noted that “Matt gave us a huge lift and basically turned the tide with those threes. That gave us momentum going into the second half. We said in (the team room) at halftime, ‘Guys, if we bring the same energy into the second half, we’re going to win this game’.” Dan Shynkaryk led Winnipeg with 32 points on 12-19 from the floor, 7-8 from the line and 12 boards. Tony Richter added 10 on 5-8 from the floor, 7 boards and 4 assists. Josh Sjoberg scored 7 on 2-8 from the floor, 5 boards and 4 assists. Erfan Nasajpour scored 7 on 2-8 from the floor and 7 assists, while Oliver Leslie scored 2. Ryan Roper and Phil Swart each added 8 off the bench. Matt Opalko scored 1, while Jon Menjivar and Tyler Kohut were scoreless. The Wesmen shot 25-55 (.455) from the floor, 5-11 (.455) from the arc and 20-25 (.800) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, 23 fouls, 17 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals. The Wesmen (coached by Dave Crook, assisted by Barnaby Craddock, Garth McAlpine and Greg Bouchard) also included Owen Toews, Will Bergmann, Mo Williams and Josh Sjoberg.

In the Central Division semis, Alberta defeated Calgary 76-78; 79-69; 86-68 (2g-1). …………………………………………………… In game one, Calgary nipped visiting Alberta 78-76 as Chris Wright scored 29 on 11-13 from the floor, 7-8 from the line and 10 boards. Surinder Grewal added 25 points on 7-13 from the floor, 4-5 from the arc and 7-8 from the line. Sandy Brar scored 9 on 3-6 from the floor. Rick Brar scored 1 and Jon Salgado 1, while grabbing 8 boards. Brendan Groat added 8 off the bench on 2-3 from the floor. Josh Feist scored 5, while Dalbir Dosanjh, Lindsay Thouret and Ian Ferguson were scoreless. The Dinosaurs shot 23-53 (.434) from the floor, 5-14 (.357) from the arc and 27-34 (.794) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, 17 fouls, 15 assists, 15 turnovers and 5 steals. Phil Sudol led the Golden Bears with 16 points on 6-9 from the floor and 4 assists. Scott Gordon added 15 on 6-10 from the floor. Gavin scored 14 on 4-6 from the arc. Mike Melnychuk scored 4 on 1-6 from the floor and Tyler Coston 2 on 1- 4 from the floor. Dean Whalen added 14 off the bench on 5-7 from the floor. James Hudson scored 6, Richard Bates 4, Tyson Jones 0 and Paul Marr 0. Alberta shot 26-50 (.520) from the floor, 9-18 from the arc and 15-17 (.882) from the line, while garnering 22 boards, 23 fouls, 14 assists, 14 turnovers, 1 block and 3 steals. Alberta led 42-31 at the half. With two seconds remaining on the clock, Gordon was charged with a foul and second-year forward Brendan Groat from Lloydminster hit a pair from the line to win it for Calgary. Alberta was in control for most of the affair. Calgary opened with a layup from Chris Wright off a great behind-the-back feed from Sandy Brar. That was their only lead until the final two seconds. Alberta led 42-31 at the half in the foul plagued affair. The Bears led 74-68 with 2:01 to play, when Grewal hit a trey to rally Calgary within three. A minute later, Brar hit a trey to tie the game and send fans at the Jack Simpson Gym into a frenzy. The teams went scoreless for next minute but Alberta moved ahead with 27.1 seconds on the clock when Sudol drove the lane for a layup. But he was then charged with his fifth foul. Calgary hit a pair of free throws to knot the score. Melnychuk drove for a layup but missed and Gordon was charged with a foul on the rebound, setting the stage for Brendan Groat’s winning free throws with two seconds on the clock. “I’ve never been in that position,” said the sophomore. “Maybe in high school but not for university. I was just thinking: it’s money. I thought it was going in.” …………………………………………………… The Golden Bears evened the series in game two by dumping the Dinosaurs 79-69 as Mike Melnychuk scored 23 on 7-12 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 6-7 from the line, 5 boards and 5 assists. Phil Sudol added 20 on 6-11 from the floor, 8-9 from the line and 9 boards. Scott Gordon scored 20 on 7-14 from the floor and 5 boards. Tyler Coston scored 1 and Gavin Fedorak was scoreless. Paul Marr added 6 off the bench, while Tyson Jones scored 5. Dean Whalen added 4, while Richard Bates and James Hudson were scoreless. Alberta shot 25-55 (.455) from the floor, 6-15 (.400) from the arc and 23-30 (.767) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, 22 fouls, 12 assists, 13 turnovers and 5 steals. Surinder Grewal led Calgary with 17 points on 4-13 from the floor, 9-11 from the line and 5 boards. Chris Wright scored 13 on 5-12 from the floor and 12 boards. Rick Brar scored 11 on 5-9 from the floor and 5 boards. Sandy Brar notched 9 and Jon Salgado 2. Josh Feist scored 9 off the bench. Brendan Groat added 8, while Dalbir Dosanjh, Lindsay Thouret and Ian Ferguson were scoreless. The Dinosaurs shot 23-52 (.442) from the floor, 4-16 from the arc and 19-26 (.731) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, 28 fouls, 10 assists, 16 turnovers, 2 blocks and 7 steals. Alberta led 40-27 at the half before a crowd of 1,300 at Calgary’s Jack Simpson Gym. The Bears took an early 18-15 lead on a Melnychuk trey and maintained a slim edge through the remainder of the match. Calgary was in a foul trouble and never drew closer than four in the second half. …………………………………………………………………. Alberta took the series with an 86-68 win in the decisive third game as reserve James Hudson scored 20 points on 7-9 from the floor, 4-4 from the arc and 3 boards. Phil Sudol added 16 on 6-7 from the floor and 3 assists. Scott Gordon scored 15 on 5-9 from the floor and 10 boards. Tyler Coston scored 9 on 3-5 from the floor and 10 assists. Gavin Fedorak scored 8 on 2-2 from the arc and Mike Melnychuk 6 on 1-6 from the floor. Paul Marr and Tyson Jones each added 5 off the bench. Dean Whalen scored 2, while Joel Allen, Richard Bates and Matthew Hudson were scoreless. The Bears shot 27-47 (.574) from the floor, 9-13 (.692) from the arc and 23-27 (.852) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, 20 fouls, 20 assists, 20 turnovers and 4 steals. Alberta led 50-22 at the half. Calgary coach Dan Vanhooren noted that “we really didn’t shoot the ball well all weekend and they did. For them to come out and shoot like that, it’s a ridiculous game.” Dino forward Jon Salgado added that “they shot the lights out. I don’t think our defence was there at times and I think we needed to lock them down a little more. I think, as a team, we didn’t play as well as we could have.” Fifth-year guard Surinder Grewal added that “they outworked us. They outshot us. The out-defended us. They just out-everythinged us.” The Dinos trailed 50-22 at the half and by as much as 30 in the second half. Phil Sudol said all the Bears were “very focused when we came out today. We wanted this badly. We considered ourselves a great shooting team all season, although at times we didn’t show it. I think we’re peaking at the perfect time.” Alberta coach Don Horwood noted that Hudson “is a great athlete and a great shooter. He can do it all.” Chris Wright paced Calgary with 21 points on 8-14 from the floor, 6 boards and 3 assists. Rick Brar scored 10 on 4-8 from the floor. Surinder Grewal notched 9 on 2-7 from the floor and 5-6 from the line. Jon Salgado scored 8 and Sandy Brar 2. Brendan Groat notched 9 off the bench, while Josh Feist scored 4, Lindsay Thouret 2, Ian Ferguson 2 and Dalbir Dosanjh 1. Michael Asmus was scoreless. Calgary shot 24-56 (.429) from the floor, 4-12 from the arc and 16-30 (.533) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, 25 fouls, 9 assists, 18 turnovers, 2 blocks and 3 steals. The Dinos (coached by Dan Vanhooren, assisted by Matthew Skinn) also included Whit Hornsberger, Will Galbraith and Jaret Radford.

In the Pacific Division semis, U.B.C. defeated Simon Fraser 81-68; 69-71; 96-65 (2g-1). …………………………………………………… In the opener, U.B.C. thumped Simon Fraser 81-68 as Casey Archibald scored 28 on 9-18 from the floor. The T-Birds held CIS scoring champ Brent Charleton to 9 points on 1-17 from the floor and 7-9 from the floor. T-Birds coach Kevin Hanson said second-year guard Craig Rollins did a great defensive job. “You’ve got to give credit to Craig. He wasn’t doing much offensively (1-for-6) because he was so focused on stopping Brent. And I think he did a tremendous job.” U.B.C. led 39-35 at the half and opened the second frame with a 13-3 run to take command. SFU was able to draw no closer than seven. “It was no secret that we wanted to run a bit more, even than we did tonight,” said Hanson. “SFU has a short bench, so obviously if we can tire them out a bit, that helps our cause in a two or three-game series.” Archibald also grabbed 8 boards. Karlo Villanueva scored 15 on 5-7 from the floor and 6 assists. Ryder McKeown scored 15 on 6-8 from the floor and 5 boards. Craig Rollins scored 4 on 1-6 from the floor and Pete Wauthy scored 2. Mark Tasic added 8 off the bench. Corey Ogilvie scored 5 and Bryson Kool 4, while Jordan Yu and Jason Birring were scoreless. The Thunderbirds hit 29-54 (.537) from the floor, 5-12 (.417) from the arc and 18-23 (.783) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, 19 fouls, 18 assists, 10 turnovers, 4 blocks and 3 steals. Aaron Christenson paced the Clan with 22 points on 8-12 from the floor, 6-7 from the line and 12 boards. Raj Mander added 13 on 5-11 from the floor and 4 assists. Emmy Unaegbu scored 10, while Melvin Mayott notched 6 on 3-10 from the floor. Charleton also collected 5 boards. Scott Hyde and Alex Quezada each scored 4 off the bench, while John MacIver, Mike McKay and Paul Zwierzewicz were held scoreless. The Clan shot 24-59 (.407) from the floor, 1-12 (.083) from the arc and 19-23 (.826) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, 19 fouls, 13 assists, 7 turnovers, 1 blocks and 7 steals. Archibald called it a physical affair. “There was the usual bumping and banging. But if we can execute in the half court, we’re going to win basketball games.” …………………………………………………… In game two, the Clan eked out a 71-69 win to even the series as Aaron Christensen scored 26 on 9-16 from the floor, 6-6 from the line, 13 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Raj Mander added 21 on 6-14 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 6-7 from the line and 4 assists. Melvin Mayott scored 10 on 4-12 from the floor. Emmy Unaegbu scored 2, while Alex Quezada was scoreless. Brent Charleton added 10 off the bench on 3-8 from the floor and 4 boards. Scott Hyde scored 2, while John MacIver was scoreless. SFU shot 24-58 (.414) from the floor, 5-17 (.294) from the arc and 18-21 (.857) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, 22 fouls, 13 assists, 22 turnovers, 5 blocks and 9 steals. The score was tied 10 times and lead changed hands 13 times. UBC led 32-31 at the half. Casey Archibald and Ryder McKeown each scored 16 to lead the T-Birds. Archibald was 6-13 from the floor, while McKeown was 7-8 from the floor and grabbed 5 boards. Craig Rollins scored 8 on 3-8 from the floor and 5 boards, while Pete Wauthy scored 5. Bryson Kool added 6 off the bench. Jordan Yu scored 3, Mark Tasic 2 and Corey Ogilvie 2, while Matt Rachar and Jason Birring were scoreless. UBC shot 26-59 (.441) from the floor, 4-18 (.222) from the arc and 13-22 (.591) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, 20 fouls, 15 assists, 16 turnovers, 3 blocks and 9 steals. Mander hit a pair of free throws with 0.3 seconds on the clock to give the Clan the victory. With the score knotted at 69, Mander drove the lane and drew a controversial reaching foul off Ogilvie. He hit both free throws with 0.3 seconds on the clock. Archibald had missed three of four attempts from the line in the final minute to set the stage for Mander’s heroics. “It was supposed to be something different,” Mander said. “Usually, I settle for the shot but I wanted to take it to the hoop and take it hard and Corey took my left hand out. As a group, we decided that today was not going to be our last game and we were just going to somehow get it done.” Christensen had hit a critical baseline jumper in the final minute to put SFU ahead 69-68. “I thought a couple of their guys wanted it a little more than us defensively and obviously we have to find a way to stop Christenson,” said UBC coach Kevin Hanson. “He’s had a couple of great games against us and we’ve missed some defensive assignments. … We know each other’s stuff so we won’t change much for game three. Now it just comes down to heart tomorrow.” Mander and Aaron Christensen had met before the game and decided to assume a larger part of the scoring load because CIS scoring champ Brent Charleton was playing with an injured right elbow and was forced to shoot with his offhand. “Coach didn’t really have to say anything to us today. I talked with Aaron and we knew that our big gun Brent was all bruised and hurting and that we had to step it up.” Christensen hit a baseline jumper from 16 feet out with 27 seconds remaining that gave SFU a one point lead. With 9.3 seconds remaining in the game, and UBC’s Casey Archibald driving to the hole, SFU’s Scott Hyde sent the T-Birds scoring leader to the free throw line with a hard foul and the Clan leading 69-68. Archibald missed the first, but hit the second and the game appeared to be headed toward overtime tied at 69. Mander’s 12 second-half points all came at critical junctures, the biggest being his drive to the hole that resulted in game-altering free throws with under one second left. “Rajey made an aggressive play and we’re just happy with the way things turned out,” said SFU head coach Scott Clark. “I think at this time of the year there is competitive greatness, and the best players play their best when it’s needed.” …………………………………………………… U.B.C. took the series by pounding Simon Fraser 96-65 in game three as Casey Archibald scored 27 on 9-15 from the floor, 5-10 from the arc, 4-5 from the line and 4 assists. Ryder McKeown notched 13 on 6-10 from the floor. Corey Ogilvie scored 12 on 6-11 from the floor and 6 boards. Peter Wauthy scored 6 and grabbed 11 boards, while Karlo Villaneuva scored 3 and dished 4 assists. Mark Tasic added 9 off the bench on 4-5 from the floor. Matt Rachar scored 7, Bryson Kool 6, Jordan Yu 5, Craig Rollins 5, Jason Birring 2 and Neil Morrison 1. The Thunderbirds hit 35-64 (.547) from the floor, 6-19 (.316) from the arc and 20-32 (.625) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, 20 fouls, 22 assists, 12 turnovers, 2 blocks and 12 steals, including 3 by Yu. UBC led 46-33 at the half. U.B.C. ripped off 12 unanswered points early in the second half to put the game out of SFU’s reach, extending their margin to as many as 24 in the romp. “I thought the experience of Casey and Karlo (Villanueva) and Corey (Ogilvie) really showed tonight,” said UBC head coach Kevin Hanson. “Corey brought a whole lot of energy and really changed the style that we were allowed to play, especially in transition. Our posts also did a very good job of getting out on the break and we anticipated the play very well tonight. . . . Going in we were pretty confident that if [the series] went to three, it was going to be a bit of a battle for [the Clan]. There are going to be ups and downs in a series in Canada West. You just have to be able to play through them and I liked how we responded tonight.” Aaron Christenson led SFU with 17 points on 6-14 from the floor, 5-7 from the line and 8 boards. Raj Mander scored 9 on 3-8 from the arc. Emmy Unaegbu scored 8 on 2-6 from the floor and 8 boards. Melvyn Mayott scored 7 and Alex Quezada 4. Brent Charleton added 12 off the bench on 4-12 from the floor and 4 assists. Scott Hyde scored 6 and Vik Bhardwaj 2, while Alex MacIver and Paul Zwierzewicz were scoreless. The Clan shot 21-59 (.356) from the floor, 3-13 (.231) from the arc and 20-26 (.769) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, 25 fouls, 10 assists, 24 turnovers, 2 blocks and 5 steals. The Clan (coached by Scott Clark, assisted by Rich Chambers) also included Sean Stewart, Alex Quesada, Vahid Shababi, Scott Hyde, Mike Klizs and Mike McKay.

In the Central Division final, Alberta defeated Saskatchewan 77-75; 63-71; 83-75 (2g-1). …………………………………………………… In the opener, Alberta stunned host Saskatchewan 77-75 as Scott Gordon scored 25 on 11-14 from the floor and 9 boards. Phil Sudol notched 6, while grabbing 10 boards. Mike Melnychuk scored 5, Gavin Fedorak 4 and Tyler Coston 2. James Hudson added 15 off the bench on 4-6 from the floor, 6-7 from the line and 6 boards. Dean Whalen scored 12 on 6-7 from the floor and Tyson Jones notched 8 on 2-4 from the floor, while Paul Marr was scoreless. The Golden Bears shot 28-46 (.609) from the floor, 2-9 (.222) from the arc and 19-22 (.864) from the line, while garnering 32 rebounds, 15 fouls, 8 assists, 22 turnovers, 4 blocks and 7 steals, including 4 by Fedorak. Saskatchewan led 33-29 at the half. Matt Greenberg paced the Huskies with 16 points on 7-12 from the floor and 4 boards. Andrew Spagrud added 15 on 7-17 from the floor, 8 boards and 5 steals. Rob Lovelace scored 11 on 3-10 from the floor and 6 boards. Sam Lamontagne scored 9 on 2-9 from the floor, while Kyle Grant scored 7 on 2-5 from the floor and 4 assists. Levi Vann added 10 on the bench, while Dustin Fruson scored 3, Jordan Harbidge 2 and Trent Folk 2. Kevin Langdon and Mike Linklater were scoreless. Saskatchewan shot 27-71 (.380) from the floor, 7-16 (.438) from the arc and 14-17 (.824) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, 21 fouls, 15 assists, 10 turnovers, 1 block and 11 steals. Alberta rallied from a 14-point second half deficit to take a six-point lead with 2:45 to play. Guard Tyson Jones hit one of two free throws as Alberta clung to a two-point lead with 4.9 seconds to play. Saskatchewan’s Rob Lovelace drove the length the floor and lost his balance as he attempted to hit a layup at the buzzer and was unable to get off the shot. Both teams got off to slow starts in the first half. The Huskies took a 17-12 lead with 12:19 to play after Dustin Fruson converted a three-point play. The Huskies continued to play tough on the defensive end, forcing Alberta into 13 first half turnovers, but couldn’t break the game open as they had trouble scoring consistently. A rare four-point play by guard Sam Lamontagne with 2:32 remaining in the half put the Dogs up 31-24. The Huskies would take a 33-29 lead at the break. The Huskies came out hard to begin the second half, scoring six straight points to extend their lead to ten. A three-pointer by Lovelace with 15:53 to go made the score 45-34 in favour of the home squad. Up ten with just over ten minutes to play, Scott Gordon would cut into the lead for the Bears with a three-point play, making the score 58-51. Alberta then used a half-court press to slow down the Huskies, holding them to only five points for the next eight minutes. Dean Whalen tied the game at 62 with a short jumper at the 6:13 mark, while Gordon extended the lead to six with another converted three-point play with 2:45 remaining in the game. Another three by Lamontagne, as well as a three-point play by Lovelace cut the lead to 72-69 with 1:01 to play. With the Huskies forced to foul, the Bears missed three free throws down the stretch to give the Huskies a chance to send the game into overtime. “The only word that comes to mind is frustrating. We let it slip away,” said Spagrud. Alberta coach Don Horwood noted that “I’m not happy with how we turned the ball over (22 times) but obviously, we battled really hard.” Saskatchewan coach Greg Jockims noted that “down the stretch, they made some shots and we tightened up and missed some shots.” …………………………………………………… Saskatchewan evened the series by defeating Alberta 71-63 as Sam Lamontagne scored 19 on 7-14 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc and 4 assists. Andrew Spagrud added 12 on 5-9 from the floor and 5 boards. Rob Lovelace scored 11 on 3-6 from the floor and 4-4 from the line. Kyle Grant scored 10 on 3- 4 from the floor and Matt Greenburg 9 on 3-6 from the floor and 9 boards. Dustin Fruson and Mike Linklater each scored 33 off the bench, while Levi Vann and Trent Folk each scored 2. Jordan Harbidge and Kevin Langdon were scoreless. The Huskies shot 25-52 (.481) from the floor, 6-20 (.300) from the arc and 15-18 (.833) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, 16 fouls, 14 assists, 8 turnovers, 3 blocks and 8 steals. Saskatchewan led 39-34 at the half. Phil Sudol led the Golden Bears with 17 points on 7-12 from the floor and 4 boards. Scott Gordon added 12 points on 5-6 from the floor. Tyler Coston scored 5 on 2-6 from the floor and Mike Melnychuk 2 on 0-6 from the floor, while Gavin Fedorak was scoreless and had 2 assists. James Hudson added 12 points off the bench on 4-5 from the floor. Dean Whalen scored 5, Tyson Jones 4, Paul Marr 3 and Richard Bates 2. Alberta shot 23-49 (.469) from the floor, 5-17 (.294) from the arc and 12-16 (.750) from the line, while garnering 26 boards, 18 fouls, 11 assists, 17 turnovers and 6 steals. The Huskies put in a solid defensive effort Friday evening in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 1450, holding the University of Alberta Golden Bears to only 29 points in the second half to come away with a 71-63 victory in Game 2. Down 34-28 with 4:05 to play in the first half, the Huskies went on an 18-0 run over the next six minutes of play. Sam Lamontagne hit two key threes in the closing minutes of the first frame, giving the Dogs a 39-34 lead at the half. Lamontagne opened the second half with a converted three-point play, and scored eleven of the Huskies first 15 points of the period giving the home squad a 54-38 lead with 13:54 remaining. Alberta finally scored after almost three minutes had gone by in the second half, giving them their first points in 6:51 of playing time. The Huskies then hit a bit of a scoring drought, scoring only three points over the next six minutes, as the game started to look like a carbon copy of Thursday night. The Bears kept chipping away at the lead, cutting it to four on a layup by Scott Gordon with 8:08 to play. But big three-pointers from Kyle Grant and Rob Lovelace, along with two made free throws by Lovelace, helped put the Huskies up 65-55 with 4:21 to go. Tyler Coston nailed a three to make the score 67-63 with 1:37 to play. Lovelace would hit two more free throws with 1:01 on the clock, putting the Dogs up six. The Huskies then played some of their best defense of the night, as Matt Greenberg came across the lane for a huge block on Coston’s attempted jumper, sending the ball out of bounds towards the Bears bench. With only two seconds on the shot clock, Alberta got the ball inbounds directly to Phil Sudol in the post, who turned to shoot almost immediately, only to have Greenberg swat the ball back as Lovelace secured the rebound. Grant then hit two free throws with 23.1 seconds left to secure the victory. “We wanted it way more than them,” said Huskies guard Sam Lamontagne. Alberta coach Don Horwood agreed. “Absolutely. No question about it. They played better and they worked harder. Our guys didn’t work hard enough and we got the result we deserve.” Lamontagne said the Huskies were determined to avoid the collapse of game one, in which Alberta rallied from a 13-point deficit. “We thought about that, and we knew we had to change it. We called a timeout, settled down, and changed it. We’re not a stupid team. We learn our lessons, and we corrected it.” …………………………………………………… Alberta took the series by dumping Saskatchewan 83-75 in game three as Phil Sudol scored 27 on 11-18 from the floor, 5-7 from the line and 11 boards. Mike Melnychuk scored 21 on 5-8 from the floor, 9-10 from the line, 4 boards and 5 assists. Scott Gordon scored 12 on 5-9 from the floor and 8 boards. Tyler Coston 6 on 3-6 from the floor, while Gavin Fedorak was scoreless. James Hudson added 14 off the bench on 3-6 from the floor and 7-8 from the line. Tyson Jones scored 2, Paul Marr 1 and Dean Whalen was scoreless. The Golden Bears shot 27-49 (.551) from the floor, 3-7 (.429) from the arc and 26-36 (.722) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, 22 fouls, 9 assists, 14 turnovers, 3 blocks and 6 steals. Alberta led 37-36 at the half. With the win, Alberta earns the right to host the final four. The Huskies trailed by as many as eleven in the early going, but a converted three-point play by Dustin Fruson with 11:10 to go cut the lead to 18-10. Andrew Spagrud sparked the dogs with a big dunk over Scott Gordon on a fast break, his second of the half, making the score 23-20 with 7:28 to play in the half. The Huskies would trail by just one, 37-36, at the break after Spagrud made two free throws after an intentional foul was called on Alberta guard Tyson Jones. After Alberta led by nine with just under ten minutes to play in the game, a Kyle Grant layup after an offensive rebound cut the lead to 62-57 with 7:40 remaining. But the Bears would not give up the lead, extended it to 13 with five minutes to play on a James Hudson three-pointer, making the score 70-57. Saskatchewan would cut the lead to six with just under two minutes on the clock, but would get no closer as Alberta hit eight of its last nine free throw attempts to seal the victory. Saskatchewan coach Greg Jockims noted that the Bears are “really on a roll right now. They’ve won two series on the road, which is extremely difficult to do. Full marks to them.” Sudol noted that “the more close games we have, and the more often we come out of those, the better we’ll be prepared for those close games when it comes down to playing for the national championships. ….Every game has ups and downs. We just had to cut their ups to a minimum and take ours as far as we could. And that’s what we did.” Spagrud noted that “we didn’t get the job done. Alberta played well today – their shots were falling and ours weren’t. In the end, they won.” Bears coach Don Horwood noted that “Phil sure bounced back (in game three). In the first game against Saskatchewan, he had nine turnovers.” Andrew Spagrud paced the Huskies with 20 points on 9-16 from the floor, and 11 boards. Matt Greenberg added 12 on 3-11 from the floor, 6-8 from the line and 8 boards. Rob Lovelace scored 7 on 3-7 from the floor. Kyle Grant scored 6 on 1- 4 from the floor. Sam Lamontagne scored 4. Mike Linklater added 10 off the bench on 4-6 from the floor. Dustin Fruson scored 7, Trent Folk 5 and Levi Vann 4, while Jordan Harbidge and Kevin Langdon were scoreless. Saskatchewan shot 28-61 (.459) from the floor, 0-12 from the arc and 19-25 (.760) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, 25 fouls, 11 assists, 11 turnovers, 1 block and 6 steals. The Huskies (coached by Greg Jockims, assisted by Nathan Schellenberg and Brett Hoffman) also included Jim Guidinger, Kevin Hollman, Ryan Lynchuk and Anthony Eliason.

In the Pacific Division final, Victoria defeated U.B.C. 87-78; 73-70 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In the opener, Victoria dumped U.B.C. 87-78 as Steve Moore scored 21 on 8-11 from the floor and 5-5 from the arc. Chris Trumpy scored 17 on 6-15 from the floor, 4-7 from the line and 7 assists. Shaun Doherty scored 12 on 3-9 from the floor, 5-6 from the line, 7 boards and 8 assists. Tyler Hass scored 5 and Graeme Bollinger 2. Brandon Ellis added 15 off the bench on 4-7 from the floor and 6-7 from the line. Mitch Gudgeon scored 12 on 6-7 from the floor and 6 boards. Eric Rushton scored 3, while Matt Kazanowski, Matt Kuzminski and Rob Kinnear were scoreless. The Vikings shot 31-60 (.517) from the floor, 9-16 (.562) from the arc and 16-26 (.615) from the line, while garnering 28 boards, 23 fouls, 28 assists, 13 turnovers and 7 steals, including 3 by Doherty. Victoria led 47-33 at the half. Casey Archibald paced the Thunderbirds with 26 points on 8-17 from the floor, 4-8 from the arc, 6-7 from the line, 9 assists and 7 boards. Ryder McKeown added 20 on 7-9 from the floor and 6-10 from the line. Corey Ogilvie scored 13 on 6-10 from the floor and 5 boards. Karlo Villaneuva scored 2 and dished 4 assists, while Peter Wauthy scored 2. Bryson Kool added 6 off the bench, while nabbing 6 boards. Mark Tasic scored 4, Jordan Yu 2 and Matt Rachar 2, while Craig Rollins and Neil Morrison were scoreless. U.B.C. shot 29-57 (.509) from the floor, 5-11 (.455) from the arc and 15-23 (.652) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, 27 fouls, 25 assists, 14 turnovers, 2 blocks and 3 steals. Steve Moore put UVic on the board first with a jumper from just outside the key, setting the tone for the hometown side, which would roll out to an early fourteen point lead eight minutes in. The T-birds took a few minutes to warm-up but worked their way back into the game off the three point shooting of Casey Archibald. Knocking down two three’s in the first, Archibald scored 14 in half. Moore had an answer to Archibald’s deep shots, going 4-4 from beyond the arc, for all of his 16 first half points. UBC climbed back into the game, going on a 10-0 with eight to go but getting back to within six was as close as they would get. The Vikes biggest lead in the initial twenty minutes was 16 points, buoyed by strong 51 per cent shooting. They led 47-33 at the half. The T-birds opened up the second by cutting four points out of Victoria’s lead and continued to chip-away throughout the half. As the clock wound down, the Vikes managed to hold on to a slim edge of two or four points but they were unable to take command of the game. Rebounding proved to be a key for UBC in the second, a combination of bad bounces off the rim and the Vikes difficulty in gaining position in the paint allowed the T-birds to work their way to within two points. Led by Chris Trumpy and Brandon Ellis with 13 and 7 second half points respectively, the Vikes clung to the lead during those final few minutes. With just 90 seconds to play, the T-birds were behind by only a single basket but UVic gained momentum when Mitch Gudgeon ripped a big board off the glass and converted for two. Moments later, Shaun Doherty charged down the floor and drew the foul. On the line he was clutch, nailing both free throws to increase the lead to six and UVic held on for the win. “I had open shots early and I had to take them,” said Steve Moore. “I knew it was going to be a good night when the first one went in. With our team, we don’t look for the guy who is on fire. We just like to spread the ball around so everyone has touches.” UBC coach Kevin Hanson said “UVic came out very aggressive and shot well in the first half. It was a great come back by our guys and the game was decided in the last two minutes. UVic made some plays down the stretch and got some breaks. My team seems to play better when their backs are to the wall.” Viking point guard Chris Trumpy praised UBC’s effort. “We knew that it would take a 40-minute game to beat them. We had a good run in the first half and they had a run like that in the second. We made some key stops down the stretch.” Moore said Victoria’s half-court sets were phenomenal. “The offence is awesome. We think there’s no defence that can stop it just because there’s so many counters to the original action. We love it.” Hanson said “I thought the big difference in every game we’ve played with them has come down to execution in the last two minutes of the game.” Vikings coach Craig Beaucamp said “to be honest, our focus was to take away their interior game and I thought they kicked our ass in there. We have to do a better job inside.” …………………………………………………… Victoria completed the series sweep by nipping U.B.C. 73-70 in game two as Chris Trumpy scored 15 including 4-8 from the floor, 6-11 from the line, 5 boards, 6 assists and 3 steals. Graeme Bollinger added 11 on 5-8 from the floor. Shaun Doherty scored 9 on 3-6 from the floor and 6 assists. Steve Moore scored 9 on 3-8 from the floor, while Tyler Hass scored 7 and grabbed 6 boards. Brandon Ellis notched 12 off the bench on 5-7 from the floor and 4 boards. Mitch Gudgeon scored 10 on 4-7 from the floor, while Matt Kazanowski and Eric Rushton were scoreless. Victoria led 37-36 at the half. The T-birds came out with great intensity from the opening tip-off and cruised out to an early lead. The Vikes zoned in on Casey Archibald tonight and forced UBC to move the ball around the offense, evidenced in the balanced scoring across the line-up. By the midpoint of the half the T-birds were up by as much as eight but would not hold the lead down the stretch. UVic continued to press and took their first lead of the game with 2:34 to play going up 34-33. A great effort by rookie Mitch Gudgeon with 54 seconds to play swung the momentum in Victoria’s favour. On a rebound off the Vikes rim, the ball hit the floor along with several T-birds and Vikes. In the middle of the scrum, Gudgeon wrestled the ball away from four UBC hands and flipped it over to Shaun Doherty. An outlet pass by Doherty to three point man Steve Moore and the Vikes were up 37-36 at the half. The second half went end-to-end-to-end-to-end with the lead changing hands with every possession. UBC continued to battle hard on the boards and play very aggressive defense, reducing the Vikes scoring opportunities. Victoria countered with strong man-on-man defence. The game came down to the final minute of play. Former T-bird Brandon Ellis hit a jumper to put the Vikes up one, 69-68. On the next possession UBC’s Peter Wauthy hit a two and UBC was up one. After a couple more baskets and just eight seconds left on the clock, UVic was up 71-70. The Vikes had the ball and UBC fouled Gudgeon. On the line he hit both and put the game away. It marked the fifth straight playoff series that the Vikings had won from the Thunderbirds. During the last five minutes of the game, with the crowd roaring a deafening De-Fence, De-Fence, the Vikes clawed their way back with some crucial shots and stops. “I’m very proud of our team,” said Vikes’ coach Craig Beaucamp. “We have used the same story line all year. Every game we have a different hero and tonight there were seven or eight of them. Night in and night out, these guys don’t quit. They keep working hard, wait for a break and grab it. This was a tough victory for us to get. Sometimes the eliminating victory in sports is the hardest to come by. UBC gave us everything they had and that is exactly what I expected.” Beaucamp noted that Trumpy was forced to sit most of the first half in fouls trouble. “When a guy gets two early fouls, he sits. We have always done that. Chris was very fresh for us in the second half.” Graduating Vikes guard Shaun Doherty said “You couldn’t have written a better script for my final game here. We still have some things to accomplish in the next few weeks. Before the year started during our golf tournament, we said we weren’t a rebuilding team. That is not our mentality. The future is now for us.” Casey Archibald led U.B.C. with 13 points on 4-16 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 6 assists and 5 steals. Karlo Villaneuva scored 12 on 5-9 from the floor and 5 assists. Ryder McKeown scored 10 on 5-8 from the floor, while Corey Ogilvie and Peter Wauthy each scored 7. Mark Tasic added 11 off the bench on 4-8 from the floor and 7 boards. Craig Rollins scored 6 and Bryson Kool 4, while Jordan Yu was scoreless. The Thunderbirds hit 27-66 (.409) from the floor, 4-16 from the arc and 12-18 from the line, while garnering 31 boards, 24 fouls, 26 assists, 17 turnovers, 3 blocks and 12 steals. The Thunderbirds (coached by Kevin Hanson) also included Jason Birring, Matt Rachar and Neil Morrison.

In the Great Plains final, Regina defeated Brandon 77-66; 54-75; 95-77 (2g-1). …………………………………………………… In the opener, Regina defeated Brandon 77-66 as Joel Hunter scored 20 on 5-10 from the floor and 9-9 from the line. Tai Tuisamoa added 13 on 4-9 from the floor and 10 boards. Bryden Wright scored 11 on 5-10 from the floor and 5 boards. Zach Michell scored 9, while Greg McKoy notched 2. Drew Kuzminski added 9 off the bench on 3-3 from the floor and 6 boards. Matthew Cherkas scored 7, Adam Huffman 4 and Michael Enns 2, while Jordan Kozey and Bradley Fekula were scoreless. The Rams hit 24-50 (.480) from the floor, 6-18 from the arc and 23-28 (.821) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, 14 fouls, 13 assists, 17 turnovers, 2 blocks and 3 steals. Mario Joseph paced the Bobcats with 19 points on 7-16 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc and 3 steals. O’Neil Gordon added 18 points on 8-22 from the floor and 11 boards. Yul Michel scored 15 on 6-13 from the floor and 6 assists. Tyrone Purnell added 6 on 3-3 from the floor and 6 boards. Dido Bunema scored 2, while Jimmy Sebulime scored 4 off the bench and Robens Josephat 2. Brandon shot 28-67 (.418) from the floor, 3-18 (.167) from the arc and 7-12 (..583) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, 19 fouls, 14 assists, 9 turnovers, 1 block and 10 steals. Regina led 38-30 at the half. Friday’s result was essentially a carbon copy of what transpired in game one of the 2003-2004 Great Plains divisional final, a contest the Cougars won 78-65. The Bobcats then rallied to win games two and three. The Cougars said they were determined to ensure a different outcome. “You know, we saw how this ended last year,” said U of R head coach James Hillis. “We saw the ending to the movie. I guess we’re hoping this year it’s on a DVD, you know, so we can have an alternate ending. We played pretty well all night. It wasn’t a perfect game for us. We made a lot of defensive errors that led to easy points for them. We still need to be better tomorrow. If we play this same game tomorrow, they will beat us.” Regina led for the majority of the night, and they were ahead 38-30 at the half. That lead stretched to 44-31 early in the second half, before Brandon went on an 11-0 run to cut the lead to two. From there, the schools went back and forth, with the Bobcats taking their first lead of the game on a Mario Joseph three-pointer with 11:50 to go. However, that shot didn’t faze Regina, as they marched down the floor and took the lead right back. From there, the lead slowly but surely kept growing, and the Cougars never looked back. “I thought they whole game, we just didn’t play well,” noted BU head coach Les Berry. “We broke down mentally, we took bad shots in critical situations, and we didn’t do what it takes to win a play-off basketball game. Sometimes, it’s not about just playing hard. We need to play smart if we want to win. …………………………………………………… Brandon whipped Regina 75-54 to even the series as Mario Joseph scored 13 on 3-8 from the floor and 6-9 from the line. Jimmy Sebulime scored 12 on 5-9 from the floor. Yul Michel scored 12 on 7-9 from the line, 8 boards and 3 assists. Tyrone Purnell scored 10 on 3-5 from the floor and 4 boards. Dido Bunema scored 7 on 3-10 from the floor and 7 boards. O’Neil Gordon added 9 off the bench on 3-10 from the floor, 11 boards and 6 assists. Jeff Freiheit scored 6, Adam Hartman 4 and Joel Edwards 2, while Nathan John and Robens Josaphat were scoreless. The Bobcats shot 22-53 (.415) from the floor, 3-8 (.375) from the arc and 28-42 (.667) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, 17 fouls, 11 assists, 17 turnovers, 4 blocks and 10 steals. Brandon led 36-29 at the half. Joel Hunter led Regina with 19 points on 6-11 from the floor and 6-6 from the line. Tai Tuisamoa added 13 on 6-13 from the floor. Zach Michell scored 5 on 1- 4 from the floor and 4 boards. Bryden Wright scored 2 on 1-11 from the floor, while Greg McKoy scored 1. Adam Huffman added 4 off the bench, while Jordan Kozey, Bradley Fekula and Matthew Cherkas each scored 3. Drew Kuzminski scored 1, while Shea Murphy and Michael Enns were scoreless. The Rams hit 19-54 (.352) from the floor, 3-14 (.214) from the arc and 13-19 (.684) from the line, while garnering 25 boards, 28 fouls, 2 assists, 16 turnovers, 2 blocks and 9 steals, including 3 by Wright. “An overall team effort tonight, that was the difference,” said Brandon head coach Les Berry afterwards. “We rebounded the ball better, we played with more intensity, and we played smarter.” Regina led for the majority of the first half, holding a 9-point lead in the game’s early stages. But unlike Friday night – a game they lost 77-66 – Brandon recovered and took a 28-25 lead with just over 5 minutes remaining in the opening frame. They didn’t trail again the rest of the way. The ‘Cats took a 36-29 lead into the locker room at the break, then hit back-to-back three-point shots to start the second half, opening up a 13 point lead they would not relinquish. “We gave them second chance after second chance,” said Regina coach James Hillis, who was ejected from the game with 45 seconds remaining after receiving his second technical foul. “If you keep giving them opportunities, this team will beat you. They flew at the basket when they had the ball, they flew at the basket on the offensive glass, we put them on the line… and really, we need to be better tomorrow.” “It was must win for us tonight, and our backs were up against the wall, and now they (Regina) are in the same situation tomorrow,” noted Berry. “We expect them to be much better tomorrow afternoon.” …………………………………………………… Regina took the series by winning the decisive game three 95-77 as Joel Hunter scored 21 on 8-14 from the floor, 3- 4 from the arc, 6 boards and 3 assists. Bryden Wright added 11 on 2-7 from the floor, 7-10 from the line, 7 boards and 4 assists. Zach Michell scored 11 on 3-5 from the arc and 4 assists. Tai Tuisamoa scored 8 on 1-7 from the floor, while Greg McKoy scored 4. Drew Kuzminski added 17 off the bench on 8-9 from the floor and 9 boards in just 13 minutes of play. Matthew Cherkas scored 11 on 3-7 from the floor. Adam Huffman scored 7, Jordan Kozey 3 and Shea Murphy 2, while Bradley Fekula and Michael Enns were scoreless. The Rams hit 31-49 (.525) from the floor, 9-15 (.600) from the arc and 24-35 (.686) from the line, while garnering 33 boards, 33 fouls, 14 assists, 7 turnovers and 3 steals. Regina led 46-38 at the half. Yul Michel paced the Bobcats with 15 points on 11-12 from the line. O’Neil Gordon scored 14 on 6-15 from the floor and 9 boards. Mario Joseph scored 13 on 3-7 from the floor, 6-12 from the line and 6 boards. Dido Bunema scored 10 on 3-9 from the floor and 4-4 from the line. Tyrone Purnell scored 3. Adam Hartman added 12 off the bench on 4-6 from the floor, 4-5 from the line and 7 boards. Jimmy Sebulime and Robens Josaphat each scored 5, while Nathan John, Jeff Freiheit and Joel Edwards were scoreless. The Bobcats shot 22-51 (.431) from the floor, 1-9 (.111) from the arc and 32-44 (.727) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, 24 fouls, 8 assists, 13 turnovers, 2 blocks and 4 steals. “We played with better energy and we hit shots,” said Regina coach James Hillis. “We are a jump shooting team, and tonight we made some. After watching the tape from last night’s game, we felt we needed to be better on the glass, and we were tonight, and we’re very happy with this result.” A frustrated Les Berry said after the game that “today is today and we should be thinking about this game and how we got beat. This was a carbon copy of game one on Friday. We got bullied on the boards, and when that happens, we lose. We fell behind again, and when that happens, we pack up and go south.” The Cougars fell behind by six points early, but recovered nicely and staked themselves to a 46-38 lead at the break. In the second half, they were relentless, knocking down shot after shot, forcing turnover after turnover, and looking like a vastly superior and dominant team. The game was never close down the stretch. When asked by a reporter if his team is simply “happy to be here”, Hillis just laughed. “Not at all,” was his response. “We have to celebrate when we get one of these, but we still have work to do. We’ll get on the bus, pick up a burger, have some Cokes, watch some movies, sing some happy songs, then get home and get back to work.” Brandon looked sluggish for most game three, and the entire team never seemed mentally ready to compete. “If you can’t play in three straight games, then you can’t play in four straight games, and that might be what it takes to win a national title,” noted Berry.

The Brandon Bobcats are extended the wildcard invitation.

In the Final Four semis, Alberta defeated Brandon 81-76 in overtime. Played before a standing room only crowd of 2500 fans, the Golden Bears battled back from several deficits to win. Mike Melnychuk dominated the second half, almost single-handily taking the Bears into OT and the win column. Trailing 71-69 with seconds on the clock, the veteran guard drove down the left side of the court, cut into the middle ran into a Brandon block and put up an off-balance attempt at two, draining the bucket and sending the capacity crowd into a frenzy. Although it appeared he was outside the arc, it was ruled he was inside, two points were awarded and it was off to over-time. The Bobcats owned a half time lead of 35-30 and flirted with the lead almost all game long. Their sharp, quick and accurate passing played havoc with the Bears defence at first and afforded them their early lead. By the nine-minute mark of the second half, the Bears trailed by just one point and were on the verge of taking it over. O’Neil Gordon kept finding holes in the Alberta defence and kept up the Brandon attack. Gavin Fedorak drained a three-pointer with two minutes to go to level the score, before Brandon picked up another deuce to lead again. Enter Melnychuk. First, he drained an off-balance shot to tie the score and send it to OT. Then he banked another bucket in overtime to give the Bears the lead before nailing a huge trey to seal the win. His final long bomb came three feet from the arc. Melnychuk later put down a pair of free throws to salt it away. “That three ball; I was feeling it today,” Melnychuck said. “In front of all my family and friends, this could be the most fun game I have ever played.” Alberta coach Don Horwood called it “a performance of will. (Melnychuk) willed the victory. The game swung both ways. We are still alive, still kicking.” Bears posts Phil Sudol said the win makes “you realize how much you love the game. Our whole team is ecstatic right now.” Mike Melnychuk scored 25 on 8-15 from the floor, 5-8 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 5 boards and 4 assists. Scott Gordon added 22 on 9-18 from the floor, 4-7 from the line and 7 boards. Phil Sudol notched 18 on 5-11 from the floor, 8-9 from the line and 9 boards. Tyler Coston scored 10 on 4-6 from the floor and 6 assists, while Gavin Fedorak scored 6 on 2-7 from the floor and 5 assists. Reserves Dean Whalen, Tyson Jones, Richard Bates, James Hudson and Paul Marr were scoreless. The Golden Bears shot 28-63 (.444) from the floor, 9-23 (.391) from the arc and 16-20 (.800) from the line, while garnering 33 boards, 12 fouls, 20 assists, 10 turnovers, 1 block and 8 steals. O’Neil Gordon paced Brandon with 25 points on 12-23 from the floor, 10 boards and 6 assists. Yul Michel added 17 on 6-8 from the floor, 4-7 from the line, 5 boards and 5 assists. Mario Joseph scored 12 on 5-12 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc and 10 boards. Tyrone Purnell scored 10 on 4-7 from the floor and 5 boards, while Dido Bunema scored 8 on 3-7 from the floor. Jimmy Sebulime added 4 off the bench, while Adam Hartman was scoreless. The Bobcats shot 31-61 (.508) from the floor, 5-12 (.417) from the arc and 9-17 (.529) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, 17 fouls, 18 assists, 17 turnovers, 3 blocks and 7 steals. Brandon led 35-30 at the half.

In the other semi, Victoria thrashed Regina 81-67 as Shaun Doherty scored 15 on 5-10 from the floor, 4-4 from the line and 5 assists. Graeme Bollinger added 13 on 4-6 from the floor, 5-11 from the line and 5 boards. Chris Trumpy scored 12 on 5-7 from the floor and 4 assists. Steve Moore scored 10 on 3-8 from the floor, while Tyler Hass scored 8 on 4-5 from the floor and 4 boards. Brandon Ellis added 12 off the bench on 1-4 from the floor, 9-10 from the line and 8 boards. Mitch Gudgeon scored 7 and Eric Rushton 4, while Matt Kazanowski, Joshua Elsdon and Rob Kinnear were scoreless. The Vikings shot 26-54 (.481) from the floor, 5-12 (.417) from the line and 24-34 (.706) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, 15 fouls, 12 assists, 7 turnovers, 2 blocks and 6 steals. Tai Tuisamoa paced Regina with 17 points on 4-9 from the floor, 8-8 from the line and 7 boards. Bryden Wright added 12 on 5-13 from the floor and 8 boards. Joel Hunter scored 10 on 5-13 from the floor. Zach Michell scored 6 on 2-6 from the floor, while Greg McKoy was scoreless. Matthew Cherkas added 10 off the bench on 3-7 from the floor. Drew Kuzminski scored 7, Jordan Kozey 3 and Adam Huffman 2, while Bradley Fekula, Shea Murphy and Michael Enns were scoreless. The Rams shot 24-62 (.387) from the floor, 5-24 (.208) from the arc and 14-19 (.737) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, 22 fouls, 11 assists, 11 turnovers, 3 blocks and 2 steals. It was tentative play in the opening few minutes as both teams looked to develop ball control and flow. Although it was the Cougars out front early, the lead shifted from side-to-side for most of the half with Regina holding the largest lead at four points. The defense on both sides dominated play in a very low scoring affair. UVic carried a small two-point lead into the half with the score 35-33. UVic started the second with an 11-3 run that was capped off by a Chris Trumpy three, putting the Vikes up ten. Moments later a beautiful alley-oop from Trumpy to rookie Tyler Hass put Victoria in front 49-38. UVic continued to roll with Brandon Ellis ripping a big three and drawing the foul. Ellis would hit for the extra point putting UVic ahead 52-40. Cougars would show some life with Joel Hunter hitting a great jumper, drawing Regina back to within 11 at 54-43 with 12:30 to play. Although Regina continued to press offensively, UVic was able to keep the lead between eight and 12 points. Foul trouble began to haunt the Cougars down the stretch as their rebounding leader Drew Kuzminski picked up his fourth. As time waned, Regina was forced to take chances. This allowed the potent Vikes offense to set up outside and look for open shots. Fifth year guard Shaun Doherty drained a bomb from beyond the arc to give Victoria a 13-point edge with seven and a half to play. With time ticking down Victoria moved out front by 16 and continued to press with Halifax on their minds. Riding a wave generated by their traveling fan base, the Vikes were able to pull away in the second half and cement the win, with Regina never closing the gap by any more than 11 points. The opening twenty minutes saw both teams play defensively and display an unwillingness to grab control of the game. The #5 ranked Vikes held a narrow halftime lead of 35-33, before pouring it on in the second half to secure the win. Despite the Cougars opening run of six straight points to start the game, it was the Vikes who proved to have the hotter scoring hands. Shortly after the 6-0 Regina run, the Vikes put up seven straight and carried the lead for the rest of the way.

“We started slow as we seemed to be a bit nervous and tight,” said Vikes’ assistant coach Ian Hyde-Lay. “We turned it on in the second half and used our usual balanced attack to record a victory. It was a very solid win but our job isn’t done yet. We want to come home as the conference champions so we can have the highest seed as possible for the nationals. We pressured them more in the second half and contested all of their three-point shots. We held them to only five threes in 24 attempts. Regina couldn’t handle us inside as Graeme Bollinger and Mitch Gudgeon were overpowering. We are obviously pleased to be going back to nationals and this team deserves to go.” Regina coach James Hillis said “we couldn’t get stops. They scored a couple of times in the post, so we made adjustments to stop that. Then they kicked it outside and stroked a couple of threes. Hey, they’re a good team. There’s a reason why they’re (ranked) No. 1 here and No. 5 in the country.”

In the bronze medal match, Brandon qualified for the nationals by nipping Regina 71-66 as Mario Joseph scored 31 on 10-16 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 8-9 from the line and 7 boards. Yul Michel added 12 on 5-8 from the floor and 5 assists. O’Neil Gordon scored 8 on 3-11 from the floor and 11 boards and 5 assists. Dido Bunema scored 6 on 3-6 from the floor, while Tyrone Purnell scored 4 on 2-5 from the floor and 5 boards. Jimmy Sebulime scored 10 off the bench on 3-5 from the floor and 7 boards, while Adam Hartman was scoreless. The Bobcats shot 26-52 (.500) from the floor, 6-14 (.429) from the arc, 13-18 (.722) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, 18 fouls, 14 assists, 13 turnovers, 4 blocks and 5 steals. The Bobcats also included Bode Olagundoye, Scott Lalievre, Robens Josephat, Jeff Freiheit, Andrew McCaulay, Joel Edwards and Nathan John. Brandon led 34-24 at the half. “It was our 9th game this year against Regina,” commented Berry. “We knew what to expect, so did they. It wasn’t a game of secrets, and nobody changed anything. It came down to who made key shots at key times. They were coming on strong at the end, and if they game were 2 minutes longer, they might have won. We have lots of respect for that team. We’ve had some great battles this year. I mean, we played them 9 times, and no team won back-to-back games in those 9 meetings. That’s a staggering stat.” Brandon was able to hold off a late charge by the Cougars and kept the outcome secure with good marksmanship from the line down the stretch. The Bobcats led 34-24 at the half and masterfully controlled the shot clock in the second half. Only in the final few minutes did the Cougars draw close as San Diego native Tai Tuisamoa and Zach Michell drained three-pointers to bring the score within four points. Regina stepped into some foul trouble late in the contest and allowed the Bobcats to continue to pad their lead. The Bobcats were able to make the clutch charity stripe shots when needed and finished 13-18 from the free throw line, a 72% success rate. Brandon coach Les Berry said “we knew it was just going to come down to a shot here or a shot there.” Berry added that the Bobcats prevailed though they lacked depth, as earlier in the year, they’d had two players, 5th-year forward Scott Lelievre of Ottawa and 1st-year point guard Bode Olagundoye, suspended for testing positive for marijuana. Failing to advance “is devastating,” said Regina coach James Hillis. “I feel terribly for them. To work that hard and get that close and not get there makes it somewhat worse. But if you look at it, we went in as the fourth seed and we came out the same. It was almost a bit of destiny. I’m not sure after losing to Victoria that we could have handled Alberta in Alberta. But when we found out it was going to be Brandon, we felt, ‘Here comes a team down the pipe that we can beat, that we know we can beat and that we’re confident we can beat.’ To not do it is tough.” Guard Bryden Wright said “our first half against Brandon was pretty pathetic. We mounted a comeback, but we waited until there were five minutes left to do it. We’d get it down to two, but they’d hit shots. We couldn’t get any stops.” Zach Michell said “we had their number all year, but they won the one that really mattered. We didn’t really come to play. Everybody was pretty tired. It seemed like we weren’t ready. Everyone was pumped before the game, but after I’d get the ball to start the break, I’d look around and everyone else would be jogging. It was a bad time for that to happen.” Joel Hunter led Regina with 18 points on 7-17 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc and 4-7 from the line. Zach Michell scored 14 on 4-6 from the arc. Tai Tuisamoa scored 11 on 4-15 from the floor and 6 boards. Bryden Wright scored 10 on 3-8 from the floor and 6 boards. Greg McKoy scored 4 on 2-3 from the floor. Matthew Cherkas added 5 off the bench, while Adam Huffman scored 4 and grabbed 6 boards. Jordan Kozey, Bradley Fekula and Drew Kuzminski were scoreless. The Rams shot 24-60 (.400) from the floor, 7-23 (.304) from the arc and 11-17 (.647) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, 16 fouls, 13 assists, 11 turnovers and 6 steals. The Cougars (coached by James Hillis) also included Michael Enns, Levy Bay, Shea Murphy, Brendan Duerksen, Robert Harrand, Rod Jelinek and David Tallman.

In the final, Alberta thrashed Victoria 72-54 as Phil Sudol scored 20 on 7-11 from the floor, 6-6 from the line and 11 boards. Scott Gordon scored 13 on 4-6 from the floor and 5-8 from the line. Mike Melnychuk scored 11 on 3-12 from the floor and 6 boards. Tyler Coston scored 8, while Gavin Fedorak was scoreless, while dishing 3 assists. Paul Marr added 6 off the bench on 3-8 from the floor and 5 boards. Richard Bates scored 4, Dean Whalen 3, Joel Allen 3, Tyson Jones 2 and James Hudson 2, while Matthew Hudson was scoreless. The Golden Bears hit 24-54 (.444) from the floor, 5-14 (.357) from the arc and 19-24 (.792) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, 18 fouls, 14 assists, 14 turnovers, 5 blocks and 11 steals. Alberta led 33-14 at the half. Shaun Doherty paced Victoria with 11 points on 4-9 from the floor. Tyler Hass added 10 on 4-7 from the floor and 8 boards. Chris Trumpy scored 9 on 2-14 from the floor, 7 boards and 4 steals. Graeme Bollinger scored 8 on 3-6 from the floor and 4 boards. Steve Moore scored 4. Mitch Gudgeon added 10 off the bench on 4-8 from the floor and 6 boards. Brandon Ellis scored 2, while Eric Rushton was scoreless. The Vikings shot 19-55 (.345) from the floor, 2-10 from the arc and 14-21 from the line, while garnering 36 boards, 19 fouls, 10 assists, 16 turnovers, 4 blocks and 8 steals. Before 2500 fans in the U of A’s Main Gym, the Bears jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. The Vikes had trouble shooting the ball in the opening frame, hitting just 3-23 from inside the paint. The Bears built a 33-14 lead at the half and extended their margin to as many as 26 in the second half as their full court press yielded major dividends. Led by Gavin Fedorak, Mike Melnychuk and Tyson Jones, the Bears racked up 11 steals, five blocks and gave the Vike shooters tough looks at the hoop. Fedorak and Melnychuk each swiped three Vike passes, while Jones grabbed two and blocked another two. Alberta, in front of their home fans at Van Vliet Centre, opened with a couple of quick baskets to take the early lead 6-3. The Bears stayed strong over the first minutes and increased that lead to 14-5 with six and a half minutes off the clock. The Vikes characteristic defense was very absent over the initial ten minutes as the Bears went up by 16 points with the score at 23-7. At that point UVic head coach Craig Beaucamp called a time-out to try to right the ship and light a fire under the Vikes. Over the next couple of minutes, Victoria cut four points out of that lead, drawing the score to 25-13. UVic would struggle to answer the call, as the hot Bears continued to roll, stretching their lead to 19 points and allowing Victoria only 14 first half points. It remained a struggle in the second as UVic was able to score only four points in the first four minutes. With less than five minutes played, the Bears led 48-22. Victoria managed to stay even with Alberta in the second but could not chip away at the large Bear lead. Just past the mid-point of the second frame, the Vikes were down 55-37. The teams would match baskets down the stretch with UVic able to cut the edge to 13. Alberta coach Don Horwood said “our defence was probably the best we played all year. They came out with lots of energy and we really got after them.” Phil Sudol noted that “we had a lot more energy tonight. Everything just flowed from that.” Melnychuk noted that “I can’t remember a game in my five years where we held a team to 14 points in the first half. I think we wanted it more than they did to tell you the truth.” Scott Gordon said the home fans made a difference. “I heard the crowd the whole game. We were really pumped.” Victoria coach Craig Beaucamp said: “They came after us. All the credit to Alberta. They played an inspired game and outworked us. Alberta has a bigger team and used their muscle against us.” Bear forward Gavin Fedorak said “we stifled their offence. We made it tough for them to score with our hard-pressing defence. I know Victoria has a very good team but we probably played our best game of the year. On offence, we pounded the ball inside to our posts [Sudol and Gordon] and Vikes couldn’t handle it. We have been on a magical ride for the last three weeks with this club. We faced elimination in Calgary and Saskatchewan and survived. We had injury problems in the first half of the year but now we have got on a roll.” Vike guard Steve Moore said “we didn’t come out with enough intensity tonight. We played pretty good defence and held them to 33 points in the first half but our shots just weren’t falling. Alberta was beating us on all the hustle plays and they deserved the win.”

After the season, the CIS formally ratified the University College of the Fraser Valley’s probationary membership application as the association’s 52nd member, commencing in the fall of 2006 in the Canada West Conference. “All the efforts and hard-work put in by our student athletes, coaches and administrators has finally been rewarded,” said UCFV Athletic director Mark Kosak. “But it’s really just the beginning of this new chapter for us. It charts a new course for UCFV Athletics as we strive towards a national championship at the CIS-level. The Fraser Valley communities of Abbotsford, Chilliwack and Mission should be pleased to get this opportunity to see Canada’s best university athletes competing right in our own backyard.” The Cascades were a power in the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association, winning 3 national men’s basketball titles since 2000. The Abbotsford-based UCFV was founded in 1974 and has an enrolment of 10,000 students.

Brandon announces that effective July 1, 2005, Barnaby Craddock has been appointed their new head coach. Craddock had been serving as an assistant to Winnipeg’s Dave Crook. “I think he is ready for the challenge of being a head coach at the CIS level. He has played at a high level, and has worked as an assistant here and at the University of Lethbridge as well as coaching in Europe, so I believe he is ready”, said Dave Crook, Head Coach Wesmen Men’s Basketball team. The 34-year-old Craddock was a two-time All-Canada West member while playing with the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns. Craddock was a second team All-Canadian in 1997 while playing at Lethbridge, coached by Crook. Craddock ended his playing career playing pro ball with teams in Germany, Iceland, Ireland, and the Netherlands.

The bronze medalist Brandon Bobcats: Mario Joseph; Yul Michel; O’Neil Gordon; Dido Bunema; Tyrone Purnell; Jimmy Sebulime; Adam Hartman; Bode Olagundoye; Scott Lalievre; Robens Josephat; Jeff Freiheit; Andrew McCaulay; Joel Edwards; Nathan John; redshirt Chad Jacobson; coach Les Berry; assistant Stephen Baur; assistant Gil Cheung; therapist Steve Dzubinski; student therapist Dennis Buhler; student therapist Bowen Heuhofer

The runner-up Victoria Vikings: Chris Trumpy; Tyler Hass; Graeme Bollinger; Shaun Doherty; Brandon Ellis; Matt Kazanowski; Eric Rushton; Matt Kuzminski; Joshua Elsdon; Rob Kinnear; Steve Moore; Mitch Gudgeon; Jonathan Hughes; Davey Sundher; Evan Southern; coach Craig Beauchamp; assistant Steve MacDonald; assistant Ross McDonald; assistant Ian Hyde-Lay; manager Linda Kimoto; assistant manager Dave Morrison; trainer Theodora Olivotto; athletic director Clint Hamilton; SID Pete Lewis

The champion Alberta Golden Bears: Phil Sudol; Scott Gordon; Mike Melnychuk; Gavin Fedorak; Tyler Coston; James Hudson; Paul Marr; Dean Whalen; Marc Lupicki; Tyson Jones; Joel Allen; Richard Bates; David Brimacombe; Andrew Seeley; Matthew Hudson; coach Don Horwood; assistant Cliff Rowein; assistant Reuben Hall; assistant Murray Scambler; student trainer Lisa Burrows; strength & conditioning Dan Syrotiuk; SID Bob Stauffer; acting athletic director Bob Kinasewich