1986-87 Halifax – uSports men

(4)	McMaster	74
(5)	St. Mary’s	71	McMaster	77
(1)	Brandon	87	Brandon	85	Brandon	74
(8)	Concordia	70					—–BRANDON
(2)	U.B.C.	93
(7)	Western	76	U.B.C.	106	U.B.C.	66
(3)	Winnipeg	80	Winnipeg	90
(6)	Toronto	78

The wildcard selections were Winnipeg and Western Ontario. The Wesmen were the top ranked team for most of the season but lost to Brandon in the GPAC final. The selection of Western, though, infuriated Alberta coach Don Horwood. “Joke, joke, joke. Canada Wet is undoubtedly the toughest conference in the country and there was no wildcard selection. If Victoria had been chosen before us, I wouldn’t be half as mad. But we were both overlooked and that’s ludicrous. I am very, very upset.”

In the quarterfinals, U.B.C. defeated wildcard Western 93-76 after taking a 40-39 lead at the half. The game was tied at 64 with 11 minutes to go when Aaron Point keyed an 8-0 UBC rally that sealed the outcome. Point finished with 19, including 7-10 from the floor and 5-9 from the line. J.D. Jackson added 19, including 8-12 from the floor; while Kevin Hanson scored 15, Mike Clarke 12, and Paul Johannsson 10. The T’Birds shot 37-58 from the floor while Western shot 29-71.

       Wildcard Winnipeg nipped Toronto 80-78. The Wesmen took a 28-11 lead early but the Blues rallied to within 38-32 at the half. Toronto took a nine-point lead in the second half but the Wesmen rallied to tie the game with three minutes to play and then eke out a win. Sam Hill led the Blues with 26. “It was a tough game,” Blues coach Gibb Chapman told the Varsity. “We got behind in the first half, but we came back. I’m proud of our comeback.” Hill said “I’m very disappointed. It was such a close game and we just let it slip through our fingers. To be down by 17 and then up by eight — it’s tough.” The Wesmen hit 23-33 from the line, while the Blues were 6-9. “The officials took us out of our game,” said Blues forward Mike Forrestel. “We gave a good effort, but we weren’t able to shove and push inside. John (Karpis) and Mark (Harvey) got fouls for doing what Winnipeg was doing to us.” Chapman said “we had one of the weakest officials in the tournament. I think he was the fifth choice out of Quebec.”

       McMaster edged St. Mary’s 74-71 as Perry Bruzzese scored 17, Peter Ross 15 and Mike Preocanin 10, while Ralf Rosenkranz nabbed 14 boards. Jasper Naus notched an and-one with six seconds to play to pull out the win for the Marauders. McMaster led 23-7 early and 39-24 at the half but St. Mary’s rallied after McMaster’s Rosenkranz, Muir and Bruzzese fouled out. David Smith hit two free throws with 15 seconds to play to knot the score at 71. Marauders coach Bill Fowler told the Hamilton Spectator that Naus “showed a heck of a lot of composure. He saw how much time was left and took it to the rim.” Gary Bratty led the Huskies with 14. David McIntosh added 14. McMaster led by as many as 15 in the second half. Marauders coach Barry Phillips told Canadian Press that Naus “showed a heck of lot of composure. He saw how much time was left and took it to the iron.” The Huskies David Smith had scored five straight, capped by two free throws with 16 to play, to knot the score at 71. Gary Bratty led the Huskies with 14. David McIntosh added 14 and Mike Williams 5. McMaster hit 31-70 from the floor and 11-20 from the line. St. Mary’s hit 26-65 from the floor and 1-6-25 from the line.

       In the last quarterfinal, the top-seeded Brandon Bobcats dumped the Concordia Stingers 87-70 as Patrick Jebbison scored 27. Brandon took the early lead and never trailed, although the Stingers rallied to within 55-54 with 11 minutes to play. The Stingers shot .440 from the floor. “I don’t think we were intimidated,” Concordia coach Doug Daigneault told Canadian Press. “I just felt tonight we needed a little more from another starter.” Player of the game Rob Latter led Concordia with 21.

       In the semis, U.B.C. defeated Winnipeg 106-90 as Kevin Hanson scored 23, Paul Johannsson 20 and 13 rebounds and J.D. Jackson and freshman Al Lalonde, each 19. Joey Vickery led Winnipeg with 28. Mark Johannson added 18. “Yes, I’m surprised, I’m really surprised,” said T’Bird coach Bruce Enns. “We’ve got a very young team but we’ve played very well under pressure. I guess after you’ve gone through a playoff series with the U. of Victoria Vikings, you get toughened up. …Hanson played a masterful game and Johansson might have played his best all-around game of the year. He really carried us down the stretch” after starting forward Mike Clarke, substitute forward Ken Scott and point guard Hanson had all fouled out, leaving U.B.C. on the floor with four guards. Enns, coach at Winnipeg for 12 years, noted that “seven of their guys either played for me or were recruited by me. I had a pretty good idea of what they could do. I think that really helped us.” Winnipeg coach Bill Wedlake noted that “it certainly wasn’t our style of game. We need a much more open court game than this. This was a very physical game with lots of stoppages of play. U.B.C. controlled the tempo and played their kind of game.” The teams were whistled for 63 fouls, 35 by UBC and 28 by Winnipeg. The T-Birds led 51-45 at the half.

       In the other semi, Brandon defeated McMaster 85-77. John Carson kept bombing from the perimeter as the Bobcats prevailed. The Marauders rallied from an early 30-20 deficit to within 44-42 at the half. Brandon led 69-60 midway through the second half but the Marauders drew no closer than two. Carson paced the Bobcats with 28. Patrick Jebbison added 20 and Robert Clarke 12. Craig Muir led the Marauders with 21. Raif Rosenkranz added 14, Ed Madronich 13 and Peter Ross 12. “We never expected an easy game,” said Carson. McMaster coach Barry Phillips said his troops “kept playing right down to the wire.” Carson told the Hamilton Spectator that “team we played tonight is pretty well a basic rebounding team. They’ve got some big strong guys up front and they were just pounding the boards. They got a lot of loose balls. In the second half, some of those loose balls started bouncing our way.”

       In the final, Brandon defeated U.B.C. 74-66 as they shut down the second-seeded Thunderbirds inside game and led by as many as 16 in the first half. Brandon, who started four Americans, led 37-30 at the half, U.B.C. narrowed the margin when Patrick Jebbison and centre Whitney Dabney were each forced to the bench with three fouls. Point guard and all-Canadian Paul Johnansson twice pulled BC back to within four in second half and then Paul Johannsson and Aaron Point ignited an 8-0 run that drew UBC with 62-60. But John Carson notched an and-one and then pilfered the ball for a slam to give the Bobcats a seven-point lead. The 28-year-old Carson, born in North Carolina and playing his last game as a Bobcat, scored 38. U.B.C. coach Bruce Enns later quipped that Carson was “almost old enough to have tenure.”  Top-seeded Brandon dominated from the start and were determined to win it, coach Jerry Hemmings said. “We’re been here two times before, (the 1980 and 1984 finals). We been knocking on the doors. Thank God they finally opened.” Carson added that “we had a bunch of guys that we’re not going to be denied. We just stuck with the game plan and came out on top.” Hemmings added that the Bobcat strategy was to keep U.B.C. off the boards. “We knew that they were a very strong rebounding team and we knew that they liked to pound the ball inside.” Aaron Point scored 24 for U.B.C., and had a strong game in the paint, despite playing with a broken hand. “Our nervousness showed,” said Enns. “Offensively, we were just never able to generate the kinds of things we wanted to do. We got some pretty good shots. But you have to make them. And we didn’t. … I think it was 18-year-olds playing and some guys that are quite a bit older.” Hemmings later noted that “we’ve been through a lot of controversy. But we have a group of guys that kept their heads on straight. … Those days are behind us now. We’re the national champions. It’s my last year and a great way to go out.” Brandon finished (25-10) on the season. Led, by Carson, 4-time first team all-Canadian and the Moser winner for 85-86, also led the country in scoring. Jebbison known as a shot blocker, forward Whitney Dabney a transfer from Tulane. Doug Carmichael and Dabney gave them size. Alexander and Malowski were the point guards. Brandon had been put on probation in 1984 for exceeding the limit on payments to athletes. They’d been banned from playing in the 1985 CIAU playoffs and were ineligible for wildcard consideration in 1986, (in which they’d lost the GPAC title to Manitoba by one point). Hemmings, a native of Mount Airey, N.C. had come to Canada in 1969 to play centre for Lakehead. He transferred to Brandon in 1971 and in 1972, became the assistant coach at Lakehead. In 1973, he played in France for a year and in 1974 became the head coach at Brandon. Historically a repository for American born players, The Bobcats called the title vindication for having been placed on probation in 1984 and banned from the CIAU playoffs, for having “exceeded the limit on payments to athletes.”

       The all-tourney team featured: MVP John Carson (Brandon); Patrick Jebbison (Brandon); Aaron Point (U.B.C.); Kevin Hanson (U.B.C.); Joey Vickery (Brandon); and Ralf Rosenkranz (McMaster).

       The co-bronze medalist McMaster Marauders: Peter Ross; Perry Bruzzese; Jasper Naus; Craig Muir; Ralf Rosenkranz; Ed Madronich; Mike Preocanin; Brian Bidulka; Ken Mattinen; Rupert Wilson; Dave Perkins; Gary Boyson; Marcus Vijh; Wayne Purboo; Chris Trendall; Dave Bayfield; coach Barry Phillips; assistant Harvey Singleton; athletic director Dr. Ray Johnson; SID Joyce Wignall

       The co-bronze medalist Winnipeg Wesmen: Joey Vickery; Mark Johannson; Will Parker; Murray Gehman; Dean Goodbrandson; Merv Voth; Burke Toews; Mike Thomas; Rob Janzen; Larry Wandowich; Chris Hicks; Jason Friesen; coach Bill Wedlake; assistant Rich Rempel; athletic director Aubrey Ferris

       The silver medalist British Columbia Thunderbirds: Paul Johansson; Aaron Point; J.D. Jackson; Kevin Hanson; Mike Clarke; Alan Lalonde; Ken Scott; Eric Kristiansen; John Carlson; Jamie Boulding; Maurice Basso; Ken Scott; Gord Matson; coach Bruce Enns; Brent Henderson; assistant Kent Chappell; assistant John Ritchie; athletic director Dr. R.G. Hindmarch; SID Steve Campbell

       The champion Brandon Bobcats: John Carson; Whitney Dabney; Patrick Jebbison; Junior Alexander; Courtney Bailey; Doug Carmichael; Robert Clarke; Scott Draper; Gary Latty; Steve Lewis; Doug Malowski; Mike Thomas; Warren Watt; Marvin Russell; David Dominique; coach Jerry Hemmings; assistant coach Earl Roberts; assistant coach Murray McLeod; assistant coach Bob Mandziuk; athletic director George Birger