1967-68 St. FX – uSports men

	Wilfrid Laurier	78
	Carleton	53	Wilfrid Laurier	82
			U.B.C.	81	Wilfrid Laurier	66	—–WILFRID LAURIER
			St. Mary’s	78	St. Mary’s	61
			Western	74

Then known as Waterloo Lutheran University and representing the now-defunct Ontario Intercollegiate Athletic Association, the Wilfrid Laurier Hawks ventured to Antigonish as a decided underdog to capture the CIAU crown. But they featured an extremely stingy defence and a balance offensive attack featuring Bob Bain, Pete Misikowetz, Norm Cuttiford and Sandy Nixon, who all averaged double figures through their three tourney games, as well as Dave Baird, who averaged 9.7 ppg over three games. Through the tourney, the Golden Hawks gave up a scant 65.3 ppg over three contests, while averaging 75.3 ppg. The Hawks shot .506 (98-172) from the floor through three tourney games, and hit .703 (52-74) from the line. They averaged 42 rebounds per game.

       The Hawks opened with a 78-53 quarterfinal victory over OSLIAA champion Carleton after jumping ahead 27-13 and taking a 29-point lead 48-19 at the half, having shot 22-38 (.710) from the floor in the first half. By contrast, Carleton shot a dismal 8-30 in the first half. Wilfrid Laurier was paced by Norm Cuttiford 16, Sandy Nixon 15, Bob Bain 14, Dave Baird 14, along with 15 boards, and Pete Misikowetz 9, along with 14 boards, Herb Stan 5, Dave Miller 3 and Rob Sleeman 2, while Rod Radebenki and Doug Lundy were scoreless. Baird and Cuttiford dominated the boards. The Ravens were led by Dennis Schuthe’s 18 points. Dave Medhurst added 16, Liston McIlhagga 9, Dennis Bibby 6 and Devon Woods 4, while Geoff Mace, Don Cline, Ian Kelley, Pat Byrne and Pat Stewart were scoreless. The Hawks out-rebounded the Ravens 57-30. Raven Don Cline told the Charlatan “we were really out-psyched.” The nervous Ravens committed 20 turnovers in the first half, repeatedly tossing the ball to imaginary teammates or into the stands.

       In the semis, the Hawks rallied from a six-point deficit with four minutes to go to defeat the pre-tournament favorites UBC 82-81. Two late field goals by Norm Cuttiford gave Wilfrid Laurier the come from behind victory, the last bucket with 8 seconds remaining on the clock. U.B.C. had led most of the way, dominating the boards and using a zone to close down the Hawk’s offensive attack. The second half shooting of Neil Murray and Phil Langley kept the T’Birds in the second half and they were up by 12 two minutes into the half. Wilfrid Laurier cut the lead to two with 12:13 to go and it a tight game thereafter. U.B.C. pulled ahead by 10 with 6:30 to go and seemed in control. With over a minute to go, they were up by eight but Laurier used their press to force UBC to cough up the ball. The Hawks quickly trimmed the lead to 81-78 as Pete Misikowetz hit a bucket from the corner and Bob Bain made a three-point play on a drive for a layup. Norm Cuttiford stole the ball and drove for two points to cut the lead to 81-80 with 45 seconds to go. With the Hawks still pressing, Sandy Nixon fouled Murray, who missed the free throw. With 15 seconds to go, Cuttiford drove the lane for a short jumper that gave the Hawks the victory. U.B.C.’s Neil Murray had an opportunity to win the game for the T’Birds with a one-and-one at the line late in the game but missed the front end, with 2,500 fans screaming “choke, choke.” Fans were allowed to run to the baseline, wave their hands and jump up and down, with impunity. The Hawks played crawl ball for most of the affair, slowing the tempo to a snail’s pace until they worked free for an open shot. The Hawks were led by Peter Misikowetz 25, including 7-7 from the line, Sandy Nixon 16 including 8-9 from the line, Bob Bain 16, Dave Baird 13, Norm Cuttiford 12. Hawks coach Howard Lockhart told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “U.B.C. had an outstanding ball club but we played our cards right. They fell flat on their faces. Our guys were a little cooler and had more poise.” The T’Birds were paced by Murray’s 23 points, Frank Rottering 13, Phil Langley 12, Bob Molinski 11 and Ian Dixon 9. The Hawks shot 26-30 from the line, while U.B.C. was 12-16.

       In the other semi, St. Mary’s rallied from behind to defeat Western in the final minutes of the contest. Western had led by a 41-36 margin at the half. But Al Brown scored 12 points and dominated the boards in St. Mary’s second half rally. Western was ahead 41-36 and went on an 8-0 run to move by 49-36. But St. Mary’s Al Brown keyed a rally and the Huskies tied the game with eight minutes to go. The contest was close until the final minute when St. Mary’s took a four-point lead and held on. Brown scored 12 during second half Huskie spurt. Joe O’Reilly led the Huskies with 21 while Jimmy Daniels added 18 and Al Brown 15, along with 24 boards. The Mustangs were paced by Dave McGuffin 14, while Max Bury and Bob LaRose each scored 13. Observers called the game one of the most notorious in Canadian hoops history in that the officiating was decidedly in favour of the Huskies, whose starting five were all from New Jersey. The officials were all from the Maritime Intercollegiate Basketball Conference.

       In the bronze medal qualifier, Carleton defeated Western 69-56. The Mustangs opened with a 10-0 run and led 26-18 when consecutive buckets by Dave Medhurst, Liston McIllhagga, Denis Schuthe, Medhurst, Dennis Bibby and Bibby again gave the Ravens a 31-26 lead, from which Western never recovered. The Mustangs attempted to disrupt the flow with full-court pressure in the final quarter but Ravens point guard Pat Stewart effectively handled the press. Denis Schuthe paced the Ravens with 21 points and 11 boards. Dennis Bibby nabbed 10 boards. The Ravens outrebounded the Mustangs 44-43, while hitting .420 from the floor and 13-22 from the line. The Mustangs, playing without injured starters Marnix Heersink and Greg Poole, hit .310 from the floor. Bob Larose led the Mustangs with 10.

       In the bronze medal match, U.B.C. defeated Carleton 74-71 as Neil Murray scored 15, Phil Langley 15 and Bob Molinski 13. Dennis Schuthe paced the Ravens with 18. Liston McIllhagga added 14, Dennis Bibby 11 and Pat Stewart 10. The Ravens trailed 72-69 and had possession of the ball with 33 seconds remaining when a T-Bird knocked the ball out of bounds (according to the entire press box). But an official awarded the ball to U.B.C., which went into a stall, forcing the Ravens to foul. Frank Rotering hit two free throws to make it 74-69. Liston McIllhagga responded with a bucket but it was too little too late. U.B.C. outrebounded Carleton 47-34. The Charlatan reported that the U.B.C. statistician was “too drunk” to keep accurate Thunderbird shooting statistics. The Ravens hit .460 from the floor.

       In the final, Wilfrid Laurier defeated Saint Mary’s 66-61. The Huskies opened with an 11-3 run. Pete Misikowitz cut the lead to 11-7 with two field goals and then later hit a field goal and Dave Baird hit a free throw to tie the score at 12 with 14 to go. The teams battled back and forth for the remainder of the half. Wilfrid Laurier took its first lead at 23-22 on a Misikowetz jumper and the Hawks moved to a 33-31 halftime lead. With 11:50 to go in the second half, Baird picked up his fourth foul and was replaced by freshman Herb Stan, who was to nab to key rebounds down the stretch for the Hawks, who outscored St. Mary’s 20-15 over the remainder of the contest. Good ballhandling by Sandy Nixon, Baird and Misikowetz led the Hawks to an 11-point lead after which they appeared to tire and St. Mary’s closed to within four with 1:41 to go. Playing before 2200 St. Mary’s fans at the St. Francis Xavier Oland Centre in Antigonish, the Huskies pressed for the remainder of the contest but buckets by Baird, Cuttiford and Misikowitz kept the game out of reach. Hawk coach Howard Lockhart, in his second year at the Wilfrid Laurier helm, told Canadian Press that “this is a real tribute to the character of our boys. They were tough, poised, and had a lot of desire.” Pete Misikowetz paced Wilfrid Laurier with 25 points. Bob Bain added 17, Norm Cuttiford 12, Sandy Nixon 7, Dave Baird 3 and Herb Stan 3, while Rod Radebenko, Rob Sleeman, Mike Kilpatrick and Dave Miller were scoreless. The Hawks shot 24-50 from the floor and 18-28 from the line. Jim Daniels led St. Mary’s with 18 points and 15 boards. Joe O’Reilly added 15, Al Brown 11, Bill Thomas 9, Dennis Reardon 6, Don Harris 1 and Van Auken 1, while John Bond, John Jarvis and Bill Alcorn were scoreless. St. Mary’s shot 22-66 from the floor and 17-25 from the line. Wilfrid Laurier finished (21-6) on the season. Lockhart later told The Cord that he instructed his troops to implement a freeze in the fourth quarter to contain the UBC transition game. He said people thought he was “crazy and stupid” to do so and that “I began to believe it myself.” But it worked out, he added. ‘All I can remember is the net swishing at the bottom.”

       The all-tourney team featured: MVP Pete Misikowetz (Wilfrid Laurier); Al Brown (St. Mary’s); Neil Murray (U.B.C.); Norm Cuttiford (Wilfrid Laurier); and Dennis Schuthe (Carleton)

       The bronze medalist University of British Columbia Thunderbirds: Phil Langley; Neil Murray; Ian Dixon; Bob Molinsky; Frank Rotering; Larry Donaldson; Ken Shields; Ed Richmond; Derek Sankey; Dave Rice; coach Peter Mullins

       The silver medalist St. Mary’s Huskies: Jim Daniels; Al Brown; Bill Thomas; Mike Van Auken; Joe O’Reilly; Don Harris; Dennis Reardon; John Bond; Bill Alcorn; John Jarvis;

       The champion Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks: Sandy Nixon; Bob Bain; Dave Baird; Pete Misikowetz; Norm Cuttiford; Rob Sleeman; Rod Radobenko; Mike Kilpatrick; Dave Miller; Herb Stan; coach Howard Lockhart; assistant J. Thompson; manager D. Coombs