2008-09 CanWest – men

REGULAR SEASON

	PLAINS				CENTRAL
	Brandon	13-9	18-12	Keith Vassell	Calgary	17-5	26-7	Dan Vanhooren
	Regina	12-10	15-14	James Hillis	Alberta	14-8	17-15	Don Horwood
	Winnipeg	5-17	7-23	Dave Crook	Saskatchewan	10-12	12-18	Greg Jockims
	Manitoba	4-18	5-19	Rick Suffield	Lethbridge	5-17	6-22	Mike Connolly
	PACIFIC
	U.B.C.	21-2	31-4	Kevin Hanson
	Trinity Western	17-6	21-10	Scott Allen
	Victoria	17-6	20-9	Craig Beaucamp
	Simon Fraser	14-9	15-11	Scott Clark
	Fraser Valley	7-16	8-18	Barnaby Craddock
	Thompson Rivers	2-21	3-21	Thom Gillespie

        Playoff non-qualifiers:

        Fraser Valley Cascades: Tristan Smith, Sam Freeman, Gurjote Jhaj, Chris Laurie, Doug Plumb, Dwayne Harrison, Kyle Grewal, Sheldon Bjorgaard, Mike McKay, Josh Kufske, Jasper Moedt, Jitinder Lohcham, Jovenal Loewen, coach Barnaby Craddock

        Lethbridge Pronghorns: Danhue Lawrence, Rob Cooper, Shawn Nelson, Allen Kadima, Sephton Spence, Derek Waldner, Brandon Thomas-James, Remington Stemler, Tanner Murray, Jesse Braverock, Steve Scott, Andre Edwards, coach Mike Connolly

        Manitoba Bisons: Nathan Dixon, Chris Pereira, C.J. Wicker, Eric Garcia, Myron Dean, Dan Purvis-Collins, Ian Dickey, O.J. Odik, Marc Martin, Wes Sexton, Andrew Sullivan, Tim Beaver, coach Rick Suffield

        Thompson Rivers Wolfpack: Jeff Friesen, Drew Bleth, Greg Stewart, George Aramide, Matt Pierce, Connor Agnew, Tyler Hartshorn, Hudson Naylor, Charles Barton, Liam Wear, Matt Perry, Daniel Struthers, Mike Conlin, Greg Stewart, redshirt Felix Oberlaender, coach Thom Gillespie, assistant Brian Smith

In the Plains semis, Regina defeated Winnipeg 97-81; 76-93; 85-74 (2g-1). …………………………………………………… In the opener, the Cougars clipped the Wesmen 87-81. Winnipeg stayed close to the hometown Cougars in the first quarter trailing by only five points at 22-17 after the opening frame. In the second quarter both teams exchanged baskets until with under 4:00 to play and the score 41-36 for Regina, the Cougars exploded for 11 unanswered points to close out the first half. Regina led at the halftime break 52-36. Winnipeg was unable to close the gap in the second half as the Cougars enjoyed a double-digit lead for all of the second half. “We played a great first quarter and part of the second but that 11-0 at the end of the second quarter killed us”, said Wesmen Head Coach Dave Crook. Kris Heshka paced Regina with 27 on 11-16 from the floor, 5-10 from the line and 7 boards. Jeffrey Lukomski added 22 on 9-17 from the floor, 4-9 from the arc, 8 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals. Jamal Williams notched 15 on 6-10 from the floor, 2-3 from the line and 5 boards. Paul Schubach scored 14 on 3-6 from the floor, 8-8 from the line, 4 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Austin Bates added 5, Lynn Gee 5, Sterling Nostedt 4, Jordan McFarlen 2 and Will Tallman 2, while Marek Downarowicz and Steve Christie were scoreless. Regina shot 36-64 (.563) from the floor, 8-15 (.533) from the arc and 17-25 (.680) from the line, while garnering 51 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 20 assists, 25 fouls, 23 turnovers, 10 steals and 2 blocks. Regina led 22-17, 52-36 and 75-58 at the quarters. Peter Lomuro paced Winnipeg with 33 on 10-19 from the floor, 5-8 from the arc, 8-10 from the line, 5 boards and 3 steals. Nick Lother added 12 on 4-15 from the floor, 3-7 from the line and 5 boards. Mike James scored 10 on 4-12 from the floor. Eric Zimmerman added 9 on 3-7 from the floor. James Horaska notched 6, Ryan Willerton 3, Andrew Rowan 3, Christopher Jordan 2, Jeffrey Shynkaryk 2 and Benjamin Kingdon 1. The Wesmen hit 27-79 (.342) from the floor, 8-19 (.421) from the arc and 19-34 (.559) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 24 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 21 fouls, 14 turnovers, 13 steals and 3 blocks. …………………………………………………… In game two, Winnipeg evened the series with a 93-76 victory. Regina gained the early advantage in the contest racing out to a 26-17 lead after the opening quarter. Regina had success inside scoring 14 points in the paint, compared to only four for the Wesmen. Winnipeg found their game both on offence and defence in the second quarter scoring 25 points in the quarter and limiting the Cougars to only 15 points. The Wesmen went into the halftime break leading 42-41. Winnipeg outscored the Cougars 22-18 in the third quarter to extend their lead to five points to 64-59 after three quarters. The Wesmen poured it on in the final quarter scoring 29 points and led by as much as 21 points in the final frame to seal the victory. “Nick and Peter were great, but we also got great play off the bench from Jeff Shynkaryk and Chris Jordan, after the first quarter we settled down and did a better job on defense”, said Wesmen Head Coach Dave Crook. Nick Lother paced Winnipeg with 43 on 14-21 from the floor, 6-8 from the arc, 9-12 from the line, 7 boards, 5 assists and 5 steals. Peter Lomuro added 26 on 7-15 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 10-12 from the line, 6 boards and 2 steals. Mike James notched 13 on 5-13 from the floor, 3-5 from the line, 6 boards and 5 assists. Jeffrey Shynkaryk added 4 on 2-2 from the line and 8 boards. Christopher Jordan scored 4 on 2-6 from the floor and 5 boards. James Horaska scored 3, while Eric Zimmerman, Justin Phillips, Andrew Rowan, Benjamin Kingdon, Tyler Kohut and Ryan Willerton were scoreless. The Wesmen shot 30-62 (.484) from the floor, 9-14 (.643) from the arc and 24-33 (.727) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 26 fouls, 14 turnovers, 14 steals and 7 blocks. Jamal Williams paced Regina with 21 on 6-14 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 8-9 from the line and 9 boards. Kris Heshka added 14 on 6-11 from the floor, 2-8 from the line, 10 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Jeffrey Lukomski added 13 on 5-14 from the floor and 3-8 from the arc. Paul Schubach scored 10 on 2-7 from the floor and 6-10 from the line. Jordan McFarlen notched 10 on 3-5 from the floor, 4-6 from the line and 12 boards. Will Tallman added 5 and Lynn Gee 3, while Sterling Nostedt, Marek Downarowicz, Austin Bates and Steven Christie were scoreless. The Cougars shot 25-66 (.379) from the floor, 5-19 (.263) from the arc and 21-35 (.600) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 20 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 22 fouls, 18 turnovers, 8 steals and 2 blocks. …………………………………………………… In game three, Regina took the series with an 85-74 win. Winnipeg started slowly in the first quarter falling behind 8-0 1:40 into the game. Winnipeg did manage to get back into the game late in the quarter trailing 17-10 with 3:52 left in the quarter. Regina went on to outscore the Wesmen 15-8 down the stretch to lead 32-18 after the opening ten minutes. Regina extended their lead to as much as 15 points in the second quarter at 40-25 with 6:37 left in the second. The Wesmen recovered and outplayed the Cougars for the remainder of the quarter outscoring the home team 15-5 down the stretch to cut the Regina lead to 45-40 at halftime. The Cougars took control of this game back in the third quarter outscoring the Wesmen 27-11 to extend their lead to 72-51 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter Regina maintained their double digit lead for the entire quarter with the closest the Wesmen would come is 10 points, but it was a case of too little too late. “We got off to a really slow start and that hurt us, but we managed to fight back a few times, we got into some foul trouble in the second half that did not help”, said Wesmen coach Dave Crook. Kris Heshka paced Regina with 28 on 9-13 from the floor, 10-19 from the line, 11 boards and 5 steals. Jordan McFarlen added 16 on 8-16 from the floor and 12 boards. Jeff Lukomski notched 14 on 5-19 from the floor, 4-14 from the arc and 4 boards. Paul Schubach scored 12 on 2-10 from the floor, 8-10 from the line, 5 boards, 4 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Jamal Williams added 8 on 3-7 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 15 boards and 5 assists. Marek Downarowicz added 7 on 3-5 from the floor and 6 boards, while Lynn Gee, Sterling Nostedt and Steven Christie were scoreless. The Rams shot 30-70 (.429) from the floor, 4-19 (.211) from the arc and 21-35 (.600) from the line, while garnering 55 boards, including 20 on the offensive glass, 16 fouls, 13 assists, 16 turnovers, 3 blocks and 8 steals. Mike James paced Winnipeg with 23 on 11-17 from the floor, 1-1 from the line, 6 boards, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Nick Lother added 17 on 5-11 from the floor, 7-10 from the line and 5 assists. Peter Lomuro scored 15 on 4-15 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 6-6 from the line and 2 steals Eric Zimmerman added 9 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 2-4 from the line. Ryan Willerton added 4 and James Horaska 4 on 2-6 from the floor and 3 assists. Christopher Jordan scored 2, while Benjamin Kingdon and Jeffrey Shynkaryk were scoreless. The Wesmen hit 28-65 (.431) from the floor, 2-8 from the arc and 16-21 from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 25 fouls, 15 turnovers, 5 steals and 4 blocks. The Wesmen (coached by Dave Crook) also included Andrew Rowan, Tyler Kohut and Justin Phillips.

        In the Pacific semis, Trinity Western defeated Victoria 64-63; 75-88; 87-85 (2g-1). …………………………………………………… In game one, Trinity Western prevailed 64-63 as Spokane, Washington product Louis Hurd nailed a trey from the corner with six seconds to play. The Spartans who led by as many as 12 points in the first quarter, found themselves trailing by seven points, 58-51, with three and a half minutes remaining. Hurd may have hit the last shot, but reserve forward Joe Vroom got the Spartans within striking distance. The 6’9” forward had six points and a rebound and an assist in the final three minutes to spark the Trinity Western 13-5 run. TWU’s Jacob Doerksen tied the game at 61-61, off of a pass from Vroom, with under a minute remaining. Then with 32 seconds left Victoria’s Brandon Dunlop (Victoria) hit a 15 foot jumper to put the Vikes up 63-61. Then with the shot clock winding down Doerksen found Hurd in the corner. The Vikes had an opportunity for a last-look but Ryan MacKinnon’s three-pointer rimmed out. The Vikes were forced to play from behind after falling behind 14-2 to start the game. However, the Vikes pressure defence and a 20-point night from Tyler Hass helped them fight their way back into contention. Hass gave the Vikes their first lead of the game with three minutes remaining in the third, part of a 14-point second half. Brian Banman paced Trinity Western with 18 on 4-13 from the floor, 3-10 from the arc and 7-8 from the line. Louis Hurd added 15 on 5-10 from the arc. Joe Vroom scored 12 on 4-7 from the floor, 4-7 from the line, 11 boards and 2 blocks. Jacob Doerksen notched 9 on 4-10 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 13 boards and 4 assists. Blair Hogg added 4, Jason Keegstra 2, Lance Verhoeff 2 and Jamie Vaughan 2, while Michael Brouwer, Matt Myers, Ryan Froese and David Hunter were scoreless. The Spartans shot 20-55 (.364) from the floor, 9-26 (.346) from the arc and 15-21 (.714) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 20 fouls, 24 turnovers, 1 seals and 3 blocks. Tyler Hass led Victoria with 20 on 8-13 from the floor, 4-6 from the line, 8 boards and 3 steals. Jeff Cullen added 9 on 3-7 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 4 boards and 3 steals. Cyril Indome scored 9 on 3-7 from the floor and 3 steals. Jeff Spoor added 8 on 2-3 from the arc. Brandon Dunlop notched 5 and Wendell Thomas 4, along with 6 boards. Mitch Gudgeon scored 4 on 1-8 from the floor and 6 boards. Ryan MacKinnon added 3, while Marco Dolcetti, Julian Spear Chief-Morris and Pierce Anderson were scoreless. The Vikes shot 22-68 (.324) from the floor, 7-27 (.259) from the arc and 12-20 (.600) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 24 fouls, 6 turnovers, 14 steals and 1 block. …………………………………………………… In game two, Victoria evened the series by pounding host Trinity Western 88-75 at the David E. Enarson Gym. The Vikes rallied in a pivotal second quarter to overcome an early Trinity Western nine-point lead. Led by four three-pointers and nine points from Mitch Gudgeon the Vikes exploded for 29 points right before halftime and would take a 43-39 lead into the locker rooms. The Spartans tied the game twice in the third quarter but the Vikes would enter the final frame riding the crest of a 7-0 run to take their then-largest lead of the game. The Vikes lead grew to as large as 16 points in the final frame and Cullen and company ensured there would be no opportunity for a fourth quarter comeback. Jeff Cullen led the Vikes with 24 on 4-10 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc and 15-16 from the line. Mitch Gudgeon added 20 on 6-12 from the floor, 8-9 from the line and 11 boards. Tyler Hass notched 12 on 5-9 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 6 boards, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Ryan MacKinnon notched 10 on 4-11 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 5 assists and 2 steals. Jeff Spoor scored 6 on 2-2 from the arc. Brandon Dunlop added 5 on 3-6 from the line and 4 assists. Wendell Thomas scored 5 on 3-5 from the line. Cyril Indome added 3 and Julian Spear Chief-Morris 3, while Pierce Anderson and Marco Dolcetti were scoreless. Victoria shot 25-60 (.417) from the floor, 7-19 (.368) from the arc and 31-40 (.775) from the line, while garnering 27 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 22 turnovers, 17 fouls, 8 steals and 2 blocks. Louis Hurd paced Trinity Western with 23 on 8-15 from the floor, 5-10 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals. Jason Keegstra added 12 on 4-8 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 4 boards. Jacob Doerksen notched 11 on 4-12 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 14 boards and 2 blocks. Daniel Horner added 9 on 3-4 from the floor and 3-4 from the line. Jamie Vaughan scored 8 on 2-5 from the floor and 7 boards. Brian Banman added 7 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 22- from the line. Joe Vroom notched 4 and Michael Brouwer 1, while Lance Verhoeff, Matt Myers, Blair Hogg and Daniel Demian were scoreless. The Spartans shot 24-54 (.444) from the floor, 8-19 (.421) from the arc and 19-25 (.760) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 36 fouls, 19 turnovers, 10 steals and 2 blocks. …………………………………………………… In game three, Trinity Western took the series by nipping Victoria 87-85. The Vikes fell behind early, and trailed by as many as 27 points early in the third quarter. The Vikes frantically fought their way back over the game’s final 15 minutes and brought the deficit to within two points in the final 10 seconds on a three-pointer from Tyler Hass. Graduating senior Mitch Gudgeon kick-started the Vikes comeback effort with the first basket of what became an 18-1 run to close out the third quarter. Jeff Cullen again provided the spark off the bench with a 15-point effort. The Spartans led from start to finish, but it took a Jamie Vaughan rebound with four seconds left to help seal the victory. The Vikes who trailed by 22 points, 54-32, at half time charged back to almost pull even with the Spartans. Victoria cut the TWU lead to ten points, 67-57 by the end of the third quarter. The Vikes took advantage of nine TWU turnovers to outscore the Spartans 25-13 to head into the final frame. The Spartan settled down in the fourth quarter and were able to maintain at least a five point lead until the final minute. With 56 second remaining Vaughan hit two foul shots to give TWU a seven point, 82-75, lead. After the second foul shot Victoria’s Cullen hit a lay-up to make it a five point game. Vaughan was fouled, but missed both foul shots. Victoria turned over the ball on their next possession and were forced to foul TWU’s Doerksen. Doerksen hit both to give the Spartans an 84-77 lead with 26 seconds remaining. Victoria sprinted down the floor after the foul shots. Hass drained an NBA three point shot to make it a four point game, 84-80, with 21 seconds remaining. The Vikes fouled TWU guard Daniel Demian on the ensuing inbounds. Demian hit one of two to make it a five point game, 85-80. Hass was then fouled on a three point attempt with 15 seconds remaining. Hass hit his first two, but missed the third. Doerksen pulled down the rebound and was fouled. He hit both to give TWU a two possession lead, 87-85. Once again Hass found a way to get open and hit a deep three point with seven seconds remaining to make it a two point game, 87-85. The drama continued after a TWU timeout, when the Spartans’ Hurd was fouled at centre court after sideline inbounds. Hurd missed both foul shots. But Vaughan went high to get the rebound and effectively seal the Spartan victory with four seconds remaining. Vaughan missed both foul shots but the Vikes ran out of time after the rebound and were unable to get up court and get a shot at winning the hard fought battle. TWU’s first half was a near perfect display of basketball. They played as a cohesive unit at every end of the court and dominated the Vikes. It marked that TWU had beaten Victoria in a play-off series. Jacob Doerksen paced the Spartans with 24 on 9-12 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 19 boards and 2 steals. Louis Hurd added 18 on 7-18 from the floor, 4-10 from the arc and 4 boards. Brian Banman notched 17 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 8-11 from the line and 4 assists. Ryan Froese notched 7 on 3-3 from the floor. Lance Verhoeff scored 7 on 2-4 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 8 boards, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Ryan Froese scored 7 on 3-3 from the floor. Jamie Vaughan added 4 on 1-7 from the floor, 2-6 from the line, 11 boards and 6 assists. Daniel Horner scored 3 and Daniel Demian 1, while Michael Brouwer, Matt Myers and Blair Hogg were scoreless. The Spartans shot 28-58 (.483) from the floor, 8-21 (.381) from the arc and 23-35 (.657) from the line, while garnering 53 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 25 fouls, 22 turnovers, 8 steals and 2 blocks. Tyler Hass paced Victoria with 22 on 6-16 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc, 7-8 from the line, 9 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Mitch Gudgeon notched 15 on 7-10 from the floor, 1-6 from the line and 7 boards. Jeff Cullen scored 15 on 5-15 from the floor, 1-8 from the arc and 4-6 from the line. Ryan Mackinnon scored 11 on 4-8 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 9 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Wendell Thomas scored 8 on 4-5 from the floor. Cyril Indome scored 8 on 1-4 from the arc and 5-5 from the line. Jeff Spoor added 5 and Brandon Dunlop 1, while Marco Dolcetti and Julian Spear Chief-Morris were scoreless. The Vikes shot 29-74 (.392) from the floor, 9-35 (.257) from the arc and 18-29 (.621) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 31 fouls, 13 turnovers, 11 steals and 3 blocks. The Vikes (coached by Craig Beaucamp, assisted by Denis Beausoleil) also included Mike Hull, Pierce Anderson and Talon Jones.

        In the Pacific semis, the U.B.C. Thunderbirds defeated the Simon Fraser Clan 97-72; 101-84 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, U.B.C. clocked Simon Fraser 97-72 as six Thunderbirds notched double figures. In the absence of starting point guard Josh Whyte (foot), reserve Alex Murphy delivered a solid performance for the Birds. “I thought the energy was there tonight and some of our guys played like real veterans,” said UBC coach Kevin Hanson. “Obviously I am really happy with the play of Alex Murphy. It was one of his best games of the year and maybe even his career. He controlled the play and was aggressive at both ends of the floor and did a great job jumping into the starting line-up.” The T-Birds led from start to finish in this evening’s match-up of Lower Mainland rivals and after a hot start by Wallis was cooled by Malish’s defence, UBC really took over on both ends of the floor. “Wallis got some good touches early and we had a few defensive let-ups that hurt us but offensively our aggression paid off,” said Hanson. “Brent has accepted his role coming off the bench for us and he gives us that energy defensively, runs the floor well, and is a tough match-up for anybody. His ability to hit the three allowed us to get some penetration and overall I was really happy with Brent’s performance tonight.” The T-Birds survived Wallis early hot hand that saw him go 5-of-6 from the field in the first quarter and led 22-14 after 10 minutes. UBC extended their lead to 17 at the half after holding the Clan to just 11 points in the second frame. Both teams came out hot in the second half but the UBC offence was just too much for SFU, outscoring the visitors 55-47 in the second half en route to the 25-point win. Chris Dyck paced U.B.C. with 22 on 9-14 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 7 boards and 6 assists. Kyle Watson added 15 on 6-7 from the floor and 3-4 from the arc. Matt Rachar notched 14 on 5-9 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 7 boards. Alex Murphy scored 13 on 5-10 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-5 from the line and 4 boards. Blain LaBranche scored 11 on 5-10 from the floor and 5 assists. Brent Malish scored 10 on 4-6 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 11 boards. Bryson Kool scored 4 and nabbed 6 boards. Nathan Yu scored 4, Balraj Bains 2 and Graham Bath 2, while Brett Leversage was scoreless. The Thunderbirds shot 38-68 (.559) from the floor, 9-20 (.450) from the arc and 12-20 (.600) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 22 fouls, 5 steals and 1 block. Greg Wallis led Simon Fraser with 22 on 8-14 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 5-11 from the line and 6 boards. Sean Burke scored 16 on 6-11 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc and 2 assists. Matt Kuzminski scored 12 on 2-10 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc and 6-6 from the line. Gregory Gillies added 5, Vladimir Ruzic 5, Kevin Shaw 4, Kevin Pribilsky 4, Frank Bradley 3 and Jordan Nostedt 1, while Eric Burrell, Tallon Milne and Zach Frehlick were scoreless. The Clan shot 22-61 (.361) from the floor, 10-31 (.323) from the arc and 18-27 (.667) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 17 fouls, 5 steals and 1 block. …………………………………………………… In game two, the Thunderbirds completed the series sweep by dumping the Clan 101-84. UBC dominated the first 20 minutes of play, jumping out to a 57-33 lead and did enough down the stretch to withstand a feisty SFU squad. “I thought the first half tonight and the whole game yesterday could have been some of our best play all year,” said UBC coach Kevin Hanson. “Having had the opportunity to play so many guys during the season allows you to find out who works best in what situations and our guys have really embraced their roles this year.” The T-Birds led by as many as 28 early in the third quarter. The Clan didn’t go quietly, however, as they cut the UBC lead almost right away in the second half, and closed to within 13 with just over two minutes to play in the frame. The visitors continued to claw their way back into the game, and a 15-5 run early in the fourth quarter had them trailing just 84-75 midway through the final frame. The T-Birds responded with a 13-2 run to put the game away, punctuated by a Brent Malish three-pointer with 1:21 remaining. Chris Dyck paced U.B.C. with 31 on 11-17 from the floor, 7-10 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Blain Labranche added 19 on 7-14 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 5 assists. Bryson Kool added 15 on 5-7 from the floor, 5-6 from the line and 4 boards. Brent Malish scored 11 on 3-7 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 5 boards. Kyle Watson added 11 on 3-4 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 3-4 from the line. Alex Murphy scored 7 on 1-7 from the floor, 5-5 from the line, 5 boards and 7 assists. Balraj Bain added 3, Graham Bath 2 and Nathan Yu 2, while Matt Rachar and Brett Leversage were scoreless. The Thunderbirds hit 31-65 (.477) from the floor, 1-528 (.536) from the arc and 24-29 (.828) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 21 assists, 23 fouls, 6 turnovers, 5 steals and 3 blocks. Greg Wallis led Simon Fraser with 18 on 6-14 from the floor, 6-8 from the line and 8 boards. Kevin Shaw added 14 on 4-14 from the floor, 3-13 from the arc and 3-6 from the line. Jordan Nostedt notched 12 on 4-7 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 2-3 from the line. Vladimir Ruzic scored 11 on 4-8 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 7 boards. Frank Bradley scored 9 on 3-5 from the arc. Matt Kuzminski notched 9 on 1-11 from the floor, 6-8 from the line, 5 boards and 5 assists. Sean Burke scored 8 on 2-11 from the floor, 4-6 from the line, 7 boards, 7 assists and 2 blocks. Zach Frehlick added 3, while Eric Burrell, Kevin Pribilsky, Tallon Milne and Gregory Gillies were scoreless. The Clan shot 25-74 (.338) from the floor, 12-34 (.353) from the arc and 22-33 (.667) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 25 fouls, 7 turnovers and 5 blocks. The Clan (coached by Scott Clark, assisted by David Petroziello) also included Hunter Jordan.

        In the Central semis, Alberta defeated Saskatchewan 77-68; 63-54 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, host Alberta prevailed 77-68. It didn’t look good for the home-town Bears early. Although they took the opening lead, 2-0, they spent the rest of the game digging their way out of a deficit as the Huskies took the game over from a flat looking Alberta. Saskatchewan earned a 24-18 lead through 10 minutes and a 37-34 mark into half-time. Showron Glover, the Canada West leading scorer, put on a clinic in the first half, scoring 10 points, three assists and five steals. The Fresno, CA native struggled with the deep ball however, going 0-4 in the first half and 0-7 on the night, including two air-balls in the fourth quarter. Harvey Bradford and C.G. Morrison, the conference leader from outside the arc shooting percentage, each scored 10 points to pace the Bears through 20 minutes. Saskatchewan continued the assault in the third quarter, but slowly and surely, the Don Horwood coached Golden Bears came crawling back. Second year guard Eric Casey put Alberta in front for good to start the fourth quarter, when he collected a loose Huskie ball deep in their territory and dunked for the point switch. The Victoria native was fouled on the play, resulting in a three-point swing that kept the Bears in control. It was Alberta’s second lead of the game, after opening at 2-0. As the minutes ticked off the clock and the win moved further away, the Huskies got colder and colder with the ball. Three-point attempts sailed under the hoop, lay-ups rimmed out and rebounds were stolen as several times the Alberta defence stripped balls away or picked up clutch defensive steals. Saskatchewan began to panic with the ball, forcing passes into tight spaces, giving way for Alberta steals and more importantly, possessions. With a 25-10 fourth quarter, the Bears went on to close out the game. Alberta got seven stops in a row when Horwood shifted his troops to a zone. “That really stymied them,” Horwood said. “The guys really hustled in that zone. Sometimes our guys take it as a time to relax but tonight they didn’t. It was a tough battle, hard-fought by both teams. Early on, I thought they dominated us a bit but we hung in. All year, all we’ve asked them to do is grind out each game. And this is another example of them grinding it out. I don’t know how much further we’re going but they’ll all be grinders.” Harvey Bradford paced Alberta with 26 on 7-15 from the floor, 12-14 from the line, 8 boards and 3 steals. C.B. Morrison added 16 on 6-10 from the floor, 3-4 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards. Justin Vanloo notched 12 on 6-11 from the floor, 5 boards and 3 assists. Scott Leigh scored 8 on 3-5 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Neb Aleksic added 6 on 2-4 from the floor and 3 boards. Eric Casey scored 6 on 2-5 from the floor. Sahr Saffa added 3, while Braydon Janzen and Matthew Cardoza were scoreless. The Golden Bears shot 27-52 (.519) from the floor, 5-9 (.556) from the arc and 18-25 (.720) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 17 fouls, 25 turnovers, 10 steals and 4 blocks. Troy Gottselig paced Saskatchewan with 18 on 6-12 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Michael Lieffers added 14 on 7-9 from the floor and 9 boards. Showron Glover notched 12 on 4-19 from the floor, 4-5 from the line, 4 boards, 4 assists and 6 steals. Nolan Brudehl scored 10 on 4-11 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 6 boards. Daniel Brudehl scored 6 on 2-11 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 3 assists. Mac Fairbairn added 4 on 2-4 from the floor and 5 boards. Clint Unsworth scored 3 and Preston O’Brien 1. The Huskies shot 26-67 (.388) from the floor, 3-16 (.188) from the arc and 13-16 (.813) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 23 fouls, 23 turnovers, 14 steals and 3 blocks. …………………………………………………… In game two, Alberta swept the series with a 63-54 victory. A mistake prone first half showed the nerves on both sides of the court. The Bears earned a slim 21-19 lead through 10 minutes and expanded on that before half, going up 37-29 at the break. The Huskies got into foul trouble in the first, sending the Bears to the line for 15 shots, whereas Alberta only gave eight shots from the charity stripe. Alberta’s 11-15 mark, compared to Saskatchewan’s 5-8, was easily the difference in a shaky first half. The game only tightened up more in the second as neither team wanted to get into foul trouble and put the other team into the bonus too early. Alberta shooters, notably Scott Leigh, were the difference in the second half as the Bears simply hit the buckets that they needed to, while the Huskies put up a lot of misses. After an 11-8 third quarter run by Alberta, the game slowed down even more in the fourth as both teams went minutes without banking a bucket. The Bears held a nine point lead for much of the fourth but watched with agony as Saskatchewan closed the gap to four late in the contest. Leigh however, was too hot to handle, sinking six of the 13 three-pointers, including two in the final 10 minutes. Alberta again effectively stymied Saskatchewan with a zone and shut down Fresno guard Showron Globe. “He’s the top offensive scorer for their team, so our focus was to try to stay in front of him. That’s all you can really do with a player like that,” said Leigh. Glover rallied the Huskies within 59-54 on a steal and layout. But Alberta called time out and drove the ball at bucket. C.G. Morrison hit two free throws and then ripped down a defensive board, was fouled and hit two more. Leigh said the Bears were determined to win for Horwood, who received a standing ovation for his 26 years at the helm. “It was motivation for us to keep playing and for coach to keep playing. I know he loves it. So we’re going to go as far as we can for him and for the team.” Scott Leigh paced Alberta with 25 on 7-16 from the floor, 6-13 from the arc and 5-6 from the line. Justin Vanloo scored 9 on 4-8 from the floor, 7 boards and 2 steals. C.G. Morrison notched 8 on 2-6 from the floor, 4-4 from the line, 6 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Neb Aleksic scored 7 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Harvey Bradford scored 6 on 2-5 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 5 boards. Braydon Janzen added 3, Eric Casey 3 and Matthew Cardoza 2, while Patrick Maloney and Shar Saffa were scoreless. The Golden Bears shot 20-47 (.426) from the floor, 8-19 (.421) from the arc and 15-19 (.789) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 19 fouls, 22 turnovers, 9 steals and 3 blocks. Showron Glover led Saskatchewan with 25 on 10-22 from the floor, 3-11 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 3 boards. Michael Lieffers added 7 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 7 boards and 2 steals. Troy Gottselig scored 7 on 2-7 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 8 boards and 2 steals. Nolan Brudehl scored 5 on 1-7 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 4 boards. Lane Manson scored 5 on 2-2 from the floor. Abraham Daniels added 3 and Daniel Brudehl 2, while Patrick Burns, Clint Unsworth and Mac Fairbairn were scoreless. The Huskies shot 19-53 (.358) from the floor, 5-22 (.227) from the arc and 11-17 (.647) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 4 assists, 19 fouls, 21 turnovers, 9 steals and 2 blocks. The Huskies (coached by Greg Jockims) also included Duncan Jones and Preston O’Brien.

        In the Central division finals, Calgary defeated Alberta 91-85; 82-78 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, host Calgary prevailed 91-85 as brothers Ross and Henry Bekkering lit up the Golden Bears. “Our defence needs to be a little more consistent, but I was pretty happy with the way we limited our turnovers tonight,” said Calgary coach Dan Vanhooren. “We handled pressure well, and executed pretty well on offence, and defensively when we did what we were supposed to do, it worked. We need to stay on course and stay with the game plan. At times we got a little too creative tonight, but Ross and Henry had huge games for us and when those guys are going with the support of Tyler (Fidler) and Robbie (Sihota), we’re pretty tough to beat.” After Alberta took an early 25-23 lead following the first quarter, a dunk by Ross knotted it up at 31-31 early in the second. That sparked an 8-1 run for the Dinos, and they never trailed from that point. Calgary took a 41-36 lead into the half. The lead stretched as high as 10 on several occasions, but the Dinos were unable to extend their advantage any further as the Bears continued to chip away. “Our defence just has to stay more consistent so that when our offence is faltering we can maintain where we are,” said Vanhooren. “They did keep making it close, but then we’d go up 10 again and eight here and nine there, and it takes a lot of energy for teams to keep coming back like that.” The one point where the Calgary offence did falter nearly gave the Bears back their lead early in the fourth quarter. Scott Leigh hit a jumper in the opening minute to cut the lead to just three for Calgary, and Neb Aleksic brought the visitors within one at 60-59. Fidler responded for the Dinos with a clutch trey and it was soon back up to a seven-point lead for the Dinos at 68-61. The Bears, however, were not done. Four free throws and a rainmaker from Leigh later, the Bears had tied it up at 68-68. Again the Dinos had an answer, and a big three-ball by Dustin Reding put Calgary back in front with a comfortable margin. Ross Bekkering scored 29 on 12-14 from the floor, 5-8 from the line, 13 boards and 2 blocks. Henry Bekkering added 26 on 8-15 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 7-9 from the line and 7 boards. Tyler Fidler added 12 on 5-14 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 1-5 from the line, 7 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Robbie Sihota notched 12 on 5-11 from the floor, 2-5 from the line, 9 boards and 2 blocks. Dustin Redding added 5 and Jamie McLeod 4 on 1-8 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards and 5 assists. Dominyc Coward added 2, while Lindsay Thouret and Andy Rochon were scoreless. The Dinos hit 34-71 (.479) from the floor, 6-25 (.240) from the arc and 17-29 (.586) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 23 fouls, 13 turnovers, 3 steals and 5 blocks. Neb Aleksic paced Alberta with 25 on 7-14 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 9-11 from the line and 5 boards. Justin Vanloo notched 19 on 6-11 from the floor, 7-9 from the line and 3 boards. Scott Leigh notched 11 on 4-12 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc,, 5 boards and 6 assists. Harvey Bradford added 8 on 2-11 from the floor, 4-7 from the line and 13 boards. Sahr Saffa scored 7 on 3-7 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 4 boards. Braydon Janzen scored 6 on 3-5 from the floor. C.G. Morrison added 5 on 2-8 from the floor, 1-1 from the line and 4 assists. Eric Casey added 2 and Patrick Maloney 2. The Bears hit 29-73 (.397) from the floor, 6-22 (.273) from the arc and 21-28 (.750) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 24 fouls, 10 turnovers, 7 steals and 2 blocks. …………………………………………………… In game two, Calgary completed the sweep by nipping Alberta 82-78. Calgary came out flying and opened up a 15-point lead after the first quarter, a lead they maintained throughout the night, despite a scare in the fourth quarter from a resurgent Alberta squad. After combining for just 47 points in the first three quarters, the Bears exploded in the fourth to put up 31 points and cut Calgary’s comfortable lead to just two with five seconds to play. “We couldn’t make a stop, what else can I say?” said Calgary coach Dan Vanhooren of his team’s defensive effort in the final 10 minutes. “We tried to make a stop, but every time they would hit a shot, it didn’t matter. The good thing was that when we HAD to get a stop, we actually got one.” Alberta forward Justin VanLoo turned it up in the fourth quarter, putting up 13 points, including a long three to bring the Bears within two. In addition to VanLoo, guard Neb Aleksic and head coach Don Horwood also left the gym for the last time – VanLoo and Aleksic after five years on the floor, Horwood after 26 years on the bench. VanLoo’s fourth-quarter heroics might have turned the tide to the green and gold had it not been for a monstrous first quarter by the Dinos. “Those guys were awesome,” said Vanhooren. “Dustin has been a point-a-minute guy all year, and Andy Rochon was a killer against the zone. The two of them hit shots from the three-point line and caused them to have to change their defence, and that’s big for us. When you play teams six times, it’s hard to beat them. It was good that we got them twice and our guys were able to battle through some adversity. It’s also good that the games were close, because it’s not going to get any different the rest of the way.” Calgary led 30-15, 43-34 and 60-47 at the quarters. Ross Bekkering paced Calgary with 18 on 6-9 from the floor, 6-6 from the line, 9 boards, 4 assists and 3 blocks. Henry Bekkering added 15 on 6-12 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 2-12 from the line and 5 boards. Andy Rochon notched 12 on 4-6 from the floor and 4-5 from the arc. Dustin Redding added 11 on 4-5 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc and 1-1 from the line. Tyler Fidler added 9 on 3-12 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 4 boards and 2 steals. Robbie Sihota added 8 on 3-6 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 6 boards. Jamie McLeod added 5 on 1-5 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 6 assists. Dominyc Coward added 4 on 1-2 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 9 boards, while Brennen Fule was scoreless. The Dinos hit 28-58 (.483) from the floor, 9-24 (.375) from the arc and 17-31 (.548) from the line, while garnering 45 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 16 fouls, 16 turnovers, 5 steals and 5 blocks. Justin Vanloo paced Alberta with 19 on 8-14 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 2 steals. Harvey Bradford added 16 on 6-11 from the floor, 4-6 from the line, 6 boards and 6 assists. Neb Aleksic notched 14 on 5-10 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 3 steals. Scott Leigh notched 12 on 4-10 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. C.G. Morrison scored 7 on 3-9 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc and 4 assists. Eric Casey added 5, Braydon Janzen 3 and Patrick Maloney 2, while Sahr Saffa, Matthew Cardoza and Harvey Bradford were scoreless. The Golden Bears hit 20-69 (.435) from the floor, 6-21 (.286) from the arc and 12-17 (.706) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 21 assists, 27 fouls, 12 turnovers and 8 steals. The Golden Bears (coached by Don Horwood, assisted by Jonathan Verhesen) also included Kris Raymond, Matthew Hudson and Tamer Douglas.

        In the Plains division finals, Brandon defeated Regina 76-84; 89-70; 78-76 (2g-1). …………………………………………………… In game one, Regina defeated Brandon 84-76 after overcoming a 16-point first-half deficit. The Cougars opened the extra session with eight straight points, highlighted by back-to-back three pointers from Jeff Lukomski, and now lead the best-of-three series 1-0. “To me, playoff basketball is all about desire,” says Brandon coach Keith Vassell, “You know, Lukomski finished 5-of-14 from the three-point line, and he hit two big three’s in overtime. He wanted it. That’s a kid that hasn’t played well against us this year, but he stepped up today. That’s what playoff basketball is. You have to make yourself available when a situation presents itself and just go with it.” Regina outscored Brandon 18-10 in the extra session after both teams squandered several pivotal opportunities in the waning moments of regulation. Brandon led the contest 65-59 with 2:21 left in the fourth period, but Regina went on a 7-0 run over the next two minutes, punctuated by an offensive put-back from Jamal Williams with 0:24 remaining to give the Cougars a 66-65 lead. Dany Charlery was unable to connect on Brandon’s next possession and the ‘Cats were forced to foul with 0:10 left. Kris Heshka missed both ensuing free throws, and BU quickly sprinted down the court needing a field goal to win the ball game. Rejean Chabot was fouled with 4.6 ticks on the clock, and after making his first free throw attempt, the 3rd year guard rimmed out on his second try. Regina tried to push the ball up the floor for a last-second shot, and after the ball bounced out of bounds with 1.1 seconds left, the Cougars called timeout to set up a last-second attempt. Paul Schubach inbounded the ball from midcourt and hit Lukomski in the right corner, however his desperation three-pointer fell well short and the contest was headed to OT. “We went into overtime, players might have expected it should’ve been over, we should’ve won the game, or whatever,” adds Vassell, “And we didn’t go after them. Regina did, and they came out on top.” The game couldn’t have possibly started any better for the Bobcats, who put up one of their better defensive efforts of the campaign in the first quarter and led 16-3 after ten minutes. In fact, the Cougars didn’t register their first point of Friday’s contest until the 4:54 mark of the opening period and finished the fame 0-of-15 from the field. “Instead of us attacking their zone right off the bat, we slowed things down and tried to set up against it,” notes Vassell, “But over the long haul, it just didn’t happen for us. I don’t know how many layups we missed. So, we’re getting the shots that we wanted, but we’re not finishing the plays, especially in the fourth quarter. We have to make sure that when we have them on the ropes, we crush them. That’s pretty much the difference. I mean, they scored three points in the first quarter, and then that was it for us.” Charlery hit a three-pointer in the opening minute of the second quarter to give BU a 19-3 advantage, but from there, Regina outscored the Bobcats 21-9 to trail by just four points at halftime. “That’s frustrating, because that’s an opportunity we blew,” adds Vassell, “Playoff basketball is you just run your runs and milk them for all their worth, and try and stabilize your weak points. Our weak points came at the wrong times tonight. The fourth quarter is not the time for that to happen. There’s so many opportunities that we have, and we’re not taking advantage of them. It’s not even about who’s better at this point, it’s about who wants it more. The hungry team will get the job done. Being hungry isn’t something you can fake, and tonight, they simply wanted it more than we did. We need to come out and reverse that tomorrow, and get after them. We have to really want to win.” Paul Schubach paced Regina with 27 on 12-20 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 4 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Jeffrey Lukomski added 20 on 6-18 from the floor, 5-14 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 3 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals. Kris Heshka added 16 on 3-8 from the floor, 10-15 from the line, 10 boards and 5 steals. Jordan McFarlen scored 10 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 5 boards and 3 steals. Jamal Williams added 6 on 2-15 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 15 boards. Marek Downarowicz notched 5 on 1-1 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. Lynn Gee and Sterling Nostedt were scoreless. The Cougars hit 26-70 (.371) from the floor, 8-26 (.308) from the ac and 24-34 (.706) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 14 fouls, 12 turnovers, 16 steals and 1 block. Dany Charlery paced Brandon with 25 on 7-17 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 8-8 from the line, 9 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Rejean Chabot notched 15 on 5-15 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 7 boards and 3 assists. Andrew Lomond scored 12 on 5-12 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 6 boards. Stevens Marcelin scored 12 on 4-9 from the floor, 4-4 from the line, 15 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Donovan Gayle added 4, Eric Holm 4, Tarik Tokar 3, along with 5 assists, and Adam Philpott 2, while Kevin Oliver and Kyle Vince were scoreless. The Bobcats hit 24-72 (.333) from the floor, 6-25 (.240) from the arc and 22-26 (.846) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 22 fouls, 19 turnovers, 6 steals and 1 block. …………………………………………………… In game two, Brandon evened the series with an 89-70 win while hitting 13 treys. “I think tonight we made sure that we brought energy,” said Brandon coach Keith Vassell, “We wanted to make sure that we left our mark in the game by what we were doing. I think Friday we kind of went through the motions a lot. We knew the sets we were doing, we knew what we wanted to do, but we didn’t bring the life and the energy that we needed to override our shortfalls.” Twenty-four hours after playing what he called “the worst game of my CIS career”, fourth-year Brandon guard Tarik Tokar more than redeemed himself. “I got all my misses out yesterday, I guess,” joked Tokar afterwards, “I mean, shooters will miss. I’m a shooter, and you have rough days. Today wasn’t one, and yesterday was one of the worst. I got the same looks, but today they were going in. The coaches told me to be aggressive, to be ready to shoot. Yesterday I wasn’t really ready, it took a lot longer for me to get my shots up. Today, I was ready, and I got it going. In shoot around, we worked through what we needed to do. We found our openings, and that’s to Coach Vassell’s credit. He found the openings in their zone and it worked.” For the second straight game, Brandon came out of the gates strong, grabbing an 18-8 lead seven minutes into the first quarter. But once again, the Cougars battled back, going on an 11-0 run over the next three minutes to take a one point lead early in the second frame. The Bobcats responded with a 21-4 surge of their own, sparked by a trio of three-pointers from second-year guard Kyle Vince, and pulled ahead 39-23 with 4:56 remaining in the half. Regina narrowed the gap to 48-40 at the recess. But the third quarter belonged to the Bobcats, who opened the frame on a 15-2 run and led 72-52 heading to the fourth. “I think that we did a great job against their zone tonight,” added Vassell. “It was just a matter of time until we started to do it continually. We had it in spurts yesterday, but we handled it much better tonight. We had energy tonight because we were hungry and we wanted this win. It’s very easy right now to get complacent and think we’re full. I’m hoping that we recognize nothing has changed. We still have to win that second game, and if we realize that, hopefully we’ll bring the same amount of energy and see how it takes us.” Tarik Tokar paced Brandon with 22 on 7-11 from the floor, 6-8 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards 7 assists and 2 steals. Dany Charlery added 20 on 8-18 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 7 boards, 3 assists and 5 steals. Rejean Chabot notched 16 on 6-18 from the floor, 2-10 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 6 boards, 8 assists and 3 steals. Kyle Vince added 9 on 3-5 from the arc. Stevens Marcelin notched 8 on 4-4 from the floor, 6 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Andrew Lomond added 6, Eric Holm 4, Donovan Gayle 2 and Adam Philpott 2, while Kevin Oliver, Xavier Smith and Lonnie Duncan were scoreless. The Bobcats hit 34-71 (.479) from the floor, 13-33 (.394) from the arc and 8-8 from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 24 assists, 21 fouls, 18 turnovers, 17 steals and 3 blocks. Kris Heshka paced Regina with 19 on 8-14 from the floor, 3-3 from the line and 6 boards. Jeffrey Lukomski added 13 on 4-13 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 4 assists and 4 steals. Paul Schubach scored 11 on 4-8 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 7 boards and 3 assists. Jamal Williams notched 10 on 2-8 from the floor, 6-6 from the line and 4 boards. Jordan McFarlen added 7 on 3-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 5 boards. Sterling Nostedt added 4, Lynn Gee 3, Marek Downarowicz 2 and Austin Bates 1, while Steve Christie and Will Tallman were scoreless. The Cougars hit 2-460 (.400) from the floor, 6-24 (.250) from the arc and 16-21 (.762) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 15 fouls, 23 turnovers, 9 steals and 2 blocks. …………………………………………………… In game three, Brandon took the series by rallying from a 14-point second half deficit to nip Regina 78-76. “I feel absolutely great,” said Bobcats coach Keith Vassell. “We just won a very tough game, we pulled it out somehow, we made the baskets when we had to, we made the plays when we had to, and it was just absolutely fantastic.” The first-year Bobcat coach took part in five GPAC finals as a player in the mid-1990’s, but said “it was by far the most exciting thing I’ve ever been a part of. We stepped up. We didn’t really have any control of this game. I was trying to do everything we could to gain control of the tempo, of the stability of the game, but it wasn’t happening. So, to be able to win a game like that, it just feels great.” Brandon trailed by four points with just over three minutes remaining, however back-to-back hoops from Dany Charlery and Rejean Chabot tied the game at 74-74 with 1:47 to go. Regina’s Paul Schubach responded by hitting a pair of free throws, and on Brandon’s ensuing possession, Charlery turned an errant Eric Holm three-pointer into a game-tying lay-up. The Bobcats got a stop on the defensive end, and Tarik Tokar gave them their first lead of the night moments later when he knocked down a free throw with 51.7 ticks on the clock. The Cougars missed three shots from inside 10 feet on their next possession, and on their fourth attempt, Kris Heshka was called for an offensive foul with 23.1 seconds remaining. Tokar made 1-2 free throws on Brandon’s subsequent trip down the floor to give the ‘Cats a two-point advantage. The Cougars quickly stormed up the court only to have Schubach miss a running lay-up in traffic. However, the ball deflected out of bounds off a Bobcat defender, giving Regina possession under the Brandon basket with 9.0 seconds left. The Cougars inbounded to Jamal Williams, who muscled his way into the paint and had his shot attempt partially blocked. A mad scramble ensued, the ball was batted around by players from both teams, and eventually, Charlery managed to swat it down the floor as time expired. “Part of what we said this year was that we wanted to just survive,” said Charlery. “You know, you play hard, you play smart, and good things will happen. You never give up. We played as a team. We had each other’s back. We had to bring it together, and we’d been through too much the whole year, we just had to do it. It came down to the last couple of possessions, we dug it in, and then we got it.” The opening 20 minutes belonged Vassell said “we kept with our pressure, we maintained it in the second half. We weren’t getting steals, but we were keeping them from getting into their offense. And I’ll take that, I was happy with that. We were far from perfect tonight, but we played a great five minutes at the end when it really mattered, and that’s what it came down to.” Brandon failed to hit a field goal for the first five minutes of the contest while falling behind 12-2. The Bobcats trailed 43-33 at the half. The Cougars led by as many as 14 points in the third quarter before an 8-0 Brandon run narrowed the gap to 54-48 with just over four minutes remaining. Regina extended the lead to 12, but the Bobcats closed the quarter on an 8-1 surge, punctuated by three-pointers from Kyle Vince and Charlery. After three quarters, Regina led 64-49. “It was such an intense finish,” noted fifth-year Brandon forward Eric Holm. “They were letting stuff go, we took more charges tonight than ever. We got that big one by Donovan (Gayle) on Heshka at the end. And we pulled it out, and that’s all that matters. We just wanted to go back to the conference final. We’ve been their two years in a row, we’re used to it. The whole time we knew we could come back. If we took it five minutes at a time, get it from 14 to 10 to 5, we’d eventually pull it out.” Dany Charlery paced the Bobcats with 23 on 9-18 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 3-5 from the line, 8 boards, 3 assists and 5 steals. Eric Holm added 18 on 7-13 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc and 4 boards. Rejean Chabot notched 17 on 8-12 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 3 boards and 6 assists. Tarik Tokar added 9 on 1-6 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 6-8 from the line, 6 boards and 5 assists. Andrew Lomond scored 4 on 2-2 from the line and 6 boards. Kyle Vince added 3, Xavier Smith 2 and Stevens Marcelin 2, while Donovan Gayle and Lonnie Duncan were scoreless. The Bobcats hit 29-68 (.426) from the floor, 9-27 (.333) from the arc and 11-15 (.733) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 19 fouls, 12 turnovers, 8 steals and 3 blocks. Jeffrey Lukomski paced Regina with 23 on 8-13 from the floor, 7-12 from the arc and 5 assists. Paul Schubach added 17 on 5-14 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 5-7 from the line, 4 boards and 4 assists. Kris Heshka scored 15 on 4-6 from the floor, 7-12 from the line and 7 boards. Jamal Williams added 11 on 5-9 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 9 boards and 7 assists. Jordan Mcfarlen scored 9 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 4 boards. Marek Downarowicz added 2, while Lynn Gee and Sterling Nostedt were scoreless. The Cougars shot 26-54 (.481) from the floor, 10-23 (.435) from the arc and 14-23 (.609) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 21 assists, 20 fouls, 11 turnovers, 3 steals and 1 block. The Cougars (coached by James Hillis, assisted by Steve Burrows, Glen Fekula and Mick Panko, trainer Kerri Ludvigsen) also included Austin Bates, Jayes Tarka, Steven Christie and Will Tallman.

        In the Pacific division finals, UBC defeated Trinity Western 83-80; 80-64 (2g-0). …………………………………………………… In game one, U.B.C. edged Trinity Western 83-80. The T-Birds led by double digits in the fourth quarter and briefly faltered down the stretch before pulling out the win. After Brian Banman hit back-to-back threes for the Spartans to close the gap to three points early in the fourth, Daniel Horner was able to score on a fast break opportunity off a turnover and draw the foul, tying the game at 68 after completing the three point play. After Banman hit his third straight three-pointer, Jason Keegstra also made good on a three ball which put the Spartans on top 74-71. With the Spartans leading 80-76, Bryson Kool cut the margin to two with two offensive rebounds. U.B.C. disrupted the inbounds pass and the ensuing scramble, Chris Dyck gather a loose ball and drew Banman’s fifth foul of the game, with 40.9 on the clock. Dick hit the first and missed the second. Alex Murphy grabbed the rebound. Brent Malish’s go-ahead attempt fell short, but Kyle Watson tipped in an offensive board to give U.B.C. the lead. Dyck hit two insurance free throws with five seconds to play. “Chris showed some real leadership out there,” said UBC coach Kevin Hanson. “He got two fouls early in the first quarter, and you take a chance as far as whether you sit him or not. Trinity played their guys who were in foul trouble and they ended up fouling out, and the difference in the end was Chris making those free-throws, and Kyle Watson came in late and did some great things defensively as well as sparking us a bit on the offensive end. This group is really about the entire team. Different guys made big plays and different points in the game, and Chris is our leader, and he made some great plays down the stretch. All season long we knew that Trinity is a very good team, and with two high-octane offences going together we knew the score would be close like that. I just thought it was a heck of a basketball game. Both teams got into foul trouble, so both teams had different lineups at times that might not be used to playing with each other, but I thought our depth was really solid tonight.” Chris Dyck paced U.B.C. with 28 on 9-14 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 7-10 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Blain Labranche added 17 on 5-13 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 5-7 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Josh Whyte scored 10 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 5-7 from the line. Kyle Watson notched 7 on 2-4 from the floor, 3-6 from the line and 4 boards. Alex Murphy scored 6 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 5 boards. Bryson Kool scored 6 on 2-4 from the floor, 7 boards and 3 steals. Brent Malish scored 5 on 1-4 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Nathan Yu added 2 and Balraj Bains 2, while Graham Bath and Matt Rachar were scoreless. The Thunderbirds hit 24-57 (.421) from the floor, 8-23 (.348) from the arc and 27-38 (.711) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 32 fouls, 16 turnovers, 8 steals and 3 blocks. Jamie Vaughan paced Trinity Western with 23 on 8-15 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 6-12 from the line and 11 boards. Brian Banman added 18 on 5-12 from the floor, 4-8 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 4 boards and 6 assists. Jason Keegstra added 13 on 4-9 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 6 boards. Jacob Doerksen notched 9 on 4-17 from the floor, 1-4 from the line and 23 boards. Louis Hurd scored 8 on 3-10 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc and 5 assists. Daniel Horner added 5 on 1-2 from the floor, 3-3 from the line and 3 assists. Lance Verhoeff added 3 and Michael Brouwer 1, while Matt Myers, Blair Hogg and Ryan Froese were scoreless. The Spartans hit 26-68 (.382) from the floor, 10-24 (.417) from the arc and 18-32 (.563) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 21 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 31 fouls, 17 turnovers, 7 steals and 3 blocks. …………………………………………………… In game two, U.B.C. completed the series sweep with an 80-64 home win. The T-Birds took a four point lead into the fourth quarter but the Spartans ripped off an 8-2 run to take a 54-52 lead. Then U.B.C. took control, with Chris Dyck scored 11 down the stretch, including a key three-pointer with just over two minutes remaining to put his side up by seven. “Because we are such a deep team, if there are a lot of fouls called in the game it plays to our advantage,” said Dyck. “We feel that our bench is better than any other bench in the country, so if both teams have to go their bench it favors us. Obviously I would have liked to play more, but our depth really showed through today.” U.B.C. coach Kevin Hanson said ““Bryson (Kool) was just a beast and he did a lot of things for us. From guarding one of the best players in the country to rebounding and just being a force in the post, I thought he did just a tremendous job. Full kudos to him coming through for us when we needed it. We have been saying all along that it’s not who we play but how we play ourselves.” The Thunderbirds ripped off a 19-4 run while taking command in the fourth quarter. Trinity Western led 16-15 after the opening quarter but U.B.C. exploded with a 13-4 run to take a 28-20 lead and held on for a 35-31 lead at the break. In the third quarter, Kyle Watson hit a lay-up to give U.B.C. a 50-39 lead. The Spartans closed out the frame with a 7-0 run to rally within 50-46. Transition lay-ups by Jacob Doerksen and Hurd gave Trinity Western a 52-50 lead. The team traded the lead but U.B.C. inched ahead 67-62 on a Bryson Kool dunk. Jamie Vaughan hit a free throw but then Chris Dyck hit a trey to ignite a closing 15-2 U.B.C. run. Chris Dyck paced U.B.C. with 16 on 4-6 from the floor, 3-4 from the arc and 5-7 from the line. Bryson Kool notched 14 on 6-11 from the floor, 2-3 from the line, 8 boards and 3 blocks. Josh Whyte notched 12 on 5-10 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 4 boards, 6 assists and 3 steals. Brent Malish added 8 on 2-6 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc and 5 boards. Blain Labranche scored 8 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 3-3 from the line. Kyle Watson scored 6 on 2-2 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Matt Rachar scored 6 on 3-7 from the floor and 4 boards. Nathan Yu added 6 on 2-5 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Alex Murphy added 4, while Balraj Bains and Brett Leversage were scoreless. The Thunderbirds hit 27-55 (.491) from the floor, 7-17 (.412) from the arc and 19-27 (.704) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 5 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 25 fouls, 15 turnovers, 7 steals and 4 blocks. Jacob Doerksen paced Trinity Western with 16 on 7-14 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 8 boards. Louis Hurd added 14 on 4-14 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 5 boards, 3 assists and 4 steals. Jamie Vaughan scored 10 on 2-10 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 5-6 from the line and 9 boards. Ryan Froese notched 10 on 3-6 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Daniel Horner scored 6 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 4 assists. Brian Banman notched 5 on 5-6 from the line. Jason Keegstra scored 2 and Lance Verhoeff 1, while Michael Brouwer, Matt Myers, Blair Hogg and Daniel Demian were scoreless. The Spartans hit 17-59 (.288) from the floor, 7-29 (.241) from the arc and 23-27 (.852) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 27 fouls, 16 turnovers, 7 steals and 1 block.

        In the Final Four, the semis saw Calgary club Trinity Western 96-65 to earn a berth in the CIS nationals. After outscoring Trinity Western 26-9 in the first quarter, the Dinos’ lead was never really threatened all night. “Henry (Bekkering) is a focused competitor and it’s his fifth year so he is playing with a lot of urgency,” said Calgary coach Dan Vanhooren. “I think he is one of the best athletes in the nation by far, and when he plays well, he is hard to stop. He is definitely deserving of an all-star in this league and I’d nominate him for All-Canadian as well, because he played like one tonight.” Bekkering helped to cement the Dinos’ lead in the first quarter when, after driving to the hoop and finishing with an authoritative dunk, he picked up a steal on the ensuing Spartans possession, carried the ball up court, and made a nice pass to find Sihota for an open three-pointer, putting Calgary up 22-5. The Dinos made Canada West MVP Jacob Doerksen a non-factor. “We felt like we could get up and press them a little bit and cause some havoc, and make Doerksen have to handle the ball a bit,” said Vanhooren. “That also took a lot of shot-clock time off so we only had to play defence against him for 14 or 15 seconds rather than a whole shot-clock so that was a big part of the reason why we did what we did. He is a great player and he showed that early because he still managed to get some good looks inside, and when he did, he scored. Robbie had a great night for us as well, and Tyler Fidler was excellent too, although he got into some foul trouble. When we have three guys going like that it’s pretty hard to stop us. I’m just so proud of this team, that we executed and did our thing.” Calgary led 45-31 at the half and 77-50 after three quarters. Henry Bekkering paced Calgary with 29 on 10-20 from the floor, 9-15 from the line, 9 boards and 7 assists. Robbie Sihota added 28 on 8-16 from the floor, 5-6 from the arc, 7-8 from the line and 6 boards. Tyler Fidler added 13 on 6-8 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 4 boards. Dominyc Coward notched 7 on 3-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 7 boards. Jamie Mcleod added 6 on 2-3 from the arc and 5 assists. Dustin Redding added 5, Ross Bekkering 4, Lindsay Thouret 2 and Andy Rochon 2, while Tony Dhaliwal, Brennen Fule and Jordan Flagel were scoreless. The Dinos hit 34-65 (.523) from the floor, 9-17 (.529) from the arc and 19-27 (.704) from the line, while garnering 45 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 18 fouls, 14 turnovers, 8 steals and 5 blocks. Jason Keegstra led Trinity Western with 18 on 8-11 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 3 boards. Jacob Doerksen added 14 on 6-14 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 6 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Brian Banman added 8 on 2-8 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 7 assists. Louis Hurd added 6 on 2-6 from the arc and 3 boards. Lance Verhoeff added 5, Matt Myers 3, Blair Hogg 3, Jamie Vaughan 2, Ryan Froese 2, Daniel Horner 2 and Daniel Demian 2, while Michael Brouwer was scoreless. The Spartans hit 25-66 (.379) from the floor, 8-28 (.286) from the arc and 7-10 from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 27 fouls, 16 turnovers, 6 steals and 6 blocks.

        In the other semi, the host U.B.C. Thunderbirds qualified for nationals by smashing the Brandon Bobcats 92-71. Chris Dyck was dominant in the first half. “We ended up playing Chris at point guard a bit in the first half just to make sure the ball was in his hands,” said UBC coach Kevin Hanson. “In the second half they did a good job defensively, but we also didn’t find him in our offence. But other guys started scoring, and when you can put up 92 points there’s not much wrong with your offence.” Brandon ripped off an 11-2 run in third quarter to rally within 15 but Kyle Watson ended the frame with a layup to put the game out of the Bobcats’ reach. Brent Malish scored 7 in the final quarter to ice it. “He would be a starter on most teams in the conference, and he is the best sixth man I have ever had,” said Hanson. “When he comes in he can really score because he is good inside and outside, and he is a very tough match-up for everybody.” U.B.C. led 21-12, 53-32 and 70-53 at the quarters. Chris Dyck paced U.B.C. with 24 on 10-18 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 5 boards, 8 assists and 2 steals. Brent Malish added 18 on 8-11 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 10 boards. Blain Labranche added 15 on 6-13 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc and 3 assists. Bryson Kool notched 12 on 5-7 from the floor, 2-5 from the line and 8 boards. Matt Rachar added 8 on 3-6 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Kyle Watson added 4, Balraj Bains 4, Alex Murphy 3, along with 5 boards, Josh Whyte 2 and Graham Bath 2, while Akeem Pierre and Nathan Yu were scoreless. The Thunderbirds hit 37-66 (.561) from the floor, 6-14 (.429) from the arc and 12-20 (.600) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 26 assists, 24 fouls, 21 turnovers, 7 steals and 4 blocks. Dany Charlery paced Brandon with 29 on 10-16 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 7-11 from the line and 4 boards. Rejean Chabot added 15 on 5-10 from the floor, 5-6 from the line, 3 boards and 4 assists. Tarik Tokar notched 12 on 4-8 from the floor, 4-4 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Stevens Marcelin added 4, Donovan Gayle 3, Andrew Lomond 2, Eric Holm 2, Adam Philpoot 2, Xavier Smith 1 and Lonny Duncan 1, while Kevin Oliver and Kyle Vince were scoreless. The Bobcats hit 23-57 (.404) from the floor, 2-15 (.133) from the arc and 23-30 (.767) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 20 fouls, 22 turnovers, 7 steals and 3 blocks.

        In the bronze medal match, the Trinity Western Spartans defeated the Brandon Bobcats 82-71. Trinity Western was in command throughout, leading by 19 in the final quarter. The Bobcats rallied within 18 with four minutes to play on a three treys by Danny Charlery and a pair of free throws by Erick Holm. But Lance Verhoeff hit a bucket and Brian Banman added a trey to put the Spartans back up by 13. Trinity Western began the game on an 11-0 run, holding Brandon off the board for more than four minutes. The Spartans led 21-12 after a quarter and then held Brandon scoreless for nearly four minutes as they shifted into rout mode. Jacob Doerksen paced Trinity Western with 20 on 7-9 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 12 boards. Jason Keegstra added 17 on 6-9 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 4-7 from the line and 9 boards. Brian Banman notched 16 on 5-16 from the floor, 3-11 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 5 boards and 9 assists. Lance Verhoeff notched 10 on 4-8 from the floor, 2-3 from the line and 10 boards. Jamie Vaughan scored 8 on 2-5 from the floor, 4-7 from the line and 8 boards. Louis Hurd added 5, Michael Brouwer 4 and Ryan Froese 2, while Blair Hogg, Daniel Horner, Matt Myers, Stewart Smith, Jamie Vaughan and Daniel Demian were scoreless. The Spartans hit 28-61 (.459) from the floor, 8-28 (.286) from the arc and 18-29 (.621) from the line, while garnering 54 boards, including 21 on the offensive glass, 26 fouls, 22 assists, 24 turnovers, 3 blocks and 10 steals. The Spartans also included Joe Vroom, Tonner Jackson, Jon Schmidt and Calvin Westbrook. Dany Charlery paced Brandon with 35 on 12-23 from the floor, 5-12 from the arc, 6-9 from the line, 8 boards, 3 assists and 4 steals. Eric Holm added 11 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 4-6 from the line. Rejean Chabot notched 10 on 3-15 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 4 steals. Tarik Tokar added 6 on 2-7 from the floor and 4 assists. Adam Philpott scored 4, Lonny Duncan 4 and Stevens Marcelin 1, while Donovan Gayle, Andrew Lomond, Kevin Oliver, Xavier Smith and Kyle Vince were scoreless. The Bobcats hit 23-69 (.333) from the floor, 7-29 (.241) from the arc and 18-29 (.621) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 23 fouls, 12 assists, 16 turnovers, 2 blocks and 13 steals. The Bobcats (coached by Keith Vassell) also included Travis Pye and Nathan Grant.

        In the final, the Calgary Dinosaurs edged the U.B.C. Thunderbirds 80-76 as Robbie Sihota hit a critical trey with 15 seconds to play. Trailing by as many was 21, U.B.C. knotted the score at 74 with just under four minutes remaining in the game. A huge effort by Dinos star Henry Bekkering to dive for an offensive rebound allowed Sihota to convert on the second chance by hitting a midrange jumper with 1:28 left on the clock, putting Calgary ahead by two. An Andy Rochon free-throw extended the lead to three before UBC’s Josh Whyte stripped Rochon of the ball and hit a layup to cut the deficit to one with 50 seconds on the clock. Then with 15 seconds left, Rochon found Sihota in space behind the arc, and he nailed the trey to ice it. “I kept telling the guys ‘We don’t have to just hold on. Keep going and playing hard,’ but I think our guys did tighten up a little bit,” said Calgary coach Dan Vanhooren. “Our expectation wasn’t to come in here and get out to the kind of lead we did. We expected it to be quite a battle and UBC is a great basketball team. We knew they were going to come back. We had that lead way too early and we froze up a bit on offense down the stretch. But it was nice to see us loosen up and have Robbie hit that big shot at the end.” Before Sihota’s three-pointer, the Dinos had scored just eight points in the fourth quarter, compared to 24, 24, and 21 in the first, second and third quarters respectively. The T-Birds entered the fourth down 12, but after Kyle Watson pulled them to within 10 just over two minutes in, Chris Dyck nailed a deep three pointer to make the score 71-64. After the teams traded baskets to make it a 73-66 Calgary lead, Akeem Pierre managed to draw a foul and hit two free throws to bring the ‘Birds within five, and then a Brent Malish trey cut the lead down to two. A Calgary free-throw made it a three-point lead, and with 3:54 on the clock, Whyte’s three-pointer from the corner finally evened things up. ”I thought we made a great comeback,” said UBC coach Kevin Hanson. “The guys put so much effort and energy into it. We did run out of gas a little bit late in the fourth there when we needed it but these types of games are great to go through. To show our guys that we are able to come back in a game like that was important.” Calgary led 24-17, 48-32 and 69-57 at the quarters. “It’s a great time to be playing our best basketball,” said Vanhooren. “Our turnovers are down and we are passing the ball well and shooting well. When we are doing that, we are a really tough basketball team, and we proved that tonight.” Henry Bekkering paced Calgary with 22 on 9-20 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 assists and 2 steals. Ross Bekkering added 17 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 10-14 from the line, 14 boards and 3 blocks. Robbie Sihota notched 15 on 7-15 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 11 boards. Dominyc Coward scored 11 on 5-6 from the floor, 1-1 from the line and 6 boards. Jamie Mcleod scored 6 on 1-4 from the arc, 3-5 from the line and 7 assists. Dustin Redding added 3, Andy Rochon 3 and Tyler Fidler 3. The Dinos hit 27-66 (.409) from the floor, 6-24 from the arc and 20-28 (.714) from the line, while garnering 45 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 21 assists, 22 fouls, 16 turnovers, 8 steals and 6 blocks. Chris Dyck paced U.B.C. with 23 on 7-21 from the floor, 5-13 from the arc, 4-8 from the line, 6 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Josh Whyte added 21 on 7-12 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 5-11 from the line, 5 boards and 5 assists. Brent Malish notched 15 on 6-14 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 1-4 from the line and 9 boards. Bryson Kool added 6, Kyle Watson 4, Blain Labranche 3, Matt Rachar 2 and Akeem Pierre 2, while Alex Murphy, Graham Bath, Nathan Yu and Balraj Bains were scoreless. The Thunderbirds hit 27-62 (.435) from the floor, 10-25 (.400) from the arc and 12-25 (.480) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 26 fouls, 12 turnovers, 7 steals and 3 blocks.

        Early in the season, Don Horwood announces that he will retire from the Golden Bears helm after the campaign. Horwood guided the Bears for 26 seasons, winning three national championships in 15 appearances. Horwood is replaced by Greg Francis, who played for the Fairfield University Stags from 1994 to 1997, a division 1 school within the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in the NCAA. He played for Team Canada at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, finishing seventh, and at the 2003 Tournament of the Americas where Canada finished fourth. After playing in the British Basketball League and in Lebanon, he coached as an assistant in the NCAA and then returned to the Canadian national program and is currently the Head Coach of the Junior Men’s Team as well as the Head Coach for the National Elite Development Academy (NEDA). “I am thrilled to announce the appointment of Greg Francis as the next Head Coach of the Golden Bears Basketball program,” said Director of Athletics Dale Schulha. ”Greg has a unique basketball background and has achieved a great deal of success thus far in his coaching career. He is a rising star in the Canadian basketball scene and we are thrilled that he will be leading the Golden Bears basketball program into the future. Coach Francis is a person of outstanding character and he is very familiar with players nationwide. Therefore, we are confident that he will attract exceptional Canadian student-athletes to the University of Alberta.” While at Fairfield University, in Fairfield, Connecticut, the 6’3” Francis scored 1,570 points, which puts him fifth all-time in Stags’ scoring history. He still holds the school record for career three-point field goals made (with 230) and was inducted into their Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003. During his senior season in 1997, Francis and the Stags held a half-time lead over the then #1-ranked North Carolina Tar-Heels during their “Round of 64” game at the annual NCAA basketball championship tournament. The Tar-Heels rebounded to win the game 82-74, and Francis finished with 26 points and eight three-pointers. He then moved to the British Basketball League and played for the Worthing Bears in 1997-98, where he averaged 22 points per game and was a UK All-Star. He also played with the Chester Jets in 1999-2000, where he picked up another UK All-Star nod, a 20.3 points-per-game average and a 54% shooting mark from the field. He spent the 1998-99 season playing professionally in Lebanon. While playing overseas, Francis began to develop his passion for coaching and was a head coach for a high school in Lebanon and Mid-Cheshire College in England. He fostered this passion and returned to North America as a full-time assistant coach with the Monmouth University Hawks in New Jersey. At Monmouth, Francis helped lead the university into the NCAA Tournament where they lost to Duke in the opening round in 2001. “We knew that it would be a difficult task to replace Don Horwood as the Golden Bears basketball Head Coach,” comments Schulha, “however, I feel that we have hired one of the brightest coaches in Canada and I am confident that Greg will continue the strong tradition of our Bears basketball program for many years to come.” Horwood finished his 26-year coaching career with a 586-347 record, winning three CIS and seven Canada West titles.

After the season, Rick Suffield announced that he was retiring after 23 years at the Manitoba Bisons helm. “I have made the decision that this will be my last year as the head basketball coach at the University of Manitoba”, stated Suffield, who graduated from McGill University, where he was a starter as a football and a basketball player. He was selected Coach of the Year in the GPAC on four different occasions (1980-81, 1985-86, 1990-91, and the 1994-95 seasons). Following the 1985-86 season, Suffield was also named the CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport) Coach of the Year. Suffield, 57, had coached the Bisons since 1983 and has coached the university team for the last 23 years while producing over 400 wins as well as a 148-44 W-L record at the high school level at Montreal and Winnipeg. Suffield continued, “I have chosen to announce at this time in order to facilitate a national search for a head coach to start a new era in basketball at the University of Manitoba. There is a very good graduating recruiting class this year in Manitoba and I would like them all to have the opportunity to be able to stay home and play at the University of Manitoba next year. This is a positive move for Rick Suffield, a positive move for the men’s basketball program and a very positive move in developing coaches to move our province forward at the community, high school, provincial, and university levels.” Dean of the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management Jane Watkinson said, “This is an opportunity to celebrate a 23 year university coaching career and at the same time develop a new Coaching Program for students who may currently study in other disciplines but who have developed into ‘sport experts’, through their involvement in sport. These students will be given an opportunity, following their degree, or in conjunction with their degree, to study coaching pedagogy under the direction of outstanding CIS coaches at the University of Manitoba. Rick’s knowledge of coaching, his enthusiasm for the development of future generations of coaches for the province, and his years of experience in the CIS will be very important to the development of this new program. We are very excited that he wants to make this contribution to sport in the province.” Suffield enthused, “I very much appreciate the opportunity to coordinate and develop a Coaching Diploma Program in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Recreation Management. The fact that it will be the first of its kind in Canada and that annually, up to 24 educated, motivated NCCP-certified coaches will graduate from the program in various sports and move into our amateur sport system makes it even more appealing.” Suffield was replaced by Kirby Schepp, a 34-year-old was coach at Winnipeg Sturgeon-Silver Heights Collegiate since 1994, where he had a 333-143 record while leading the school to five provincial final fours. He was also part of Team Manitoba for seven seasons. A graduate of Victoria.

After the season, Mike Connolly is dismissed as coach of the Lethbridge Pronghorns. He is replaced by Dave Adams, who was interim coach of the Pronghorns in 2001-02 when the Horns went 6-14 and lost in the third game of the best-of-3 division playoff against Saskatchewan. The 51-year-old was born in the US, moved to Southern Alberta in Grade 11 and later played 4 seasons at U of L (also one year at Lethbridge College). Adams has extensive local coaching experience in high school, college and has coached more provincial teams than anyone else in Alberta by a great margin. An accomplished and successful triathlete, Adams is a member of Canada’s national triathlon team (50-54 age-group sprint division) where he has won several national titles. “It is exciting to have Dave back with the Pronghorn family, he brings a high level of enthusiasm and energy to the program,” said Executive Director of Sport and Recreation Services Sandy Slavin. Adams, a Horns basketball alumnus, was also an assistant coach with the Horns from 1999 to 2001. “He has gained an awareness of the complexities of this position, which will really set him up for success. I am looking forward to seeing him bring his vision to the program,” continued Slavin. Adams said “it is a great honour and humbling experience to be handed the torch of stewardship for Horns Basketball. We are thrilled to accept the exciting challenges ahead.” His coaching career began at Catholic Central High School immediately after his playing career, before moving on to the Lethbridge College Kodiaks in 1984. In four seasons with the Kodiaks, Adams compiled a record of 104-28 including three ACAC medals; one silver and two bronze. A Lethbridge resident for 35 years, he also has extensive experience with provincial and national organizations, coaching with the Provincial program from 1993-97 and with the Basketball Canada Centre for Performance from 2004 to 2006. As the Head Coach of the Provincial program, Adams led Team Alberta to a Silver medal at the Western Canada Games in 1993. He was also at the helm for Silver and Bronze medals for Team Alberta at the National Championships. As a player, Adams suited up for 76 games for the Blue and Gold from 1976-81, having his best season during the 1980-81 season averaging 11.9 points per game. “We invite all those loyal basketball supporters in southern Alberta to join us in the creation of Horns Nation, and to support the Horns as we move into the future,” said Adams.

In July, the NCAA accepts Simon Fraser as the first non-US member of its association, commencing in 2011-12. The Clan will play provisionally in the Division II Great Northwest Athletic Conference. They will become eligible for active member status in 2012-13. “This is a first for a Canadian university, and it reflects SFU’s long history of competing in U.S. varsity associations and conferences,” said SFU president Michael Stevenson. “It means a high level of competition and challenge for our athletes. As has always been the case, our primary concern is that our athletes succeed as students. The NCAA has strong academic requirements and we will maintain the high academic standards that SFU has always demanded from all Clan teams.” When Simon Fraser opened its doors in 1965, the Clan began competing in the NAIA. In 1997, however, many of SFU’s traditional NAIA rivals began moving their programs into the larger NCAA. SFU applied to gain admittance under an exception based on its history of competing in the NAIA but the NCAA simply tabled the application. The association reopened the issue in 2007, and in January 2008 moved to allow Canadian institutions to pursue membership in Division II. There are three Divisions in the NCAA. “I am extremely pleased with today’s decision,” said SFU’s senior director of athletics, David Murphy. “It’s humbling to know we have been chosen as the first foreign university to compete in the NCAA as a member. I believe we are reaching back to the original intentions and philosophy of the university’s founders: to offer a great Canadian education with the ability to compete athletically in the NCAA.” Jay Triano, head coach of the NBA Toronto Raptors and a former Clan basketball star and coach, said: “Competing in the United States is what, in my mind, separated SFU from the rest of Canada when I chose to attend the school as a student-athlete as well as when I began my coaching career there. “To be the best, athletes need to compete against the best and I believe that by joining the NCAA, Simon Fraser University is putting themselves in a position to do just that. On top of that, the student athletes who attend SFU will also benefit from the world-class education that the school provides. As a proud alumnus, I couldn’t be happier for everyone involved.”
        After the season, Canada West reconfigures its divisions, replacing the three division set-up with West – East Divisions placing the 6 B.C. schools together and the other 8 programs from Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba in the East. This means moving away from the 4 game series with the Dinos previous Central Division rivals, the U of A Bears, the Saskatchewan Huskies, and the Lethbridge Pronghorns. The new schedule will have the former central teams play all the East Division teams twice, either at home or away. They also play four games against west division teams. The playoffs will have 4 East teams, 3 West teams and a wildcard in a cross-over quarter-finals schedule.

        The bronze medalist Trinity Western Spartans: Jacob Doerksen; Jason Keegstra; Brian Banman; Lance Verhoeff; Jamie Vaughan; Louis Hurd; Michael Brouwer; Ryan Froese; Blair Hogg; Daniel Horner; Matt Myers; Stewart Smith; Jamie Vaughan; Daniel Demian; Joe Vroom; redshirt Tonner Jackson; redshirt Jon Schmidt; redshirt Calvin Westbrook; coach Scott Allen; assistant Ron Walker; assistant Cal Wirch; coordinator Jamie Born; manager Lynn Dekoster; administrative assistant Livia Munro

        The runner-up University of British Columbia Thunderbirds: Chris Dyck; Brent Malish; Josh Whyte; Bryson Kool; Kyle Watson; Alex Murphy; Matt Rachar; Nathan Yu; Balraj Bains; Blain Labranche; Akeem Pierre; Graham Bath; Brett Leversage; coach Kevin Hanson; assistant Randy Nohr; assistant James Derouin; assistant Dahman Boudraa; assistant Jordan Yu; assistant Vern Knopp; trainer Jane Wong; trainer Kymberley McDonald; athletic director Bob Philip

        The champion Calgary Dinosaurs: Henry Bekkering; Ross Bekkering; Robbie Sihota; Jamie McLeod; Dominyc Coward; Tyler Fidler; Andy Rochon; Dustin Reding; Tony Dhaliwal; Lindsay Thouret; Brennen Fule; Jordan Flagel; Trevor Debolt; Josh Lovestone; coach Dan Vanhooren; assistant Craig Anderson; assistant Brian Finniss; assistant Dave Love; assistant Anton Joseph; manager Dean McCord; athletic therapist Jose Jimenez; shooting coach Dave Love; strength coach Ken Wong; manager Dean McCord; athletic director Kevin Boyles