| Acadia | 59 | |||||||
| Loyola | 42 | Acadia | 84 | |||||
| Windsor | 55 | Acadia | 72 | —–ACADIA | ||||
| Manitoba | 66 | Manitoba | 48 | |||||
| Wilfrid Laurier | 63 |
In the quarterfinals, held in Wolfville, host Acadia, which entered the tourney 26-2, defeated Loyola 59-42 as Rick Eaton scored 18, Peter Phipps 13, Steve Pound 9, Jerome McGee 8, Gary Folker 8 and Tom Spaines 3. Loyola slowed the game to an absolute crawl and were within 15-10 of Acadia at the half. Acadia led 39-19 after three quarters, at which point, Acadia went into a stall. Loyola was led by Tom Profenno 13, Greg Gill 11, Gene Lawrence 6, Duane Clarke 4, Peter Mullins 4 and John McAuliffe 4. The Warriors (coached by Doug Daigneault, assisted by Bud Giffin) also included Dave Burke, Ron Burnett, Jack Contos, Dave Osborne, Jerry Walsh, Mike Murphy and Jim McCarthy.
In the semis, Manitoba defeated Wilfrid Laurier 66-63 as Bob Town scored 16 points and nabbed 3 boards, Ross Wedlake 16, along with 12 rebounds, Angus Burr 12, Jon Gurban 8 and 3 rebs, Ted Stoesz 9 and Greg Gillies 4 and 3 boards, while Cooney, Puttaert, Lamont and Loewen were scoreless. The Hawks were led by Ohio State transfer Rod Dean 20, Chris Coulthard 18, Herb Stan 11, Larry Danby 10 and Mike Moffat 4, while Cleary, Mendicino, Goldie, Southworth and Woodburn were scoreless. Wilfrid Laurier had been ahead 34-33 at the half and Manitoba trailed the entire contest until the final three minutes when the Bisons finally gained a two-point lead and went into a stall. After Laurier knotted the score at 63, Town hit a bucket and a free throw, while the Hawks were held without a point down the stretch. Manitoba out-rebounded Wilfrid Laurier 40-29. “What a game, a real tough game,” said Bison coach Jack Lewis. “They were a very disciplined club but our kids played a heckuva game.” Lewis told the Winnipeg Tribune that “it was a toughie but a great one to win. Our advantage came in our being able to substitute a lot better. Once their starting line-up tired, they were in trouble. Meanwhile, we used eight men effectively and it paid off for us.” The Bisons hit 27-61 (.430) from the floor and 12-14 from the line, while committing 15 turnovers. The Golden Hawks hit 26-58 (.470) from the floor and 11-23 from the line while committing 12 turnovers. Laurier coach Don Smith told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “we made a few mistakes. They capitalized and that was the game.”
In the other semi, Acadia pounded Windsor 84-55, fulfilling a prophetic sign pasted on the wall on the War Memorial Gym in Wolfville, which read “against an axe, a Lancer is powerless.” Although Windsor shot .520 in the first half, Acadia was ahead 38-29 at the break as 14 of 19 fouls called in the first half were whistled against Windsor by Halifax officials Bill White and Dan Seaman, earning Acadia a 14-3 margin from the charity stripe in the first half. Acadia led 24-11 at the quarter and 38-29 at the half. The Axemen took control in the second half as the Lancers went cold. Acadia was up by 20 with 10 minutes to go and at 63-43, Phipps went to the free throw line 12 straight times to stretch the Axemen’s margin to 75-45. Peter Phipps led Acadia scoring with 22, including 14-15 from the line. Rick Eaton added 16, Bruiser McGee 15, Steve Pound 12, Gary Folker 4, Tom Farrington 4, Jon Beausang 3, Tom Staines 3, Paul Talbot 3 and Fred Moczulski 2. Chris Wydrzynski led the Lancers with 11, Jerry Sovran, Jack Orange and Tino Lenti each scored 6, while Ward Conway, Denis Smith, Jim McFarlane and Morse scored 4. Bill Todd added 3. Acadia out-rebounded Windsor 44-26. Lancers coach Paul Thomas told the Windsor Star: “How can you argue about the refereeing when you lose by 29 points? I thought we were getting the best of them late in the first half but they came on strong in the third quarter.”
In the bronze semi, Loyola defeated Wilfrid Laurier 69-63. The Warriors led 31-28 at the half. The Golden Hawks closed to within one with six minutes to play at which point, the Warriors went into a stall and slowly pulled away down the stretch. Chris Coulthard led the Hawks with 18. Rod Dean added 16, Larry Danby 12, Herb Stan 11, Pat Woodburn 8 and Mike Moffatt 4. The Hawks (coached by Don Smith) also included Mike Cleary, Jim Fletcher, Vince Mendicino, Leigh Goldie and Gary Southworth.
In the bronze medal match, Windsor defeated Loyola 73-60 after leading 37-31 at the half. Chris Wydrzynski led the Lancers with 20. Jack Orange added 16, Sante Salvador 14, Tino Lenti 7, Denis Smith 7, Jim McFarlane 7 and Jerry Sovran 2, while Bill Todd and Ward Conway were scoreless. Greg Gill paced the Warriors with 18. John McAuliffe added 13, Jack Contos 9, Dave Burke 8, Gene Lawrence 5, Tom Profenno 4, Mullins 2 and McCarthy 1.
In the final, Acadia stomped Manitoba 72-48. Acadia took a 30-15 lead at the half playing its tough defensive, ball control game and forcing Manitoba into a series of turnovers. The Bisons turned the ball over 18 times through the contest, Acadia a mere five turnovers and held the Bisons to five field goals in the first half. Acadia was ahead 30-15 at the half and the second frame, they slowed the paced, waiting for good shots, hitting their free throws and playing good defence. Acadia came out with a variety of defenses which caused problems for the Bisons’ offence and the Axemen’s Bruiser McGee was able to shutdown high scoring Ross Wedlake to one point. Acadia finished the season 29-2, losing only to Hofstra and Simon Fraser University. Assistant coach Jim Logue noted that “Windsor was the only team we were really worried about in this tourney.” Coach Gib Chapman attributed the victory to tough defence, noting that his Axemen only allowed 48ppg through three tourney games. “The defenses changed constantly. We kept the big men, Bob Town and Ross Wedlake out from under the boards and that was the story. Manitoba coach Jack Lewis noted “our shooting percentage in the first half was 30% and many times we gave up the ball without a shot.” Rick Eaton led Acadia with 27 points. Orange, N.J.-native Jerome McGee added 13, Gary Folker 10, Steve Pound 10, Massachusetts-native Peter Phipps 6, Jon Beausang 2, T. Condon 1 and F. Schofield 1. Ted Stoesz led Manitoba with 18 points. Bob Town added 11, Angus Burr 7, Greg Gillies 5, Jon Gurban 2, Gordie Puttaert 2, Don Lamont 2 and Ross Wedlake 1. Acadia finished (29-2) on the season. Nine members of the squad were American natives.
The all-tourney team featured: MVP Rick Eaton (Acadia); Peter Phipps (Acadia); Gary Folker (Acadia); Ted Stoesz (Manitoba); Rod Dean (Wilfrid Laurier)
The bronze medalist Windsor Lancers: Chris Wydrzynski; Jerry Sovran; Tino Lenti; Sante Salvador; Jack Orange; Jim MacFarlane; Mike Crowe; Bill Todd; Ward Conway; Jack Moore; Denis Smith; Marks, coach Paul Thomas; assistant Nick Grabowski
The silver medalist Manitoba Bisons: Jon Gurban; Ted Stoesz; Angus Burr; Bob Town; Gordie Puttaert; Greg Gillies; John Loewen; Darryl Rumsey; Rick Watts; Ron Unrah; Bob Larose; Bill Irwin; Ross Wedlake; Don Lamont; Frank Cooney; coach Jack Lewis; assistant coach Hank Tatarchuk; assistant manager John Restivo; manager John Brown; trainer James Spack; trainer Gordon Mackie
The champion Acadia Axemen: Rick Eaton; Steve Pound; Peter Phipps; Jerome McGee; Gary Folker; Jon Beausang; Paul Talbot; Terry Condon; Freeman Schofield; Tom Farrington; Fred Moczulski; Tom Staines; coach Gib Chapman; assistant Dr. Jim Logue; manager Willis Porter; manager Bill Barrett; trainer Harvey Mills