REGULAR SEASON

PLAINS       CENTRAL      
  Regina 16-4 24-8 James Hillis Saskatchewan 13-7 20-14 Greg Jockims
  Brandon 10-10 15-17 Barnaby Craddock Alberta 10-10 16-17 Don Horwood
  Winnipeg  8-12 14-18 Dave Crook Calgary  9-11 12-21 Dan Vanhooren
  Manitoba  4-16  5-21 Minich Nowrang Lethbridge  8-12  9-15 Mike Connolly
  PACIFIC              
  U.B.C. 20-0 33-5 Kevin Hanson        
  Victoria 15-5 30-9 Craig Beaucamp        
  Trinity Western 10-10 12-14 Stan Peters        
  Simon Fraser  5-15  5-20 Scott Clark        
  Thompson Rivers  2-18  4-21 Nevin Gleddie        
                 

Playoff non-qualifiers:

Lethbridge Pronghorns: Tim Whitehead, Matt Bekkering, Scott MacKinnon, Todd McClenaghan, Bruce Carter, Denver Corbiere, Eric Gallie, Richard Humphrey, Joel Kotkas, Kevin Monson, Richard Steed, Ali Andeku, Chris King, Shaun Beach, coach Mike Connolly

Manitoba Bisons: Jon Lundgren, Tarik Tokar, Brian Crowe, Darcy Coss, Vyron Phillips, Myron Dean, Dele Oworu, Damian Drzewiec, Grant Rayner, Kael Smith, Graeme Mitchell, Christopher Cobb, Christopher Periera, coach Minich Nowrang (Rick Suffield on sabbatical)

Thompson Rivers Wolfpack: Sean Garvey, Joey Farebrother, Brent Traxel, Jeff Friesen, Greg Stewart, Charlie Spurr, Josh Booy, Brian Smith, Rob Bergen, Steven Waring, Braeden Jones, coach Nevin Gleddie, assistant Scott Marr, assistant Ryan Porter, assistant Will Blair

In the Pacific Division semis, U.B.C. defeated Simon Fraser 92-76; 82-63 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, Casey Archibald scored 24 on 10-15 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc and 3 steals. Jordan Yu scored 20 on 7-9 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc and 9 assists. Ryder McKeown scored 15 on 6-12 from the floor and 9 boards. Chad Clifford scored 8 on 3-5 from the floor. Mathias Dockner scored 8 on 2-4 from the arc. Bryson Kool scored 7, Jason Birring 6, Sean Stewart 2 and Pasha Bains 2, while dishing 9 assists. Matt Rachar was scoreless. The Thunderbirds hit 36-58 (.529) from the floor, 12-28 (.429) from the arc and 8-19 (.421) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 25 assists, 29 fouls, 14 turnovers, 14 steals and 2 blocks. Nolan Holmes led the Clan with 18 points on 7-11 from the floor, 4-11 from the line and 5 boards. Aaron Christensen scored 17 on 4-9 from the floor, 8-12 from the line, 11 boards and 4 steals. Kevin Shaw notched 16 on 5-8 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc and 3-4 from the line. Emmy Unaegby scored 11 on 5-10 from the floor and 5 boards. Sean Burke scored 8 on 3-7 from the floor, while Rajprit Mander scored 6 on 2-7 from the floor. Brian Brooks, Scott Hyde, Melvyn Mayott, Rishi Moorjani and Alexander Quezada were scoreless. The Clan hit 26-52 from the floor, 7-16 (.438) from the arc and 17-32 (.531) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 21 fouls, 21 turnovers, 6 steals and 2 blocks. UBC took command with an early 28-11 run. McKeown hit first three buckets. Archibald added back to back buckets and Mathias Dockner hit back to back treys to ignite the run. UBC led 47-31 at the half. They were never threatened in the foul plagued second half. UBC coach Kevin Hanson called it “an emotional game for the players to play in and it was tough for them to really focus. With all the fouls that were being called and all the different things going on, it was really difficult for the players to maintain their composure on the floor. I thought Jordan Yu took some really great takes at key junctures for us. He’s really sparked us in a couple of games and it’s great to have a fifth-year guy coming in and playing with his heart like that. He’s playing fearless and he’s playing really aggressive.” Jordan Yu noted that “we’re so deep and just seem to come up with players and plays to get us through every game. We wanted to set the tempo early tonight and did that with Ryder from the opening tip-off. We also succeeded in getting SFU into foul trouble, which was also part of our game plan.” While pursuing a loose ball just under five minutes into the second half, UBC forward Ryder McKeown drove right through SFU forward Aaron Christensen, knocking him to the court in a clash that had Christensen’s blood dripping all over the War Memorial Gym hardwood. The normally soft-spoken Christensen eventually vented his frustration by chiming at the UBC bench. “He beaked off at me, something about sending goons on the floor,” said UBC head coach Kevin Hanson, “so Welcome to Hockey Night in War Memorial. He said three different guys gooned him but I told him to watch the videotape.” Hanson specifically felt that in the McKeown incident, no rules of the game had been breached. “They were going after a loose ball,” continued Hanson. “Playoff time, you yell at guys to go after every loose ball. I don’t think anybody is going to cheap anybody else right in the middle of the floor with everybody watching.” SFU head coach Scott Clark preferred to bite his tongue when asked of the incident. “I don’t know. It’s hard for me to really say what happened there.” …………………………………………………… In game two, U.B.C. completed the sweep with an 82-63 win as Pasha Bains scored 22 on 8-18 from the floor, 5-10 from the arc and 7 assists. Casey Archibald added 13 on 4-6 from the floor and 4 boards. Jason Birring notched 13 on 4-8 from the floor and 5 boards. Jordan Yu scored 10 on 3-7 from the floor, 3-5 from the line and 5 assists. Ryder McKeown notched 9 on 3-7 from the floor. Mathias Dockner added 5, Chad Clifford 4, Bryson Kool 2, Nate Moulson 2, Matt Rachar 2 and Sean Stewart 0. The Thunderbirds hit 26-59 (.441) from the floor, 12-25 (.480) from the arc and 18-27 (.667) from the line, while garnering 27 boards, including 4 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 14 turnovers, 8 steals and 4 blocks. Pasha Bains recovered from off-shooting performance a night earlier, drilling 20 as U.B.C. took command. They ripped off a 25-3 run midway through the first half as Bains hit five treys. “Pasha hit a couple and then he hit a couple of deep ones and he got in that rhythm right at a time when we needed to score,” said coach Kevin Hanson. “He hit back-to-back threes and he got some confidence. He’s not going to play two bad games in a row.” UBC extended their lead to 55-32 midway through the second half and romped. Hanson said his troops carried their first half intensity into the second frame. “We let the guys just run a little bit, play a little bit of basketball and I think it was a good move on our part. We talked about being aggressive and in the first half some guys were playing just to pass the basketball. We told them to play a little bit more selfish, and that if they had something, to just take it.” Aaron Christensen paced the Clan with 23 points on 7-17 from the floor, 8-12 from the line and 15 boards. Nolan Holmes added 17 on 5-10 from the floor, 7-11 from the line and 12 boards. Rajprit Mander added 6 on 2-6 from the floor. Sean Burke scored 6 on 3-9 from the floor. Emmy Unaegby scored 5 on 2-6 from the floor. Sinclair Brown scored 2, Scott Hyde 2, Alexander Quezada 2, Vikram Bhardwaj 0, Brian Brooks 0, Sean Burke 0 and Kevin Shaw 0. The Clan hit 20-57 (.351) from the floor, 3-19 (.158) from the arc and 20-31 (.645) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 23 fouls, 16 turnovers, 4 steals and 2 blocks. The Clan (coached by Scott Clark) also included Melvyn Mayott, Alex MacIver and Rishi Moorjani.

        In the other Pacific Division semi, Victoria defeated Trinity Western 75-59; 80-83; 91-78 (2g-1). …………………………………………………… In game one, Chris Trumpy paced the Vikes to an easy 75-59 win with 20 points on 7-16 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 5-6 from the line and 9 assists. Jacob Doerksen scored 16 on 6-8 from the floor and 8 boards. Brandon Ellis notched 14 on 6-11 from the floor and 2-6 from the arc. Tyler Hass scored 12 on 4-9 from the floor, 4-7 from the line and 6 boards. Graeme Bollinger scored 6, Matt Kuzminski 5, Steve Moore 2, Chris Spoor 0 and Mitch Gudgeon 0. Victoria shot 27-60 (.450) from the floor, 5-22 (.227) from the arc and 16-20 (.800) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 21 assists, 18 fouls, 14 turnovers, 7 steals and 1 block. Brian Banman led Trinity Western with 13 on 4-9 from the floor, 4-5 from the line and 8 boards. Luke Robinson scored 13 on 4-11 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 6 assists and 3 steals. Michael Erickson scored 12 on 5-8 from the floor and 2-4 from the arc. David Bron notched 9 on 3-8 from the floor and 5 boards. Joseph Vroom scored 7 on 3-5 from the floor. Michael Brouwer scored 5, while Jon Schmidt, Terry Neufeld, Jason Keegstra and Taylor Glass were scoreless. Trinity Western hit 21-52 (.404) from the floor, 7-21 from the arc and 10-14 (.714) from the line, while garnering 26 boards, including 4 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 22 fouls, 20 turnovers and 8 steals. The Spartans took an early 8-2 lead but rookie Jacob Doerksen came off the bench to score nine points in two minutes as the Vikes responded with a 13-2 run. They extended their lead to 32-25 at the half on a late 7-0 run featuring a trey by Brandon Ellis and a slam by Tyler Hass. Doerksen hit another trey midway through the second half as the Vikes extended their lead to 49-38 and then closed it out with a late 10-0 run. Vikes coach Craig Beaucamp said his troops “handled the pressure from the Spartans well tonight and we limited our turnovers.” Point guard Chris Trumpy said “We were a little tight at the start of the game and our shots just weren’t falling. They were playing me tight and that gave me some good looks at the basket.” The men Vikes started the game with shooting as cold as ice. In the early going, they were 1-for-7 and then 4-for-15. UVic trailed 8- 2 when Doerksen entered the game and scored the next nine points for the Vikes “A slow start has happened to us before and you just have to fight through it and keep attacking,” said Doerksen. “When I came into the game, I was able to make some good cuts and our guards found me.” Trumpy said the Vikings benefited from Steve Moore’s ability to break pressure and from their overall team defence. “His play took a lot of pressure off us. When you can hold a team under 60 points, there is a very good chance that you will win the game. We got a little more aggressive in the second half and started making some more shots.” …………………………………………………… In game two, Trinity Western evened the series with an 83-80 win as Brain Banman scored 33 on 11-21 from the floor, 6-11 from the arc, 5-7 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Luke Robinson added 15 on 3-6 from the floor, 7-11 from the line and 4 assists. Michael Erickson scored 12 on 5-8 from the floor and 2-3 from the arc. David Bron notched 8 on 4-5 from the floor and 5 boards. Michael Brouwer scored 8 on 2-4 from the floor and 11 boards. Taylor Glass notched 3, Joseph Vroom 2, Jon Schmidt 1, Terry Neufeld 0 and Jason Keegstra 0. The Spartans shot 28-56 from the floor, 10-21 (.476) from the arc and 17-27 (.630) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 5 on the offensive glass, 20 assists, 25 fouls, 15 turnovers, 7 steals and 2 blocks. Chris Trumpy paced Victoria with 16 points on 6-15 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc and 5 boards. Steve Moore scored 15 on 5-10 from the floor and 5 boards. Tyler Hass notched 14 on 5-8 from the floor and 6 assists. Brandon Ellis scored 11 on 3-12 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc and 4 boards. Jacob Doerksen notched 11 on 3-8 from the floor and 8 boards. Graeme Bollinger scored 8 on 2-3 from the floor, 4-5 from the line and 2 blocks. Chris Spoor scored 5 and Matt Kuzminski 0. The Vikings shot 26-61 (.426) from the floor, 9-26 (.346) from the arc and 19-30 (.633) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 21 assists, 21 fouls, 10 turnovers, 8 steals and 4 blocks. Banman hit a pair of treys as the Spartans took an early 8-3 lead and then extended the margin to 19 by using their full-court press to disrupt the Vikings. Trinity Western moved ahead by 16 before Trumpy hit a deuce and Tyler Hass pilfered the ball for a layup as Victoria rallied back to within seven. A Hass slam cut the lead to 37-34 but the Spartans rallied back to a 43-40 lead at the half. Victoria began breaking Trinity’s press in the second half as they moved ahead by eight. Luke Robinson hit a jumper and Banman added his fifth trey as the Spartans cut the lead to 71-65 with six minutes to play. Robinson hit a pair of free throws as the Spartans moved ahead by three. Victoria had a chance to tie it but Brandon Ellis missed a trey. Fouled on the play, he missed the first and hit the second and then missed the third. The Spartans got possession and ran out the clock. “This type of game has been the story of the year of us,” Spartans’ Luke Robinson. “We made some adjustments to what they were doing Friday and it worked for us. We’ll be coming out with our same style of game tomorrow and if we execute, we’ll get the W. The Vikes were giving us more room outside and our three pointers were falling.” Vikings coach Craig Beaucamp said the Spartans deserved the win. “We just didn’t do enough good things tonight to deserve a victory. We almost stole it but we didn’t deserve it. We just made too many mistakes and down the stretch our defence didn’t make enough stops. We have to be better defensively to win the next one.” Banman was almost the Spartans’ goat for the game when he fouled Brandon Ellis in three-point land with three seconds remaining to be played and Trinity leading 83-80 However, Ellis missed the first free throw, made the second and deliberately missed the third. But the Vikes never got another shot off before the final buzzer. …………………………………………………… The Vikings took the series with a convincing 91-78 win in game three as Chris Trumpy scored 17 on 5-13 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 5-10 from the line, 7 boards and 4 assists. Graeme Bollinger added 15 on 5-7 from the floor and 5-8 from the line. Brandon Ellis scored 14 on 3-10 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc and 6-8 from the line. Steve Moore notched 13 on 5-8 from the floor. Jacob Doerksen scored 12 on 4-6 from the floor, 3-6 from the line and 7 boards. Tyler Hass notched 9 on 4-8 from the floor and 8 boards. Chris Spoor scored 9 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 4-4 from the line. Matt Kuzminski scored 1 and Steve Macdonald 0. The Vikings shot 29-57 (.509) from the floor, 7-19 (.368) from the arc and 26-43 (.605) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 24 assists, 23 fouls, 17 turnovers, 6 steals and 3 blocks. Vikings coach Craig Beaucamp said there was a simply explanation for success. “We attacked their pressure.” Trumpy hit a bucket and a trey in the first minute to get the Vikings going. They extended their lead to eight by pounding the ball inside to Bollinger before Banman and Robinson hit treys to cut the margin to 23-21. But the Vikings patiently built a 45-36 lead at the half. The high-octane second half saw the Vikings extend their lead to 15 midway through the second half before the Spartans defence shut them down for 4.5 minutes, allowing the Spartans to chop the lead to seven. But Trumpy restored order and the Vikings prevailed. “We had five guys in double figures today and that is what Vikes’ basketball is all about,” said Beaucamp. “We also had great contributions from our bench from the likes of Matt Kuzminski and Chris Spoor.” Midway through the first half, with UVic trailing 25-23, fifth- year point guard Chris Trumpy was handed his second foul and the team was also given a technical for disputing the call. Beaucamp immediately inserted Kuzminski into the game for Trumpy. Kuzminski handled the tenacious pressure of the Spartans and that allowed the Vikes’ offence to not miss a beat. The Vikes had a 45-36 lead at the half. “It was very intense out there but I was comfortable with it,” said Kuzminski. “The Spartans make you work for everything and they try to grind you down with their pressure and force you into mistakes.” The Vikes made their job a lot easier on Sunday by breaking down the Spartans’ press defence and getting some easy scores. “One of the keys to the game was that we handled their early pressure and scored,” said Beaucamp. “With Chris [Trumpy] and Brandon [Ellis] on the bench for a lot of the first half it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. They were somewhat rested in the second half and came out firing. Brandon also did a great job of guarding Brian Banman. Trinity should be very proud of what they have accomplished this year. Stan [coach Peters] did an outstanding job with that team.” Trumpy said “after our loss on Saturday, it was gut check time for us,” said Trumpy. “Our season was on the line and everyone stepped up tonight. We were able to break down their defence a bit and that was huge for us.” Bollinger called it a thrilling game. “You can’t ask for much more than that. We let them dictate too much of the game Saturday but today we attacked their pressure and exploited it. On defence, they were sagging away from me, I was able to hit those shots from the top of the key.” Brian Banman paced the Spartans with 26 points on 8-22 from the floor, 3-13 from the arc, 7-7 from the line and 3 steals. David Bron added 14 on 7-11 from the floor and 7 boards. Luke Robinson scored 13 on 4-10 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 3-6 from the line and 6 assists. Jon Schmidt scored 12 on 4-5 from the floor and 7 assists. Joseph Vroom added 5, Jason Keegstra 4, while Michael Erickson, Terry Neufeld and Taylor Glass were scoreless. Trinity Western shot 29-68 (.426) from the floor, 6-22 (.273) from the arc and 14-21 (.667) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 30 fouls, 7 steals and 1 block. The Spartans (coached by Stan Peters, assisted by Matt Weeda and Gene Wolverton) also included Michael Brouwer, Trevor Nerdahl, Nils Dobzinsky, Justin Vink, Isaac Neubert, Chris Gaudet and Kyle Kooger.

        In the Central Division semis, Alberta defeated Calgary 75-74; 67-70; 87-65 (2g-1). …………………………………………………… In game one, Dean Whalen paced the Bears to a 75-74 win with 17 points on 6-11 from the floor, 3-4 from the arc and2-2 from the line. James Hudson scored 16 on 6-10 from the floor and 4-7 from the arc. Tyson Jones scored 13 on 4-9 from the floor, 4-4 from the line and 9 boards. Alex Steele scored 10 on 4-8 from the floor. Richard Bates scored 6, Scott Gordon 6, Gavin Fedorak 3, Andrew Parker 2 and Jeff Stork 2. The Golden Bears shot 29-60 (.483) from the floor, 10-22 (.455) from the arc and 7-7 from the line, while garnering 28 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 15 fouls, 11 turnovers, 4 steals and 5 blocks. Chris Wright paced Calgary with 22 points on 8-14 from the floor, 6-6 from the line and 8 boards. Ross Bekkering added 11 on 4-9 from the floor and 11 boards. Robbie Sihota scored 9 on 4-7 from the floor and Tony Dhaliwal 9 on 3-4 from the arc. Cody Darrah noted 8 on 2-4 from the arc and 6 boards. Joshua Feist scored 8 on 3-7 from the floor. Dalbir Dosanjh scored 5, Brian Finnis 2 and Jeremy Odland 0. The Dinosaurs shot 27-61 (.443) from the floor, 6-14 (.429) from the arc and 14-17 (.824) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 12 fouls, 13 turnovers, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Steele hit a buzzer beating trey to pull out the win, who was set up for the shot on a feed from Tyson Jones from midcourt. Alberta had regained possession of the ball with 2.2 seconds on the clock. Alberta had led 42-34 at the half and appeared to be en route to a route but Calgary took command in the second frame to build a seven-point lead. …………………………………………………… In game two, Calgary evened the series with a 70-67 win as Ross Bekkering scored 20 on 6-8 from the floor, 8-12 from the line, 10 boards and 4 blocks. Chris Wright added 16 on 3-9 from the floor, 10-16 from the line and 4 boards. Joshua Feist notched 12 on 5-10 from the floor, 11 assists and 5 steals. Robbie Sihota scored 11 on 4-7 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 7 boards and 2 blocks. Cody Darrah added 9 on 4-12 from the floor. Dalbir Dosanjh scored 2, Jeremy Odland 0, Brian Finniss 0 and Tony Dhaliwal 0. The Dinosaurs shot 22-50 (.440) from the floor, 1-9 (.111) from the arc and 25-39 (.641) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 18 fouls 16 turnovers, 9 steals and 8 blocks. Scott Gordon paced the Golden Bears with 29 points on 13-20 from the floor, 3-3 from the line and 18 boards. James Hudson added 14 on 5-10 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc and 3 boards. Richard Bates notched 9 on 4-9 from the floor and 7 boards. Alex Steele scored 7 on 1-3 from the floor and 5-6 from the line. Tyson Jones scored 4 on 2-4 from the floor and 6 assists. Dean Whalen scored 3 on 1-8 from the floor, 5 boards and 5 assists. Jeff Stork scored 1, Gavin Fedorak 0, Andrew Parker 0 and Jeff Lander 0. Alberta shot 26-61 (.426) from the line, 4-17 (.235) from the arc, and 11-17 (.647) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 20 assists, 30 fouls, 21 turnovers, 9 steals and 1 block. Feist hit a series buckets down the stretch and Wright drilled three free throws in the final seconds to seal the Calgary win. Bears Richard Bates and Alex Steele fouled out down the stretch, aiding the Calgary cause. “The game came to a bizarre conclusion; with 3.4 seconds on the clock, the Bears took possession after the Wright free-throws, Jeff Stork in-bounded the ball into half-court where the Dinos picked the pass off and were flagged by the officials for going over half and retreating back into their own half again. Amidst the confusing call, 1.9 seconds remained as the Bears attempted to in-bound again, this time from half. Looking to set-up Andrew Parker, Dean Whalen lobbed the ball towards the Dino net, where Parker was nabbed for a foul. Parker objected and was promptly given a technical. After the officials sorted the clock and foul issues, Calgary’s Wright drained three of the four shots he was given and still 1.3 seconds remained on the clock with a 70-67 Dino lead. Eventually the Dinos took possession off another foul call with 0.9 seconds left, in-bounded and protected their win.” …………………………………………………… The Golden Bears smacked the Dinosaurs 87-65 in the decisive game as Alex Steele scored 25 on 10-14 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 8 assists and 4 steals. Dean Whalen added 23 on 9-18 from the line, 5-10 from the arc and 5 boards. Richard Bates scored 14 on 5-10 from the floor and 4-4 from the line. Scott Gordon notched 8 on 3-4 from the floor. Jeff Stork scored 7 on 3-5 from the floor. James Hudson scored 6 on 2-4 from the floor and 6 boards. Tyson Jones added 5, Gavin Fedorak 0, Andrew Parker 0, Jeff Lander 0 and Matthew Hudson 0. Alberta shot 34-63 (.540) from the floor, 8-19 (.421) from the arc and 11-14 (.786) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 20 assists, 19 fouls, 15 turnovers, 11 steals and 1 block. “There were two factors in us winning today: one, we played zone after getting killed in man (a night earlier), and two, we saw what Alex Steele can do for us,” said Bears coach Don Horwood. “I told Alex that at the beginning of the season when I recruited him that he was a key to our success. He has the skills and he has picked up his intensity at the right time.” The Bears took a 74-44 lead midway through the second half as Steele, Whalen and Bates kept bombing. The Dinos never threatened. Steele said “we got off to a good start and caught them a little off guard.” Alberta ripped off a 22-7 run late in the first half to take a 48-33 lead into the lockers, capped by a Dean Whalen long-range bomb at the buzzer. The Bears zone neutralized the Dinnies inside attack. “They didn’t get the inside scoring they got Saturday night because of our zone,” said Horwood. “And their shooters, I think we’re tired from the last two games. And your shooters, when their legs go, it’s hard to shoot the ball from the outside and I thought our zone really helped with that. ….We had a lot of energy today and we’ve been seeking that all year. Alex is a perfect example of that. Alex transferred from Grant MacEwan, the level is more intensive and it’s taken him that long to figure that out, even though from time to time, I’ve reminded him in practice. But now I think he sees it and hopefully we can keep it going.” Joshua Feist led the Dinosaurs with 20 points on 6-9 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc and 4-5 from the line. Ross Bekkering scored 11 on 2-6 from the floor and 8 boards. Chris Wright scored 11 on 3-5 from the floor, 5-7 from the line and 6 boards. Brian Finniss added 6, Cody Darrah 6, Robbie Sihota 5, Jeremy Odland 3, Lindsay Thouret 3, Dalbir Dosanjh 0, Sonny Khangura 0 and Tony Dhaliwal 0. Calgary shot 18-45 (.400) from the floor, 8-19 (.421) from the arc and 21-28 (.750) from the line, while garnering 24 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 17 fouls, 19 turnovers, 7 steals and 4 blocks. The Dinos (coached by Dan Vanhooren, assisted by Matthew Skinn) also included Whit Hornsberger, Greg Jobagy and Adam Ford.

In the Plains Division semis, Winnipeg defeated Brandon 77-83; 83-79; 86-79 (2g-1). …………………………………………………… In game one, Chad Jacobson paced the Bobcats to an 83-77 win with 25 points on 8-16 from the floor, 5-9 from the arc and 4-4 from the line. Yul Michel scored 17 on 7-16 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc and 7 boards. Adam Hartman added 16 on 4-13 from the floor, 8-10 from the line and 10 boards. Dany Charlery scored 10 on 5-10 from the floor and 9 boards. Chris Schmidt-Watt scored 9 on 5-8 from the line and 9 boards. Nathan Grant added 3, while Omar Johnson, Lonnie Duncan and T.J. Rai were scoreless. The Bobcats hit 27-65 (.415) from the floor, 8-20 (.400) from the arc and 21-32 (.656) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 20 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 23 fouls, 24 turnovers, 7 steals and 1 block. Dan Shynkaryk paced Winnipeg on 6-15 from the floor, 4-8 from the line and 5 boards. Ryan Roper scored 16 on 7-13 from the floor. Matt Opalko scored 15 on 7-9 from the floor. Erfan Nasajpour scored 12 on 41-6 from the floor, 10 assists and 6 steals. Dwhyte Brissett notched 9 on 4-7 from the floor and 6 boards. Phil Swart scored 5, Owen Toews 3, Will Bergman 0 and Jon Menjivar 0. The Wesmen hit 31-65 (.477) from the floor, 4-12 from the arc and 11-21 (.524) from the line, while garnering 27 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 24 fouls, 15 turnovers, 10 steals and 4 blocks. Jacobson scored 23 of his 25 in the first half as Brandon took the lead. “I had a good week of practice and was really just feeling it early on,” said Jacobson. “The guys were getting me the open looks and I just did my job by knocking some of them down.” Winnipeg coach Dave Crook said his troops had to do a better job on the boards. “We can’t give up 26 offensive rebounds and hope to win. This team is much more athletic than us and that hurts us. But we were still right there, in a one possession game and we just need to make some adjustments.” Winnipeg trailed 80-77 with 25 seconds to play but Brandon’s suffocating defence forced a shot clock violation. Rookie Bobcat coach Barnaby Craddock said “our guys played with great heart down the stretch. When we play Winnipeg, the game’s always go down to the wire and tonight was no exception. It’s going to be tough getting another win from them. …We can’t back down. We need this same intensity for a full 40 minutes if we want to finish them off.” …………………………………………………… In game two, Winnipeg evened the series with an 83-79 win as Matt Opalko scored 21 on 7-18 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 5-6 from the line and 5 assists. Dwhyte Brissett scored 17 on 7-9 from the floor and 5 boards. Erfan Nasajpour scored 17 on 6-15 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 7 assists and 3 steals. Dan Shynkaryk added 14 on 5-9 from the floor, 4-4 from the line and 7 boards. Ryan Roper scored 8 on 3-11 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc and 4 boards. Josh Sjoberg scored 4, Will Bergmann 2, Owen Toews 0 and Phil Swart 0. The Wesmen hit 30-68 (.441) from the floor, 5-18 (.278) from the arc and 18-21 (.857) from the line, while garnering 27 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 15 fouls 13 turnovers, 12 steals and 4 blocks. Dany Charlery led the Bobcats with 22 points on 8-11 from the floor, 4-4 from the arc and 10 boards. Chad Jacobson scored 17 on 7-18 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc and 5 boards. Adam Hartman added 16 on 8-16 from the floor, 8 boards and 4 steals. Yul Michel added 14 on 4-11 from the floor, 5-6 from the line, 5 boards and 6 assists. Lonnie Duncan added 4, Omar Johnson 2, Nathan Grant 2, Stevens Marcelin 2, Chris Schmidt-Watt 0 and T.J. Rai 0. Brandon shot 32-70 (.457) from the floor, 7-16 (.438) from the arc and 8-14 (.571) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 22 fouls, 18 turnovers, 9 steals and 2 blocks. “I thought our guys played great tonight,” said Winnipeg coach Dave Crook. “We finished our plays down the stretch and we made big shots at key times.” The Wesmen led by as many as 12 in the first frame. Brandon clawed back to take a one point lead with eight minutes to play in the game but Winnipeg had the answers down the stretch. …………………………………………………… In the decisive contest, Winnipeg defeated Brandon 86-79 as Erfan Nasajpour scored a phenomenal 41 points, including 16-24 from the line, 1-4 from the arc, 8-10 from the line, 6 boards, 10 assists and 4 steals. Matt Opalko added 17 on 5-8 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 5 boards. Dan Shynkaryk scored 11 on 4-11 from the floor and 9 boards. Dwhyte Brissett added 9 on 4-6 from the floor. Owen Toews scored 3, Will Bergman 2, Phil Swart 2, Josh Sjoberg 1 and Ryan Roper 0. The Wesmen hit 32-59 (.542) from the floor, 6-14 (.429) from the arc and 16-19 (.842) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 20 fouls, 23 turnovers, 6 steals and 2 blocks. Winnipeg coach Dave Crook said Nasajpour was unbelievable. “Big time players step up in big games and we saw a great example of that today. If he’s not one of the best five players in the country, I don’t know who is. That was a pretty outstanding performance. I’m just glad he’s on my team.” Nasajpour hit 19 in the first half and 22 in the second, hitting from every spot on the floor. “He stood on his head and we couldn’t find a way to stop him,” said Brandon coach Barnaby Craddock. “We threw the kitchen sink at him and it still wasn’t good enough. That was the greatest solo effort in a CIS game that I have ever seen.” Winnipeg led 37-32 at the half and Nasajpour had the answers when Brandon made a run in the second. “Individually, I really couldn’t care less,” Nasajpour said. “We got the win and we battled back after losing on Friday and that’s all that really matters. The score was knotted at 48 with 12 minutes to play when Nasajpour ignited a 12-0 run. Brandon countered with its own 13-4 run but then Nasajpour took complete command. “I felt we outplayed them all weekend long,” said Crook. “We knew we could beat them and that’s what we did.” Cougar centre Daniel Meltesen had been ruled eligible to play CIS basketball that morning but said the controversy over his status didn’t affect the outcome. “We can’t blame it on the situation,” Meltesen said. “We worked hard all week, we had good practices, we’ve looked forward to this and it’s definitely not the way we wanted to start. Maybe we were overconfident but I didn’t think we showed any aggressiveness at all.” An arbitrator with the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada ruled Friday morning that Meltesen could not be ineligible from CIS competition based on the suspicion of professional experience when he played for the Bakken Bears of the Basketliga, one of the top leagues in his native Denmark, last season. Meltesen called the decision a weight off his shoulders. During the game, however, Meltesen seemed to be carrying a bigger weight. “I felt good but maybe, as always, I tried to do too much. I wanted to do everything at once which is impossible,” Meltesen said. The 6-foot-11 centre got into foul trouble early and played only seven minutes in the first half. Cougars head coach James Hillis said the events of this week didn’t help the team much but refused to blame the distraction for the loss. “We’re big boys and we have to take responsibility for our game on the court. I don’t think it was any lack of effort or whatever psychology was going on. We just missed shots and they made them.” The issue of Meltesen’s eligibility arose when, according to the written decision, another CIS coach made a “courtesy call” to Hillis to indicate that university didn’t believe the player was properly cleared to play. Neither White nor Hillis will say which coach made the call though it is believed to be one from the Brandon University Bobcats. Hillis asked CIS officials for clarification but they determined Meltesen had been a professional in Denmark. The decision was stayed a week later and Meltesen was reinstated pending the outcome of Wednesday’s hearing. In the end, the decision came down to the wording of a CIS rule – – one known simply as the “three division rule.” According to CIS regulations any player who played in the “top three divisions of any country” is considered professional. The U of R contended “top three” referred to the top three professional divisions. The CIS, on the other hand, submitted “top three” meant the top three overall, regardless of professional or amateur status.

Arbitrator Stephen Drymer, an Ottawa lawyer, determined that while the rule should be read as meaning the top three leagues overall, as the CIS argued, he also stated, “an athlete or a team cannot be held accountable under a rule that almost defies understanding.” Yul Michel led Brandon with 21 points on 7-14 from the floor, 6-6 from the line, 4 assists and 2 blocks. Adam Hartman added 21 on 8-14 from the floor, 4-6 from the line and 4 boards. Dany Charlery added 16 on 7-18 from the floor and 7 boards. Chad Jacobson scored 9 on 4-15 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc and 6 boards. Stevens Marcelin scored 8 on 3-12 from the floor and 14 boards. Omar Johnson added 2, Lonnie Duncan 2, Nathan Grant 0 and T.J. Rai 0. The Bobcats hit 30-76 (.395) from the floor, 3-20 (.150) from the arc and 16-20 (.800) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 18 fouls, 13 turnovers, 10 steals and 2 blocks. The Bobcats (coached by Barnaby Craddock) also included Jeff Freiheit, Chris Schmidt-Watt, David Morris, Liam Ricci, Warren Jacobson and Darcy Hammond.

        In the Central Division finals, Saskatchewan defeated Alberta 98-73; 54-50 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… The Huskies won the opener 98-73 as Andrew Spagrud scored 26 on 7-12 from the floor, 12-13 from the line and 6 boards. Matthew Greenberg added 22 on 8-13 from the floor, 5-6 from the line, 8 boards and 2 blocks. Sam Lamontagne scored 11 on 4-7 from the floor. Kevin Langdon added 10 on 5-7 from the floor and 5 boards. Jordan Harbidge scored 9 on 3-5 from the arc. Rob Lovelace added 9 on 2-6 from the floor and 4-4 from the line. Kyle Grant scored 5, while dishing 6 assists. Rejean Chabot added 3, Mark Thompson 3, Trent Folk 0 and Clint Unsworth 0. The Huskies shot 32-57 (.561) from the floor, 10-18 (.556) from the arc and 24-29 (.828) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 24 assists, 14 fouls 17 turnovers, 5 steals and 4 blocks. James Hudson led Alberta with 14 points on 4-8 from the arc and 4 boards. Dean Whalen scored 10 on 5-18 from the floor. Scott Gordon added 9 on 3-5 from the floor and 3-6 from the arc. Alex Steele scored 9 on 4-12 from the floor, 5 boards and 4 steals. Tyson Jones scored 9 on 4-7 from the floor. Andrew Parker notched 8 on 2-4 from the floor and 4-6 from the line. Richard Bates scored 6 on 3-3 from the floor. Gavin Fedorak scored 5, Jeff Lander 3, Jeff Stork 2 and Matthew Hudson 0. The Golden Bears shot 28-67 (.418) from the floor, 7-25 (.280) from the arc and 10-17 (.589) from the line, while garnering 27 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 20 fouls, 13 turnovers and 10 steals. The Huskies hit four treys to open the affair as they moved to a 12-4 lead. Gordon hit a pair of free throws to rally Alberta to within 25-18 before Saskatchewan countered with a 15-4 run capped by a pair of Langdon humpers to move ahead 40-22 and then 51-27 at the half. Alberta hit seven treys in the second half but it was nearly enough as Saskatchewan took its biggest lead at 88-59 and romped. “It’s just one game, whether we win by two or 25,” said Huskies coach Greg Jockims, who downplayed the lopsided result. “(Tonight) we’re back to zero-zero. To win in the playoffs you have to win two games – but I’ll take that first one.” …………………………………………………… The Huskies swept the series with a 54-50 win in game two as Andrew Spagrud scored 16 on 6-12 from the floor, 4-6 from the line and 12 boards. Matthew Greenberg scored 11 on 5-11 from the floor and 9 boards. Jordan Harbidge notched 6 on 2-6 from the arc and 3 assists. Sam Lamontagne scored 5 on 1-4 from the arc. Mark Thompson added 5 on 2-3 from the floor. Kyle Grant scored 4, Kevin Langdon 4, Rob Lovelace 3 and Rejean Chabot 0. Saskatchewan shot 19-52 (.365) from the floor, 4-19 (.211) from the arc and 12-23 (.522) from the line, while garnering 33 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 13 fouls, 14 turnovers, 9 steals and 1 block. Huskies coach Greg Jockims was elated. “Alberta has been the measuring stick in this division for the past five years. So to fight back like we did tonight and beat them, in front of our home fans, is a great accomplishment for our program. Our guys really played hard, even when things weren’t going our way offensively tonight.” Alberta took an early 11-1 lead and then extended it to 15-5 on a Dean Whalen layup. But Spagrud and Lamontagne rallied the Huskies to a 22-20 lead before another run gave Alberta a 32-24 lead heading into the lockers. Saskatchewan cut the margin to 34-33 on a Greenberg layup but the Bears again built a 40-33 edge on a bucket by Steele. But the Huskies bench scored the next 13 points to knot the score at 46. Harbidge hit two treys and Thompson scored a 5-0 mini-run and then took a 49-48 lead on a Greenberg free throw. Gordon countered with two free throws for Alberta but Greenburg hit a jumper with 2:27 to play and then Grant iced it with two free throws with nine seconds on the clock. “Not only does it mean a lot to us, it means a lot to the program,” said Spagrud. Advancing to the Canada West Final Four was huge. “We haven’t been there in so long. Breaking new ground hopefully opens some doors for this program. Now that we have the monkey off our back, we can relax and focus game by game. After last year, losing to this team in our own gym . . . it hurt our confidence a lot. Honestly, I think there was a monkey on our back, but we got rid of it (Friday) by playing as well as we did.” Jockims said history was paramount in the pre-game discussion. “They’ve been running the show for a lot of years. You have to go through them and we talked all week about how it’s our time. The pre-game talk was let’s send a message that we are now the No. 1 team in this division. And we did.” Scott Gordon led Alberta with 22 points on 7-12 from the floor, 8-8 from the line and 8 boards. Dean Whalen scored 13 on 4-15 from the floor, 3-12 from the arc and 4 boards. Tyson Jones scored 7 on 3-5 from the floor. James Hudson added 6 on 2-4 from the floor. Alex Steele scored 2, while Gavin Fedorak, Andrew Parker, Richard Bates, Jeff Stork and Matthew Hudson were scoreless. The Golden Bears shot 17-46 (.370) from the floor, 6-19 (.316) from the arc and 10-11 (.909) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 19 fouls, 20 turnovers, 7 steals and 2 blocks. The Golden Bears (coached by Don Horwood) also included Phil Sudol, Jeff Lander and Harvey Bradford.

        In the Pacific Division final, U.B.C. defeated Victoria 78-63; 74-82; 74-66 (2g-1). …………………………………………………… In the opener, U.B.C. prevailed 78-63 as Casey Archibald scored 22 on 6-12 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 7-8 from the line, 5 boards and 5 assists. Jason Birring added 12 on 2-2 from the arc and 4-4 from the floor. Mathias Dockner scored 11 on 4-4 from the floor. Pasha Bains scored 8 on 2-6 from the arc, 2-9 from the floor and 7 assists. Ryder McKeown scored 6 on 3-7 from the floor and 6 boards. Chad Clifford scored 6, Bryson Kool 6, Jordan Yu 5, Matt Rachar 2 and Sean Stewart 0. The Thunderbirds shot 25-51 (.490) from the floor, 10-20 from the arc and 18-25 (.720) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 4 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 19 fouls, 11 turnovers, 4 steals and 4 blocks. Jacob Doerksen led Victoria with 14 points on 6-11 from the floor and 2-5 from the line. Steve Moore added 12 on 4-10 from the floor, 3-3 from the line and 5 boards. Chris Trumpy scored 10 on 4-9 from the floor, 8 boards and 3 assists. Tyler Hass added 9 on 3-10 from the floor. Mitch Gudgeon scored 6, Brandon Ellis 5, Graeme Bollinger 4, Matt Kuzminski 3 and Chris Spoor 0. The Vikings shot 25-59 (.424) from the floor, 4-11 (.364) from the arc and 9-22 (.409) from the line, while garnering 33 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 18 fouls, 9 turnovers, 3 steals and 2 blocks. The Vikings shot very poorly early and soon trailed 13-4. The Thunderbirds quickly extended it to 20-9 before Gudgeon and Ellis hit buckets to trim the margin to 21-17. But U.B.C. built it back to 38-24 at the half. Victoria never seriously threatened in the second half. “We knew that the Vikes wanted to work the ball inside to their big people and we tried to take that away from them and make them hit the outside shots,” said UBC coach Kevin Hansen. “We worked this week on defending and we did a pretty good job of it.” …………………………………………………… The Vikings evened the series with an 82-74 victory as Chris Trumpy scored 26, including 6-15 from the floor, 13-16 from the line, 4 boards and 5 assists. Jacob Doerksen added 19 on 7-10 from the floor, 5-6 from the line and 15 boards. Steve Moore scored 12 on 4-9 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 3-4 from the line. Mitch Gudgeon scored 10 on 3-4 from the floor, 4-5 from the line and 8 boards. Tyler Hass notched 7 on 3-5 from the floor, 4 boards and 4assists. Graeme Bollinger scored 5 on 2-7 from the floor and 10 boards. Matt Kuzminski scored 3, Brandon Ellis 0 and Chris Spoor 0. Victoria shot 26-56 (.464) from the floor, 2-9 (.222) from the arc and 28-39 (.718) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 24 fouls, 11 turnovers, 6 steals and 2 blocks. Pasha Bains paced the Thunderbirds with 19 points on 5-11 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 7-14 from the line and 4 assists. Casey Archibald added 19 on 4-14 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 4-7 from the line. Mathias Dockner notched 11 on 4-5 from the floor and 2-3 from the arc. Jason Birring scored 10 on 3-11 from the floor. Ruder McKeown scored 8 on 2-5 from the floor and 4-7 from the line. Matt Rachar notched on 3-3 from the floor. Bryson Kool scored 2, Sean Stewart 2, Brett Leverage 2 and Jordan Yu 1. The Thunderbirds shot 24-56 (.429) from the floor, 6-18 (.333) from the arc and 20-36 (.556) from the line, while garnering 24 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 29 fouls, 12 turnovers, 5 steals and 2 blocks. Victoria trailed 35-33 at the half but opened the second frame with a 16-5 run. They moved ahead 62-49 on a dunk by Tyler Hass with nine minutes to play and maintained a comfortable margin til the end. U.B.C. came no closer than five, with just over two minutes to play. The Vikings dominated the defensive boards down the stretch and point guard Chris Trumpy nailed a series of critical free throws. “When crunch time comes, he’s got the heart of a lion,” said Victoria coach Craig Beaucamp. “Obviously, we wouldn’t want anybody else up there besides him.” U.B.C. coach Kevin Hanson noted that “at this time of the year, the aggressive teams win and I thought they were the more aggressive team both offensively and defensively. We were a bit soft tonight and they were able to take advantage of that. They went to the basket hard, got the calls and they were able to make a lot of free throws.” Hanson added that his attack was hampered when Bryson Kool went down at the half with an ankle injury. “That really hurt us. Bryson is usually good for a few blocks and changing a few shots and getting some rebounding. I really thought rebounding was a big key tonight and him not being in the middle hurt us.” Beaucamp noted that the Vikings were determined to avenge the loss in the opener. “We got a little embarrassed yesterday and we’ve got a lot of pride in our team. We talked about that to a man, about competing and playing for each other and trust in each other. When you get your butt kicked, sometimes you get a reaction and tonight we got a positive one.” Vikings assistant Ian Hyde-Lay said “Chris Trumpy had an exceptional game for us. He just refused to let us down. We controlled the boards [46-29 margin] and also limited their three-point shooting. Tyler [Hass] did a great job of guarding Casey Archibald. We were outworked in the first game but tonight we outworked them.” …………………………………………………… U.B.C. prevailed 74-66 in the deciding match in overtime as Casey Archibald scored 21 on 5-13 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 10-11 from the line and 6 boards. Pasha Bains added 18 on 8-17 from the floor and 2-7 from the arc. Jordan Yu scored 13 on 3-7 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 5-6 from the line and 5 assists. Mathias Dockner scored 8 on 3-7 from the floor and 6 boards. Matt Rachar scored 7 on 3-8 from the floor and 7 boards. Ryder McKeown scored 4 on 2-2 from the floor and 6 boards. Jason Birring added 3, Bret Leversage 0 and Sean Stewart 0. The Thunderbirds shot 25-59 (.424) from the floor, 6-21 (.286) from the arc and 18-22 (.818) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 16 fouls, 12 turnovers, 5 steals and 4 assists. Jacob Doerksen led Victoria with 16 points on 6-11 from the floor, 5.5 from the line and 5 boards. Brandon Ellis added 14 on 6-11 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Chris Trumpy scored 13 on 4-13 from the floor, 3-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards and 4 assists. Tyler Hass scored 10 on 4-12 from the floor and 7 boards. Steve Moore notched 5 on 2-6 from the floor. Graeme Bollinger scored 4 on 2-6 from the floor and Mitch Gudgeon 4 on 1-2 from the floor and 5 boards. Matt Kuzminski was scoreless. The Vikings shot 25-61 (.410) from the floor, 4-9 (.444) from the arc and 12-12 from the line, while garnering 28 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 14 fouls, 13 turnovers, 6 steals and 3 blocks. Mathias Dockner hit a 16-foot baseline jumper with 21 seconds to play in regulation to force overtime. “Anytime you win an overtime game it’s an exciting one,” said U.B.C. coach Kevin Hanson. “But it’s also a good experience at this time of year to win a big game like that, especially to win the Pacific Division. I thought that we didn’t execute very well last night. But I thought that in overtime today we actually executed and got some pretty good shot opportunities.” The T-Birds opened the overtime with a Ryder McKeown hook in the paint. Tyler Hass responded with a pair of free throws but the Vienna, Austria native Dockner hit a pair from the line and then Casey Archibald and Pasha Bains hit treys to put the outcome out of reach. Hanson said his troops were the aggressors in the extra session. “We showed that aggressiveness in going to the hoop and not being tentative and I thought that tonight we were the aggressors on both sides of the ball.” Chris Trumpy started the game on fire for the Vikes, nailing three bombs from behind the arc during the first six minutes of play. U.B.C. led 38-31 at the half. The 4th-ranked Vikes led 62-60 with time running down when Mathias Dockner hit an 18-foot baseline jumper to tie the contest. With 19 seconds remaining, the Vikes took the ball down the court but missed the game’s final shot and the teams went to overtime. UBC turned up the heat in overtime, defensively and offensively, outscoring the Vikes 12-4. The Vikes couldn’t hit a basket and all of their points came from the free-throw line. “We really struggled in overtime,” said Victoria assistant Ian Hyde-Lay. “We didn’t make the plays we needed to make. That was a good lesson for us . . . we need to move the ball better. In the end, we could have won but we didn’t deserve to.” UBC coach Kevin Hanson said “we rebounded much better late in the game and in overtime. I was pretty embarrassed by how badly we were beaten up on the glass last night. It was almost like we hadn’t taught any post defence. I just told them that defensively, they had to go in and take over.” Dockner consistently battled with Victoria’s four post players – Tyler Hass, Jacob Doerksen, Mitch Gudgeon and Graeme Bollinger – denying entry passes and getting the tips and steals that keyed UBC’s transition offence. “He’s a freshman in a different country, eating different food and going to a new school,” said Hanson of Dockner. “He has a lifelong girlfriend back in Austria. So it was a great reward for him to play big in a big game like this.” Hanson added that Archibald set the tone. “He was upset about the way we performed as a team last night and he stayed positive with the guys. We followed Casey tonight, we absorbed his personality.”

        In the Plains Division final, Regina defeated Winnipeg 79-86; 86-73; 94-71 (2g-1). …………………………………………………… In the opener, Winnipeg stunned the host Cougars 86-79 as Erfan Nasajpour and Matthew Opalko each scored 25. Nasajpour hit 11-21 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, grabbed 6 boards and dished 4 assists, while Opalko hit 9-14 from the floor, 6-6 from the line and grabbed 4 boards. Daniel Shynkaryk scored 15 on 5-10 from the floor and 5-7 from the line. Dwhyte Brissett added 7 on 3-6 from the floor. Philip Swart scored 4, Josh Sjoberg 4, Owen Toews 3, William Bergmann 2, Tyler Kohut 1, Dallas Bosko 0 and John Menjivar 0. The Wesmen shot 33-60 (.550) from the floor, 4-10 from the arc and 16-22 (.727) from the line, while garnering 28 boards, including 3 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 21 fouls, 16 turnovers, 8 steals and 3 blocks. Bryden Wright led Regina with 22 points on 8-16 from the floor, 6-10 from the arc, 8 boards and 3 steals. Joel Hunter added 15 on 4-15 from the floor, 1-10 from the arc, 6-6 from the line and 3 assists. Daniel Meltesen notched 12 on 6-10 from the floor and 8 boards. Drew Kuzminski scored 8 on 3-8 from the floor and 4 boards. Zach Michell scored 8 on 2-7 from the arc and 8 assists. Paul Schubach added 7, Jamal Williams 5, Sarain Soonias 2, Bradley Fekula 0, Shea Murphy 0, Adam Huffman 0 and Michael Enns 0. The Cougars shot 27-69 (.391) from the floor, 3-22 (.136) from the arc, 22-34 and (.647) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 20 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 22 fouls, 16 turnovers, 12 steals and 4 blocks. …………………………………………………… The Cougars evened the series with a 86-73 win as Joel Hunter scored 28 on 6-16 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 13-14 from the line and 4 boards. Daniel Meltesen added 21 on 10-15 from the floor and 5 boards. Bryden Wright scored 20 on 9-18 from the floor, 9 boards and 3 assists. Zach Michell added 11 on 4-6 from the floor and 3-5 from the arc. Bradley Fekula added 2, Drew Kuzminski 2, Michael Enns 2, Jamal Williams 0, Paul Schubach 0 and Adam Huffman 0. Regina shot 30-63 (.476) from the floor, 6-14 (.429) from the arc and 20-29 (.690) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 18 fouls, 14 turnovers and 5 steals. Erfan Nasajpour paced Winnipeg with 25 points on 9-21 from the floor, 7-8 from the line, 10 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Daniel Shynkaryk added 12 on 3-11 from the floor and 6-6 from the line. Dwhyte Brissett notched 10 on 4-5 from the floor. Matthew Opalko scored 9 on 4-8 from the floor. William Bergmann added 5, Philip Swart 4, Josh Sjoberg 4, Owen Toews 2 and John Menjivar 2. The Wesmen hit 28-63 (.444) from the floor, 1-9 (.111) from the arc and 16-18 (.889) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 7 assists, 23 fouls, 17 turnovers and 8 steals. …………………………………………………… Regina took the series with a 94-71 win as Bryden Wright scored 27 on 11-20 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 8 boards. Daniel Meltesen added 23 on 8-11 from the floor, 7-8 from the line and 5 boards. Joel Hunter scored 22 on 8-17 from the floor, 4-8 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Adam Huffman notched 7 on 2-2 from the floor, 3-5 from the line and 4 boards. Drew Kuzminski scored 4 on 1-5 from the floor and 6 boards. Sarain Soonias added 5, Zach Michell 3, Michael Enns 2, Jamal Williams 2, Bradley Fekula 0, Shea Murphy 0 and Paul Schubach 0. The Cougars hit 33-68 (.485) from the floor, 7-21 (.333) from the arc and 21-25 (.840) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 21 fouls, 10 turnovers, 8 steals and 1 block. Regina led 47-33 at the half and coasted to the easy win. Erfan Nasajpour paced Winnipeg with 27 points on 9-15 from the floor, 8-8 from the line, 5 boards, 6 assists and 4 steals. Daniel Shynkaryk scored 15 on 6-10 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 10 boards. Jhon Menjivar notched 12 on 4-9 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 2 boards. William Bergman scored 6 on 3-3 from the floor. Dwhyte Brisett added 5 on 1-6 from the floor, 3-6 from the line and 5 boards. Josh Sjoberg scored 2, Philip Swart 2, Mathew Opalko 2 and Owen Toews 0. The Wesmen hit 26-58 (.448) from the floor, 2-13 (.154) from the arc and 17-24 (.708) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 23 fouls, 14 turnovers, 8 steals and 1 block. The Wesmen (coached by Dave Crook) also included Ryan Roper, Tyler Kohut and Dallas Bosko.

        Victoria was selected as the wild card for the Final Four.

        In the Final Four semis, Victoria crushed Regina 65-48 as Chris Trumpy scored 14 on 4-12 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 5 assists and 4 steals. Tyler Hass added 10 on 5-8 from the floor, 5 boards and 2 blocks. Chris Spoor scored 9 on 3-5 from the arc. Mitch Gudgeon scored 8 on 3-5 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Jacob Doerksen scored 7 on 2-6 from the floor. Brandon Ellis notched 5, Graeme Bollinger 5, Steve Moore 3, Rob Kinnear 2, Matt Kuzminski 2, Matt Kazanowski 0 and Stephan Anderson-Mac 0. The Vikings shot 23-58 (.397) from the floor, 7-18 (.389) from the arc and 12-16 (.750) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 16 fouls, 8 turnovers, 8 steals and 3 blocks. Bryden Wright paced Regina with 14 points on 4-15 from the floor, 4-6 from the line and 10 boards. Sarain Soonias added 9 on 3-6 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 4 boards. Daniel Meltesen scored 8 on 3-8 from the floor and 6 boards. Joel Hunter scored 4 on 1-6 from the floor. Zach Michell added 3, Shea Murphy 3, Paul Schubach 3, Bradley Fekula 2, Jamal Williams 2, Drew Kuzminski 2, Adam Huffman 0 and Michael Enns 0. The Cougars who 15-54 (.278) from the floor, 2-11 (.182) from the arc and 16-23 (.696) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 5 assists, 17 fouls, 13 turnovers, 5 steals and 1 block. The Vikings dominated the low blocks and the boards as they built a 33-25 lead at the half and then patiently worked the ball in the second frame to stymie Regina’s bid to make it an up-tempo affair. “We did a good job on ‘D’ today,” said forward Tyler Hass. ‘We contested shots without leaving our feet. We were down low all game. Our goal is to a win a championship and we knew we had some work to do. Hopefully, we’ll keep it going for nationals.” Regina coach James Hillis couldn’t find their touch. “Nobody’s trying to miss – so I feel bad for the guys in that regard – but we sure did.” Hillis added that Chris Trumpy did an excellent defensive job on Joel Hunter. “That combined with Joel’s lack of energy (because of illness) and (four points) was the result. “They scored 65 points but some of that was scramble time at the end where we’re pressing and giving up some lay-ups. In a game where we’re actually hitting the occasional shot, we’d probably have held them to 50 or 60 which should be enough to win. We played pretty good D. We got them on three or four 30 second (shot clock violation) calls. They did a good job defensively too. We didn’t get anything easy in transition. “We haven’t seen defence like this all season. Victoria has a very solid team. They have all the pieces – big men, defence and a great leader in Chris Trumpy. They execute very well.” Spoor noted that “this is what we have been working for all season. Overall, our defensive effort was solid but it could have been better, especially on transition.” Vikings coach Craig Beaucamp said “we knew Regina had a very good offensive club and it is a relief to get this win,” said Beaucamp. “But our work isn’t finished here. We want to go to Halifax as the No. 1 seed from Canada West. I was disappointed with our effort in last year’s Final Four final against Alberta. We were a very young team last year but I feel we have matured so much since then.”

        In the other semi, U.B.C. nipped Saskatchewan 73-72 as Casey Archibald scored 19 on 7-16 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 6 boards and 2 steals. Pasha Bains added 17 on 6-19 from the floor, 3-10 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 8 boards and 6 assists. Chad Clifford scored 9 on 4-8 from the floor. Jordan Yu added 8 on 3-7 from the floor and 2-3 from the arc. Ryder McKeown scored 8 on 3-4 from the floor and 7 boards. Matt Rachar scored 5 on 3-8 from the line and 9 boards. Mathias Dockner added 5, Jason Birring 3, Brett Leversage 0, Sean Stewart 0 and Bryson Kool 0. Andrew Spagrud paced Saskatchewan with 28 points on 10-20 from the floor, 8-13 from the line, 10 boards and 3 assists. Kyle Grant added 13 on 4-10 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc and 3-4 from the line. Sam Lamontagne scored 12 on 4-8 from the floor and 4 boards. Kevin Langdon scored 10 on 4-7 from the floor, 3 assists and 3 blocks. Rob Lovelace scored 7 on 36- from the floor, 6 boards and 5 assists. Rejean Chabot scored 2 while Matthew Greenberg, Jordan Harbidge, Trent Folk and Mark Thompson were scoreless. The Huskies shot 26-60 (.433) from the floor, 6-17 (.353) from the arc and 14-30 (.467) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 21 fouls, 11 turnovers, 7 steals and 6 blocks. The Thunderbirds Chad Clifford blocked a shot in the final play to preserve the win. Saskatchewan guard Rob Lovelace had picked off an errant crosscourt pass from Casey Archibald under the Huskies hoop with eight seconds to play and when he went up for the layup, Clifford blocked him from behind. “Games like these are the reason I play basketball,” said Clifford. “It was a broken play off a turnover and I matched up in transition. He penetrated, I wasn’t sure how much time was left on the clock, and he shot it and I just put my hand on top of the ball. I didn’t even let him get the shot off and I thought it was clean.” Andrew Spagrud had set the stage for the final heroics by collecting an old-fashioned three-point play in the paint with 30 seconds on the clock to draw Saskatchewan within one. “My hair isn’t just going gray, it’s falling out,” said U.B.C. coach Kevin Hanson. “It was a little bit closer than we would have liked. We didn’t score late in the game and part of the reason was that we really struggled from the free throw line, something that has really been a problem for us. That just doesn’t cut it this time of year.” Clifford added that the win demonstrated the T-Birds depth. “I know it sounds cliché. But once again, what happened tonight shows how deep and talented this team really is. It was a gritty effort. Spaggers (Spagrud) is a man among boys. He’s athletic, he can shoot. What makes it so tough is that he’s always so quick off the ground on second and third attempts and he’s relentless on the offensive glass. He deserves everything he gets.” Hanson said his troops were getting accustomed to constant foul trouble. “It’s happening so often, I’m starting to get used to it. Just shuffling guys in and out. I like it in a sense that it gives guys an opportunity to play. It shows our depth.”

        In the bronze medal match, Saskatchewan qualified for the CIS tourney by defeating Regina 77-69 as Rob Lovelace scored 20 on 7-10 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 5-5 from the line and 4 boards. Andrew Spagrud notched 13 on 5-13 from the floor, 3-6 from the line and 10 boards. Sam Lamontagne scored 13 on 3-6 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 5-6 from the line and 5 assists. Rejean Chabot notched 10 on 4-8 from the floor and 1-2 from the arc. Kyle Grant scored 6 on 2-8 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Matthew Greenberg scored 6 on 2-6 from the floor and 4 boards. Kevin Langdon added 5, Jordan Harbidge 3 and Trent Folk 2. The Huskies shot 26-58 (.448) from the floor, 5-16 (.313) from the arc and 20-24 (.833) from the line, while garnering 28 boards, including 5 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 24 fouls, 14 turnovers, 3 steals and 3 blocks. The Huskies also included Levin Vann, Mark Breker, Kevin Hollman, Mark Thompson, Clint Unsworth, Greg Bowes and Jim Guidinger. Bryden Wright paced Regina with 22 points on 10-19 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 1-3 from the line and 5 boards. Drew Kuzminski added 18 on 6-8 from the floor, 6-7 from the line and 10 boards. Joel Hunter scored 11 on 4-15 from the floor, 1-9 from the arc and 2-3 from the line. Daniel Meltesen notched 9 on 2-6 from the floor, 5-6 from the line and 4 boards. Zach Michell scored 6 on 2-5 from the floor. Jamal Williams added 2, Adam Huffman 1, Bradley Fekula 0, Paul Schubach 0, Michael Enns 0 and Sarain Soonias 0. The Cougars shot 25-59 (.424) from the floor, 3-18 (.167) from the arc and 16-24 (.667) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 25 fouls, 14 turnovers, 6 steals and 4 blocks. The Cougars (coached by James Hillis) also included Greg McKoy, Shea Murphy, Michael Enns, Jeff Lukomski and Steven Christie. The Huskies trailed 61-52 with eight minutes to play but closed out the match with a 25-8 run ignite by a pair of Robert Lovelace free throws. Sam Lamontagne tied it at 65 and then Lovelace added another pair of free throws to give Saskatchewan the lead. The Huskies hit 9-10 from the line in the final 1.5 minutes to ice the win. “It’s a credit to us to play like that, with that kind of energy, down the stretch after we had a real hard game last night and a short turnaround today,” said coach Greg Jockims. “It was a gut check tonight. ……Andrew (Spagrud) is a huge energy guy. He sprints after every rebound. He’s running up and down the floor and we’re going to him on almost every possession. I thought he really stepped up in the second half.” Jockims added that his troops were elated to earn the school’s first trip to the nationals since 1988, when he played. “We’ll enjoy this. You’re never really totally satisfied, but you enjoy your accomplishments along the way. A lot of the enjoyment is the process. The outcome is a good pat on the back, but the battles we’ve had and all the training plays right into that. … It was a quick turnaround time and we were tired – the tanks were pretty empty. But when you think the tank’s empty there’s often a little left, and we found it in the last five minutes. This means a lot for the players; it was a lot of years of effort. We accomplished what we wanted to do – we wanted to go to nationals. We’ve got confidence we can play with anybody, obviously. We’ll play hard, and hopefully we have some breaks down the stretch.”

        In the final, Victoria upset U.B.C. 84-74 as Brandon Ellis scored 22 on 7-10 from the floor, 5-8 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 5 boards. Jacob Doerksen added 18 on 7-11 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 2-5 from the line and 7 boards. Chris Trumpy notched 14 on 4-11 from the floor, 5-7 from the line, 11 boards and 7 assists. Tyler Hass scored 9 on 3-8 from the floor, 3-5 from the line and 5 boards. Steve Moore scored 9 on 4-5 from the floor. Graeme Bollinger notched 5 on 2-2 from the floor and 7 boards. Matt Kuzminski scored 4 on 4-6 from the line. Mitch Gudgeon added 3 and Chris Spoor 0. The Vikings shot 27-59 (.551) from the floor, 9-18 from the arc and 21-36 (.583) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 19 fouls, 8 turnovers, 6 steals and 1 block. Casey Archibald led U.B.C. with 23 points on 8-16 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 5 boards and 4 assists. Jordan Yu scored 14 on 5-9 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 5 assists. Ryder McKeown notched 14 on 6-10 from the floor and 10 boards. Pasha Bains scored 12 on 4-12 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Chad Clifford notched 9 on 3-5 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc and 1-4 from the line. Mathias Dockner scored 1, while Matt Rachar, Jason Birring, Sean Stewart and Bryson Kool were scoreless. The Thunderbirds hit 27-60 (.450) from the floor, 9-22 (.409) from the arc and 11-17 (.647) from the line, while garnering 26 boards, including 5 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 26 fouls, 9 turnovers and 4 steals. “After last year’s loss in the Canada West final, we really wanted to make up for it and tonight was a great accomplishment for our team,” said Vikings coach Craig Beaucamp. It was three-point shootout as the teams drew to a 10-10 tie. But U.B.C. ripped off a 10-2 run as Casey Archibald drained his second trey and Jordan Yu added one to make the score 20-12. Brandon Ellis and Jacob Doerksen countered with treys as Victoria cut the margin to 22-18 before U.B.C. built a 34-26 lead on a series of hoops by Yu. But Victoria rallied to within 34-31 at the half and then opened the second frame with a 6-0 run to take their first lead since early in the affair. Pasha Bains hit a bomb to level the score at 37 before Ellis hit a number of treys to give Vic a 61-50 lead midway through the second half. They maintained the comfortable margin to the final buzzer. “I thought that the biggest key for us was our energy level,” said Beaucamp. “Obviously, Ellis stepped up and hit some big shots for us. At this time of the season, having played UBC seven times, everybody knows each other. It’s the team that’s the aggressor and the team that initiates at this stage that’s going to win. I thought that in most cases we did initiate.” UBC head coach Kevin Hanson said his troops had trouble scoring. “We missed some shots, while they made some shots. We didn’t play very aggressively when we were up. In the second half, we never got our rhythm and we didn’t get the scores we needed until our back was against the wall. I thought we played a little more methodical than we normally like to play.” Brandon Ellis said the Vikes “wanted this game bad. This feels really great to win this game. Our defence again stepped up for us and when UBC started making a run at us, we were hitting some free throws. We’ll have to hit them all in a closer game.” T-Bird Pasha Bains said U.B.C. didn’t execute. “In the next week and a half we’re going to try and figure out how to get some of the swagger back we had earlier in the year. We’re not making shots and I think things are changing around here. Right now, it’s not about Xs and Os as much as guys knowing their roles and what kinds of shots that we need to be shooting.” Beaucamp said that “at this point, where the teams know each other so well in terms of the personnel, the tactics, the strategy, a lot of it comes down to who is the aggressor. I think [UBC head coach] Kevin [Hanson] stated it accurately last week in the overtime game that they were the initiators. Tonight, I thought we had that aggressiveness and that is the difference when you have two closely matched teams that know each other so well.”

        The bronze medalist Saskatchewan Huskies: Rob Lovelace; Andrew Spagrud; Sam Lamontagne; Rejean Chabot; Kyle Grant; Matthew Greenberg; Kevin Langdon; Jordan Harbidge; Trent Folk; Levi Vann; Mark Breker; Kevin Hollman; Mark Thompson; Clint Unsworth; Greg Bowes; Jim Guidinger; coach Greg Jockims; assistant Nathan Schellenberg; assistant Brett Hoffman; trainer Jen Heitmar; trainer Leanne Porteous; athletic services officer Mandy Molder; promotions Tarra Prisciak; SID Tera Schneider; athletic director Ross Wilson

        The runner-up British Columbia Thunderbirds: Casey Archibald; Pasha Bains; Ryder McKeown; Jordan Yu; Mathias Dockner; Jason Birring; Chad Clifford; Matt Rachar; Sean Stewart; Bryson Kool; Brett Leversage; Nathaniel Moulson; Brent Lewis; coach Kevin Hanson; assistant Vern Knopp; assistant Randy Nohr; assistant Les Brown; manager Brian Tanaka; team doctor Dr. Rob Lloyd-Smith; SID Marc Weber; athletic director Bob Philip

        The champion Victoria Vikings: Chris Trumpy; Brandon Ellis; Jacob Doerksen; Steve Moore; Tyler Hass; Graeme Bollinger; Mitch Gudgeon; Matt Kuzminski; Chris Spoor; Stephen Anderson-MacDonald; Matt Kazanowski; Jeff Cullen; Rob Kinnear; Ivan Kajfes; Cyril Indome; Ryan Davidson; coach Craig Beaucamp; assistant Craig Price; assistant Ian Hyde-Lay; manager Linda Kimoto; assistant manager Dave Morrison; athletic director Clint Hamilton; SID Pete Lewis