| (2) | Guelph | 73 | ||||||
| (7) | Toronto | 66 | Guelph | 61 | ||||
| (3) | Victoria | 93 | Victoria | 60 | Guelph | 62 | ||
| (6) | Brandon | 85 | ||||||
| (8) | Acadia | 79 | —–CONCORDIA | |||||
| (1) | Alberta | 76 | Acadia | 75 | Concordia | 80 | ||
| (4) | Concordia | 78 | Concordia | 78 | ||||
| (5) | St. F.X. | 71 |
In the annual wildcard controversy, St. FX was selected over the University of Western Mustangs, the nation’s 2nd-ranked team all season, with a (27-4) record. Mustangs coach Doug Hayes called it a travesty and pathetic politics. Hayes accused the CIAU wildcard selection committee of favoring ticket sales over competition. “We got gypped, plain and simple. They decided they wanted a second team from the Maritimes and that was that,” Hayes told Canadian Press. CIAU marketing director John McConachie said “commercial appeal” was a requisite element of determining the draw. The other wildcard went to the University of Victoria Vikings.
In the quarterfinal, the 8th-seeded Acadia Axemen, who entered the draw with a 17-14 record, stunned the top-seeded University of Alberta Golden Bears 79-76 in overtime, aided by a vocal crowd of 6,000 supporters. Acadia controlled the tempo from the start and led by as many as 10 with just over five minutes to play. But they struggled from the line and the Bears rallied to knot the score at 69 on a Brian Halsey bucket with six seconds to play. Acadia took command in the extra session and a last second attempt by David Youngs to knot the score in overtime was blocked by Kevin Veinot. “First of all, I don’t think it was upset,” said Veinot. “We’ve been playing extremely well the last two weeks of the season and we seem to have come into our own.” Acadia had started season slowly and finished 11-7 in AUAA but knocked off UPEI and St. FX in AUAA tourney to qualify. With the addition of guards Eric James and Skeeter Mower to a front line of Kevin Veinot and Ted Byrne came on at end of year. Alberta, led by all-Canadian guard Sean Chursinoff had taken two road victories to defeat Vic in CWUAA final. Veinot paced Acadia with 22. Denny Eveleigh added 16. Ted Byrne added 15. Sean Chursinoff led Alberta with 22. Rick Stanley added 18 and nabbed 15 boards. “Maybe we just got a little scared,” said Chursinoff. “That doesn’t explain it. We lost the momentum before and got it back but we had the momentum going in overtime. Maybe we got down after they got a couple quick baskets in overtime. Maybe we got tight collars, being here for the first time. There are no excuses though. I don’t know.”
The third-seeded wildcard Victoria Vikings, led by rookie coach Guy Vetrie, ended the three-year reign of the 6th-seeded Brandon Bobcats as they registered a 93-85 win. Victoria led by as many as 18 but needed a late flurry to stave off the Bobcats. “They just wanted it a little better, a little more than we did, especially on defence,” said Brandon’s Elden Irving, who scored 23. “They scrambled for every loose ball when we should have been doing that.” Victoria dominated early, leading 54-36 at the half. But Brandon trimmed the margin to 83-73 with five minutes to play and then exploded for eight unanswered points to pull within two with three minutes to play. But Victoria had the answers, as Spencer McKay hit two successive jumpers to re-assert command. Vikings coach Guy Vetrie said his troops were patient early, which led to a lead and allowed them to get their transition game on track. “With us hitting our shots and them not, we were able to expand the lead to 18. However, you can only hold down the Bobcats for so long. The second half, they started to unwind. … We did a good job of keeping our composure when Brandon took that run as us,” said Vetrie. “With players like Joey (Vickery) and Elden Irving, you can’t count them out.” All-Canadian Vickery added 18 points for Brandon. The Bobcats, coached by interim mentor Ron McCutcheon, shot .420 from the floor. “We were smaller than them, so we felt we had to get scrappy,” said Brandon post Dave Nackoney. “We felt we had to get every loose ball . . . do everything the little guys can do.” Vetrie noted “you can only hold down Brandon for so long. We knew we were going to be in a ball game in the second half.” Vickery said “the first half was kind of out of character for us. In the second half we just had to come out and play hard. I think the team showed a lot of heart. It’s too bad we didn’t get that key hoop to tie it up.” Brandon coach Ron McCutcheon said “we got out of our flow and we lost our concentration on defence. Once we did that the offence followed suit. That’s one of the faults we’ve had all year, we would get into stretches like that. We had 11 possessions in that stretch, and we did not score in those 11 possessions. I don’t think we took one good shot.” Spencer McKay led Victoria with 18. Geoff McKay added 16, Rick Mesich 14, Tom Johnson 13, Clint Hamilton 12, Dave McIntosh 8, Kevin Ottewell 6 and Dave Lescheid 6, while Chris Schriek, Mo Basso, Vesa Linammo and Fraser Jefferson were scoreless. Elden Irving topped Brandon with 23. Joey Vickery added 18, Dave Nackoney 14, Jerome Gaines 12, R Miller 8, I McGowan 4, D Brown 4, D Carmichael 4 and J Procope 2, while J Lamond and D Scotchburg were scoreless.
The wildcard Concordia Stingers rallied from a 12-point deficit to defeat the wildcard St. Francis Xavier X-Men 78-71. The OUA East champ Stingers, coached by John Dore, trailed by 10 at the half but guard Robert Ferguson ignited their offence in the second half. The Stingers played their worst half of the season as St. FX built a 36-26 lead at the half. They became more physical in the second half, later prompting an outburst from X-Men coach Steve Konchalski. “They played like animals,” he told the Montreal Gazette. “I thought Concordia used excessive force, especially with the play of (Charlie) Mason on (Wade) Smith. Mason was sent in to beat on Smith.” The reserve guard had entered the game midway through the second half and on several occasions both players ended on the floor. Mason played for three minutes and collected three fouls. Smith also picked up a foul and once punched Mason in the head, for which he didn’t collect a foul. Dore was offended, saying Konchalski’s comments “lacked professionalism. Steve and I are good friends. But that was a cheap shot. He was off base to say the things he did. WE had no intention of roughing up Smith. Charlie was never instructed to do so.” Konchalski asserted that the officials had completely “lost” control of the match. Ferguson hit a trey to give Concordia a 51-50 lead with 11 minutes to play. The Stingers extended the margin to six on a trey by Mike Baker with 1:40 to play and then iced the win by going 6-7 from the line down the stretch. Ferguson finished with 21 points, while 6-8 forwards Dino Perrin and Nick Arvanitis, dominated the boards. St. FX had been ranked number one for the most of the season until they faltered in the season stretch drive. The X-Men were paced by 6-8 center Richard Bella’s 18 points.
The second-seeded Guelph Gryphons dumped the 7th-seeded U of Toronto Varsity Blues 73-66. It marked the first meeting between the two schools in three years, although they’re less than an hour’s drive apart. Guelph stormed back from an 11-point deficit to defeat Toronto. The Varsity Blues led 53-42 with 10 minutes to play when they lost their entire front line, Mark Harvey, Rob Wilson and Linas Balaisis, to fouls. Guelph promptly rallied to knot the score at 58 with four minutes to play. With two minutes left, they took the lead for good on a pair of free throws by all-Canadian Tim Mau. The Blues started quickly and led 35-33 at the half. They extended their edge to 53-42 in the second half before Guelph began capitalizing on Toronto turnovers for transition layups. Guelph coach Tim Darling said his troops got lucky. “They peaked at the right time and we were very fortunate to beat them.” Mau and centre Eric Hammond each scored 21 to lead Guelph. Nick Saul led Toronto with 21. Rob Wilson added 13 and guard Allen MacDougall 10. Guelph hit 26-33 from the line and outscored Toronto 20-5 from the line in the second half. Fifth-year guard Rene Luypaert, a native of Tillsonburg, Ont. was selected player of the game, the 6-3 guard keyed the Guelph rally with several steals, including one that allowed the Gryphons to tie the game, with a layup, at 56 with five minutes to go. Saul, who was named Blues player of the game, said the award was little consolation for the loss. “Awards don’t mean much when you lose. We came so close, it was so frustrating . . . but you have to give Guelph a lot of credit. They were down most of the game but really pressed in the final 10 minutes and it paid off for them.” The Blues, led by fifth-year co-captains Saul, Mark Harvey and Art Sharp, engineered a poised, patient 3-2 zone defence in the first half that Guelph found difficult to penetrate. The Gryphons looked bewildered at times and had trouble feeding the ball to Hammond (6-foot-9) and Mau (6-foot-8), especially when the Blues threw in man-to-man coverage for a change of pace. U of T pushed their 35-33 halftime lead to an 11-point comfort margin at 53-42 with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game at the Halifax Metro Centre. At that point, Guelph coach Tim Darling was thinking it might be over. “I thought I’d better take up golf right about then. U of T was doing a tremendous job and we knew we had to change our game plan and really up-tempo the defensive pressure.” Guelph guard Rene Luypaert sparked the rally when he scored back- to-back baskets, first off a turnover by Sharp, and again when he stole a throw-in underneath the Blues net to tie the game at 56. After that, Guelph cranked up their powerful offensive game and took full advantage of Toronto’s foul trouble. Mau and Hammond hit 14 critical second-half free throws between them. Over the season, free-throw accuracy had not been Guelph’s strength; they hit only 57.7 per cent of them. Singles were crucial to the Gryphon’s victory yesterday, however, as they made 26 of 33, or 79 per cent. Darling could only shake his head at his team’s successful charity shooting. “Every time when we go to the free-throw line, it’s an adventure. That aspect of the game has hurt us in the past but today, the guys really came through when it counted.” Rene Luypaert was named player of the game for Guelph. Luypaert is recovering from the flu and sat out most of the first half.
In the semis, Guelph edged Victoria 61-60 by a point as Eric Hammond scored 21. The Gryphons had built a 61-52 lead with two minutes to play and then hung on for the win. The teams had kept it close until the Gryphons ripped off a run to build a 61-52 lead with two minutes to play. But Tom Johnson hit a pair of treys, including one that bounced off the rim and fell in with 16 seconds to play as Victoria rallied. After Guelph’s Tim Mau missed a free throw, the Vikings rebounded and called time out. But when play resumed, Johnson ran down the clock and then bounced a jumper off the rim as the buzzer sounded. “We were a little tentative coming down the floor but the right player had the ball,” said Vikings coach Guy Vetrie. Eric Hammond paced Guelph with 18 points and 7 boards. Hammond had quit the team at Christmas to focus on his computer studies. “Computers are a real passion for me and so is basketball,” said the 22-year-old sophomore. “I could feel my basketball slipping and I felt my schoolwork was suffering too; I didn’t want to compromise either of them. So, I felt the best thing I could do was quit basketball and concentrate on school.” Guelph coach Tim Darling advised him to quit. “Eric is like a son to me and I wanted him to do what was best for him in the long run,” Darling said. “So, I agreed with him. I said if you feel that strongly about quitting the team, do it.” After a chat with his father in Florida over the holidays, Hammond returned to the team. The Gryphons voted unanimously to accept Hammond back and things have worked out like a dream for all involved. “I have absolutely no regrets about changing my mind and going back on the team. How could I now? We’ve only got one more game to go and this is what we’ve all worked so hard to have happen.” Hammond got into foul trouble early in the first half and sat out for more than 10 minutes, scoring four points as the Gryphons trailed at the half, 36-35. However, he was magic in the second half, nailing 14 points, including a dazzling rebound dunk. Guelph’s other giant, 6-8 forward Eric Mau, added 10 points as did guard Rene Luypaert. P Strung added 10, B Moore 6, R Darling 3, S Telly 2 and L Azubaslis 2, while Chris O’Rourke, B Barnhart, G Scott and S Curvas were scoreless. Vetrie said Hammond and Mau were the Vikings’ undoing. “Hammond and Mau did something they were supposed to do all year and that was carry the Guelph Gryphons to the national final and they did exactly that.” Guelph led by as many as nine points throughout the tight- checking game but in the final 26 seconds, Vikings guard Tom Johnson nailed two three-point shots to move Victoria within one of Guelph with 12 seconds left. After back-to-back timeouts for both teams, Mau missed a free throw and Johnson grabbed the ball with about 10 seconds to go. But instead of driving in and trying to draw a foul for the chance to win or tie the game from the free-throw line, Johnson inexplicably tried to hit a 30-foot three-pointer that bounced off the rim and into Guelph possession. “We had designed a play for our final shot that didn’t work out exactly as it was supposed to but the ball was in the hands of the right person,” Vetrie said. Tom Johnson led Victoria with 10. Clint Hamilton added 9, Rick Mesich 9, Dave Lescheid 8, Spencer Mckay 8, Dave McIntosh 7 and Kevin Ottewell 4, while Chris Schriek, Mo Basso, Vesa Linnamo and Fraser Jefferson were scoreless.
In the other semi, Concordia edged Acadia 78-75 as Nick Arvanitis scored 27 to become the first Quebec team in tournament history to make the national final. Ernie “The Enforcer” Rosa added 17 off the bench as the Stingers blew a 16-point half-time lead but pulled out the win. Arvanitis hit 6-6 from the line in the second half, including a pair that gave Concordia a 76-74 lead with 2:10 to play on a foul by Kevin Veinot, his fifth of the match. Veinot finished with 30 points. “He is the heart and soul of the Acadia team,” said Concordia coach John Dore told the Montreal Gazette. The Stingers had led 48-32 at the half on Rosa’s inspirational play. He’d been called in to replace centre Dino Perrin, who was in foul trouble. But Acadia roared back early in the second half, exploding out of the gates with a 15-4 run in the first 4:26 to trim the margin to 52-47. “We came in here as the Rodney Dangerfield of the tournament,” Dore told the Gazette. “Even in our own division, which we won, we had only two players named to the second all-star team. Hopefully, now we’ll get the respect we feel we deserve.”
In the consolation final, Brandon defeated St. FX 96-92 as Joey Vickery scored 42 points. Eldon Irving added 19. Richard Bella led St. FX with 22.
The final was a rematch of the Wilson Cup, which Guelph had won 90-89 in overtime a scant two weeks earlier. But the Stingers prevailed 80-62 to become the first Quebec-based team to win the title in the 27-year history of the tourney. The Stingers had no big-name stars. “We’ve got no Cadillacs on this team, just a bunch of old Chevies,” said rookie head coach John Dore, a Stinger guard in the mid-70s, who then became an assistant coach and had assumed the reins at the start of the year as a part-time head coach. “No white-collars here,” Dore told the Montreal Gazette. “No sir, only blue-collars and that’s what you need when you want to get a job done.” In the final, they were led by 6-2 swingman Michael Cohee, the son of a former Montreal Alouette defensive back, who scored 18 of his 20 points in second half. The Stingers used a tight zone and a full court press from the opening of the game to completely frustrate Guelph. The Gryphons had raced to a 12-4 lead but found themselves trailing 40-23 at the half. But they took command in the second frame and led by as many as 24 with seven minutes to play as their full-court press gave Guelph little time to set up their offence and work the ball inside. Tim Mau led Guelph with 22, but Concordia stifled Hammond who scored only 8. “It’s about time somebody in the east –in the central actually–got some respect in the rest of Canada,” said Stinger star and tourney MVP Nick Arvanitis. Earlier in the year, Dore had seen star point guard Trevor Williams, averaging 17 ppg, quit the team just before Xmas. Dore was heavily criticized for benching Williams for one game for missing a practice. Williams subsequently quit the team and accused the personable Dore of being a racist. But Dore stuck by his guns and the Stingers came together as a unit in Williams’ absence. Arvanitis said the win should “give our conference respect and make it easier for us to recruit. We’ll build a tradition on this one.” Few had given Concordia a chance to win it, despite their superior size, quick backcourt and overall season record of 24-7. Arvanitis finished with 19 points, while Dino Perin scored 17. “I wouldn’t say it was easy,” said Dore. “Our guys executed the game plan to perfection by keeping them off-balance offensively, by packing it in defensively and forcing them to play a perimeter game.” Guelph coach Tim Darling was dazed. “What do you say when somebody dies? They certainly earned their respect this weekend. We never took them lightly. We thought we made the right adjustments with our defence. Obviously, I made the wrong ones.” Dore said the Stingers were able to play at their tempo. “We knew that if the score was in the 60s, it would be Guelph. If it was in the 70s, we’d have a chance. If we could score 80, we’d win.” Arvanitis said the Stingers never considered themselves an underdog. “Very few people gave us a chance to get here and even fewer people gave us a chance to win it. But we believed in ourselves and that’s what mattered the most.” Concordia co-captain Mike Baker credited Dore with bringing out the best in the Stingers. “We’d run through a brick wall for him and there aren’t too many players who’d say that about their coach. I only wish that I had another year to play. This certainly is a dream come true. I never thought I’d live to see this day.”
The all-tourney team featured: MVP Nick Arvanitis (Concordia); Michael Cohee (Concordia); Joey Vickery (Brandon); Tim Mau (Guelph); Kevin Veinot (Acadia); and Richard Bella (St. Francis Xavier)
The co-bronze medalist Victoria Vikings: Spencer McKay; Geoff McKay; Tom Johnson; Kevin Ottewell; David Lescheid; David McIntosh; Clint Hamilton; Vesa Linnamo; Rick Mesich; Maurice Basso; Chris Schriek; Roger Rai; Fraser Jefferson; Trey McKay; coach Guy Vetrie; assistant Ian Hyde-Lay; assistant Scott Stinson; athletic director Ken Shields; SID Mona Ghiz
The co-bronze medalist Acadia Axemen: Kevin Veinot; Danny Eveleigh; Ted Byrne; Eric James; Skeeter Mower; Danny Steele; Kevin Lee; Rob Henry; Shawn Thorburne; Lars MacDonald; Mike Dixon; John Shoemaker; Dave Moody; Duncan White; John Sowerby; Mike Dixon; coach Dave Nutbrown; assistant Chuck Goreham; athletic director Donald Wells; SID Bruce Cohoon
The silver medalist Guelph Gryphons: Tim Mau; Eric Hammond; Ray Darling; Linas Azubalis; Rene Luypaert; Stephen Cuevas; Sean Kelly; Brent Barnhart; Brian Moore; Chris O’Rourke; Tim Sprung; Greg Scott; Shawn Taras; Ben Birstonas; Kevin Larose; Kurt Vanclief; Fred Wood; coach Tim Darling; assistant Gary Balogh; assistant Dave McNeil; assistant Ray Kybartas; manager John Beechy; manager Melissa Leiskau; trainer Kathy McKay; athletic director Dave Copp; SID Peter Barnsley
The champion
Concordia Stingers: Nick Arvanitis; Michael Cohee; Dino Perin; Charles Mason;
Raphael Tyrrell; Trevor Williams; Michael Baker; Robert Ferguson; Robert Lavoie;
Patrick Sullivan; Hugh Wallace; Ernie Rosa; Ian Ployart; coach John Dore