| (1) | Laurentian | 74 | ||||||
| (8) | Waterloo | 57 | Laurentian | 68 | ||||
| (4) | McMaster | 77 | McMaster | 82 | McMaster | 71 | ||
| (5) | Acadia | 67 | ||||||
| (2) | Bishop’s | 75 | —–BISHOP’S | |||||
| (7) | Alberta | 67 | Bishop’s | 78 | Bishop’s | 74 | ||
| (3) | Victoria | 84 | Victoria | 76 | ||||
| (6) | Brandon | 65 |
In the quarterfinals, 2nd-seeded Bishop’s defeated 7th-seeded Alberta 75-67 after a series of turnovers late in the affair. “What can I say? We blew it,” said Alberta coach Don Horwood. “We were up by four at the half and by eight with 10 minutes to go. We hit a wall. They got on a run and we just couldn’t get our momentum back. When they tightened up we just didn’t make good decisions – and we became impatient. We just didn’t respond.” Alberta playing without post Ryan Dunkley, who suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in January. “We didn’t get much inside scoring,” said Horwood. “You’ve got to get inside to win championships. We didn’t do it. Obviously, we’re very disappointed right now. We thought we had a chance to win the ballgame. We got up by eight points there and I’ve really got to give credit to Bishop’s.” Gaiters coach Eddie Pomykala said his troops “really tightened up on defence.” Bishop’s took an early 10-2 lead but a trio of three-pointers led to a 13-0 run which gave the Bears a 15-10 lead at the eight-minute mark. The Bears led 33-29 at the half. Alberta stretched its margin to eight early in the second half and appeared ready to bury the Gaiters. The Bears moved ahead 47-39 but Bishop’s picked up the intensity on defence and forced four straight Alberta turnovers in a row, cutting the lead to 47-45. Bishop’s took a 50-49 edge. Alberta hit a field goal and then Joel Sherbino hit a three to given the Quebec champs a 53-51 lead. The Bears moved ahead 58-57 when Gaiter Stewart Clark rebounded a miss and attempted to slam it home. But he hung on the rim. Alberta made one of two on the technical to knot the score at 59. But Bishop’s appeared energized by the technical and responded with four quick points to go ahead 63-59. A pair of free throws built the lead to six. An Alberta turnover and then Sherbino tipped in a free throw as Bishop’s took a 67-59 lead. The Bears hit a three to cut the margin to 67-62 with 69 seconds to go. But Ryan Throne hit a free throw before Alberta hit a bucket to cut it to four. Thorne hit a pair from the line but Mark Filteau hit a three to cut it to 70-67 with 26.6 seconds on the clock. Joel Sherbino hit a free throw to ice it. Bishop’s was inspired by a large contingent of Gaiters fans who’d made the trip from Lennoxville. “There’s never been as much support for Bishop’s Gaiters basketball as there’s been the last couple of years and the impact that’s made on my players has been just tremendous,” Pomykala said. “Our kids are heroes on campus. They get to play in front of packed gyms and be part of something that’s terrific. This is the first time in Bishop’s University history that we’re moving to the right side of the national championship ledger. Since I’m AD now, I’m going to keep me coaching for another year.” Pomykala added that the team took inspiration from being from a tiny school. “We kind of rally around it. We feel good about being small because we think small is better. We have a town of 4,000 people. We had one set of traffic lights. We do have a McDonald’s and we do have Subway. So, like I said, our kids are not robbed of anything.” Stewart Clark paced Bishop’s with 15 on 5-6 from the floor, 5-6 from the line, 9 boards, 6 assists and 3 steals. Ryan Thorne added 13 on 5-10 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Joel Sherbino added 11 on 3-10 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 3 boards. Patrice Lemieux notched 10 on 4-9 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 7 boards. Kris Ruiter scored 9 on 4-7 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 3 boards. Robert Burns scored 7 on 3-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 5 boards. Greg Southward notched 6 on 3-5 from the floor, 6 assists and 4 steals. Remi Aucoin added 2 and Sam Rogers 2, along with 2 boards, while Jamie Woods, Sam Menard and Brian Woods were scoreless. Bishop’s shot 29-56 (.518) from the floor, 2-10 from the arc and 15-20 from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 17 assists, 22 turnovers, 1 block and 12 steals. Darren Semeniuk led Alberta with 16 on 6-11 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 2-5 from the line, 6 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Mark Filteau added 14 on 5-14 from the floor, 3-11 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 3 steals. Max Darrah notched 9 on 3-7 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 4 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Jeff Collier scored 8 on 3-5 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Brad Berikoff added 8 on 3-4 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Nick Hughes added 5 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-3 from the line and 3 boards. Mark Humphrey notched 4 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 3 boards. Chris Horwood added 3, while Patrick Crevolin, Rob Killen, Jason Maher and Stephen Parker were scoreless. Alberta hit 25-53 (.472) from the floor, 7-21 from the arc and 10-18 (.556) from the line, while garnering 28 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 11 assists, 23 turnovers, 1 block and 9 steals. Bears coach Don Horwood said “well, obviously, it’s very disappointing. They really turned up their defence in the second half. They started getting in the lanes and we couldn’t adjust; they got a lot more aggressive. We didn’t have enough patience on offence. We were scrambling in the last three minutes.”
Victoria defeated Brandon 84-65. The Vikings led by five at the half despite playing most of the half without Canada West player of the year Eric Hinrichsen, who was on the bench with two fouls. The Bobcats were able to pound the ball inside to Shawn Gray, who scored 14 in the first half. But the Vikes were still too much for the Bobcats as they dominated the paint and the perimeter as Aaron Olson kept Victoria close by hitting 5-5 from the field and 6-6 from the line in the half. Two threes late in the half gave Victoria a 41-36 lead at the break. With Hinrichsen back in the line-up in the second half, the Vikings quickly turned the game into a rout. Hinrichsen scored 19 in the second half and hauled down 12 boards. Victoria quickly took a 50-38 lead in the first four minutes and romped. Aaron Olson, chosen player of the game for Victoria, scored 24 on 7-10 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 10-10 from the line and 4 assists. Hinrichsen added 21 on 9-17 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 12 boards. Don Fitzpatrick notched 17 on 5-9 from the floor, 3-4 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Seth Adler added 7 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 5-7 from the line, 7 boards and 2 assists. Colin Martin scored 7 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 7 boards. Ole Schmidt notched 6 on 2-2 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 4 boards and 3 assists. Matt Loveless added 1, along with 6 boards and 3 assists, and Keith Bustard 1, while Allie Willmott, Tyler Bates and Ralph Carter were scoreless. Wilmot dished 7 assists and pilfered 2 balls. Victoria hit 27-51 (.529) from the floor, 5-12 (.417) from the arc and 25-34 (.735) from the line, while garnering 48 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 22 assists, 27 turnovers, 1 block and 7 steals. Shawn Gray led Brandon with 20 on 6-15 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 8-8 from the line and 6 boards. Mark Passley added 13 on 5-10 from the floor, 3-3 from the line and 2 boards. Maurice Carter scored 11 on 4-13 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 4 boards and 3 steals. Dennie Oliver scored 7 on 3-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 3 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. James Blake added 7 on 3-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-1- from the line and 4 assists. Richard Lovelace added 4 on 1-6 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Jacob hall added 2, along with 2 boards, and Richard Ashman 1, while Roger Martin, David Paris and Lenin Mangaron were scoreless. Brandon hit 22-62 (.355) from the floor, 2-9 (.222) from the arc and 19-21 (.905) from the line, while garnering 23 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 23 fouls, 15 assists, 19 turnovers and 12 steals.
A strong two-way performance by guard Mark Maga allowed McMaster to defeat Acadia 77-67. Maga scored 20 and handed out 13 assists. CIAU player of the year Titus Channer added 20, including a baseline spinner that made it 73-67 with a minute to play, forcing Acadian to start fouling. Channer scored 16 points in the first half and finished with four rebounds and four assists. “I’m really proud of our guys,” said McMaster coach Joe Raso. “They weathered the storm out and the storm out there isn’t just the Acadia players. It’s the fans in the Metro Centre here. That was a big step for us.” Raso added that he had been concerned how his committee of big men would handle Trojanowski and Cotton. “We felt that this was the best tandem of post players in the country. They pass the ball so well. They work together so well.” McMaster never trailed and led by as many as 14. The Marauders jumped out to an early 12-5 advantage at 13:41 of the first half as Titus Channer scored 6. Back-to-back Doug Doyle and Steve Maga three-pointers extended the lead to 20-7. Two more long bombs by Maga extended the lead to 26-12 with seven minutes to play in the half. The Axemen cut the lead to 28-22 as McMaster’s front line got in foul trouble. A Maga three at the buzzer gave the Marauders a 45-35 lead at the half. Mac scored the first five points of the second half but then Acadia responded with eight unanswered points to cut the lead to 50-43. With Mac leading 54-45, Acadia ripped off nine unanswered points to tie the game at 54 mid-way through the second half. After trading baskets, McMaster held a 66-61 edge with six minutes to play. Acadia cut the margin to one on a 4-0 run with 3:53 on the clock. But reserve point guard Victor Herbert missed the front end of a one-and-one that would have given Acadia the lead. J.P. Fleurantin fouled out 1:51 to play sending Doug Doyle to the line with Mac ahead 70-67. He made the first and Channer grabbed the rebound off the second, and then hit a running jumper to give Mac a six-point lead. Maga later added a free throw to ice it. Acadia coach Dave Nutbrown said his squad could not sustain any of its three runs long enough to overtake the Marauders. “We might have been able to take a little bit of their heart away but we just got up there and turned around again. There are only so many runs in any team.” Maga, who was selected player of the game for McMaster, scored 20 on 5-13 from the floor, 5-13 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 4 boards, 13 assists and 3 steals. Titus Channer added 20 on 9-17 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 4 boards and 4 assists. Darren Spithoff 12 notched 12 on 4-7 from the floor, 4-6 from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals. Vojo Rusic scored 9 4-10 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 6 boards. Doug Doyle added 8 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 3-5 from the line, 6 boards and 4 assists. Mark Maga added 3 on 1-1 from the arc. James Akrong scored 3 on 3-4 from the line and 2 boards. Rodney Baptiste scored 2, along with 4 boards, while Nick Rupcich, Patrick Sweeney, Anthony Nichols and Jay Egbo wee scoreless. McMaster hit 26-56 (.464) from the floor, 7-21 from the arc and 18-27 (.667) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 23 assists, 15 turnovers, 3 blocks and 6 steals. Derek Cotton led Acadia with 19 on 6-9 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 6-6 from the line and 9 boards. Jan Trojanowski added 18 on 7-17 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 4-5 from the line, 14 boards and 3 assists. Jean-Pierre Fleurantin scored 9 on 4-12 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 2 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Victor Herbert notched 8 on 3-7 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2-5 from the line, 2 boards, 7 assists and 3 steals. Sam Worrell scored 7 on 3-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 assists. Jim O’Grady notched 4 on 1-4 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 8 boards and 2 assists. Chris Cain scored 2 on 0-7 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 assists and 2 steals. Acadia hit 24-61 (.393) from the floor, 2-14 (.143) from the arc and 17-22 (.773) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 22 fouls, 19 assists, 17 turnovers, 1 block and 8 steals.
In the last quarterfinal, top-seeded Laurentian thumped 8th-seed Waterloo 74-57. Both teams were tentative early as the Warriors built a 26-16 lead late in the first half but pounding the ball inside. A late Laurentian run cut the margin to 28-24 at the half. The Voyageurs shot a dreary 7-32 for the half and committed 17 turnovers but Ted Dongelmans kept them in the game with 9 points and 10 boards. Laurentian quickly took control in the second half, building a 54-45 edge. The teams traded hoops and Laurentian led 62-54 with three minutes to play. Forced to foul, Waterloo was quickly dispatched as Laurentian hit their free throws down the stretch. Ted Dongelmans led Laurentian with 22 on 6-13 from the floor, 10-12 from the line and 12 boards. Clifton Edwards notched 15 on 3-8 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 7-8 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. Cory Bailey added 10 on 3-9 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 13 boards and 2 steals. Kevin Gordon scored 10 on 3-10 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 4-5 from the line, 4 boards, 7 assists and 2 blocks. Anthony Malcolm added 6 on 2-9 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Adam Dusome notched 5 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Leon Sutton scored 4 on 1-3 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Roan Biggs added 2 on 1-3 from the floor, 7 boards and 2 assists. Laurentian shot 20-60 from the floor, 5-17 (.294) from the arc and 29-36 (.806) from the line, while garnering 51 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 24 fouls, 16 assists, 24 turnovers, 2 blocks and 9 steals. Mano Watsa paced Waterloo with 14 on 6-17 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 1-4 from the line, 3 boards, 7 assists and 3 steals. Paul Kwiatkowski added 10 on 4-9 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-5 from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals. Mike Storader 9 on 4-8 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-6 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Remy Donaldson added 6 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 6 boards. Mark Eys scored 5 on 1-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-3 from the line, 8 boards and 3 assists. Derek Maat added 5 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-3 from the line and 3 boards. Mike Zavershnik scored 4 on 2-7 from the floor and 5 boards. Dan Schipper added 2, along with 3 boards and 2 blocks, and Josh Holden 2, while Marc Rigaux, Pasqua Kieran and John Award were scoreless. Waterloo hit 24-62 (.387) from the floor, 1-10 from the arc and 8-27 (.296) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 26 fouls, 15 assists, 23 turnovers, 3 blocks and 8 steals.
In the semifinals, Bishop’s stunned defending champion Victoria 76-74 as Stewart Clark completed a three-point play with 4.3 seconds to go. “I saw Patrice (Lemieux) get the steal and headed up the court,” said Clark, who finished with 14 points and 11 boards. “Joel (Sherbino) gave me a great pass, and I threw it at the basketball and it all worked out. It was the biggest basket I ever scored, and it was probably the ugliest, too.” Lemieux noted that “I don’t know what happened (on the steal leading to Clark’s basket). I saw the ball going out of bounds and knew I better get my (rear) there and get it. Then I saw Joel up the court and threw the pass.” Coach Eddie Pomykala added that “You’re watching a dream unfold. And little Bishop’s is going to come up big (today). I’ve never been involved in a game like this one. Incredible.” Thorne is “our toughest player,” Pomykala said. “Our athletic therapist just came back from Japan, where he was with the snowboard team, and he deal with Ross (Rebagliati). If could get Ross out and get him in shape to win the gold medal, I’m sure he can get Ryan ready.” The Vikes had the upper hand for most of the first half, leading 28-24 with five minutes to play. But Bishop’s ripped off a 13-1 run as Ryan Thorne caught fire from the perimeter to take a 37-29 edge. The Gaiters led 41-38 at the break. Bishop’s opened the second half with an 11-1 run to take a 50-39 lead as the Vikes didn’t score a field goal for four minutes and the Gaiters interior defence shut down all-Canadian Eric Hinrichsen in the paint. The squads traded hoops for the next few minutes before the Vikings trimmed the margin to 61-55 with 11 minutes to play. After a timeout, Bishop’s built the lead back to 68-57 with 9:09 to play. The Vikings fought back, with Hinrichsen beginning to dominate the paint. They cut the margin to 70-62 with 6:19 on the clock. Aaron Olson hit a three to trim the margin to five and following a Bishop’s bucket, Donnie Fitzpatrick hit a long-range bomb to make it 72-68. Hinrichsen muscled inside for a hoop and Colin Martin tied it before Hinrichsen jammed one home to cap a 17-4 run to take a 74-72 lead. Stewart Clark hit a free throw and then Victoria pushed the gap to 76-73 with 1:18 on the clock on Eric Hinrichsen’s layup. But Burns scored a layup for Bishop’s and Victoria centre Colin Martin missed the front end of the bonus with 14.3 seconds to play, setting the stage for Bishop’s dramatic finish. The Vikes called timeout with 20 seconds to play, leading by one. With 14.3 seconds on the clock, Colin Martin was fouled and went to the line but missed the front end of the free throw. Bishop’s rebounded to set up the Stewart Clark layup with 4.3 seconds on the clock. The Vikes got the ball to Hinrichsen at midcourt but his pass was intercepted by Greg Southward to seal the win. Patrice Lemieux, chosen player of the game for Bishop’s scored 25 on 10-13 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 2 boards and 3 blocks. Stewart Clark added 14 on 6-10 from the floor, 2-3 from the line, 11 boards and 2 steals. Robert Burns notched 14 on 7-8 from the floor, 5 boards, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Ryan Thorne added 12 on 4-9 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 9 assists. Greg Southward added 4 on 2-5 from the floor, 4 assists and 2 steals. Kris Ruiter scored 4 on 1-7 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Jamie Woods added 3, along with 2 boards, and Joel Sherbino 2 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 5 boards, while Remi Aucoin, Sam Menard, Sam Rogers and Brian Woods were scoreless. Bishop’s hit 32-57 (.561) from the floor, 4-8 from the arc and 10-11 (.909) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 29 assists, 22 turnovers, 5 blocks and 8 steals. Eric Hinrichsen led Victoria with 22 on 10-19 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 14 boards, 7 assists, 4 blocks and 2 assists. Aaron Olson added 17 on 6-15 from the floor, 3-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 9 assists and 2 steals. Don Fitzpatrick added 16 on 5-9 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 5 boards, 8 assists and 4 steals. Colin Martin added 14 on 7-12 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 6 boards and 3 blocks. Seth Adler added 3 on 1-8 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards. Matt Loveless added 2, along with 3 boards and 2 assists, and Tyler Bates 2, while Allie Wilmot, Keith Bustard, Ralph Carter and Ole Schmidt were scoreless. Victoria shot 31-68 (.456) from the floor, 5-9 (.556) from the arc and 9-16 (.563) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass, 12 fouls, 30 assists, 17 turnovers, 8 blocks and 12 steals.
In the other semi, McMaster upset top-ranked Laurentian 82-68. The Marauders went on a 20-0 run during an eight-minute stretch of the first half and never looked back. The Voyageurs had beaten the Marauders in the Wilson Cup a week earlier. McMaster held Laurentian to .210 from the floor in the first half and led 31-23 at the break. Both teams went to the press early with Laurentian ahead 6-2. They stretched the lead to 11-7 with 12 minutes to play and then scored five unanswered points to move ahead 16-7. But then the Marauders exploded for 20 to take a 27-16 lead with three minutes to play before Ted Dongelmans finally broke the drought with a free throw. The Marauders led 31-23 at the break. Vojo Rusic hit four free throws to start the second half and give Mac its largest lead at 35-23. He then added a layup before Clifton Edwards hit a three to cut the margin to 37-26. The Marauders stretched their lead to 20 and led 64-47 with nine minutes to play. Dongelmans fouled out with five minutes on the clock and Mac was ahead 73-56 and the game was all but over. “The first five minutes, we came out kind of tentative, but then we picked up our defence and that triggered our offence. We have a talented group of players on offence and we’ve been here before, so we know what to expect,” said Channer, who was chosen Marauders player of the game after scoring 24 on 11-26 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 4 boards and 3 steals. Rodney Baptiste added 18 on 6-10 from the floor, 6-8 from the line, 8 boards, 4 assists and 6 steals. Vojo Rusic scored 12 on 4-12 from the floor, 4-4 from the line, 9 boards and 2 steals. Doug Doyle added 7 on 3-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 6 boards. Steve Maga added 7 on 2-9 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 5 boards, 12 assists and 2 steals. Darren Spithoff added 6 on 3-3 from the floor, 3 boards and 2 blocks. Nick Rupcich notched 6 on 2-5 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 5 boards. James Akrong added 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 9 boards, while Mark Maga, Jay Egbo, Anthony Nichols and Patrick Sweeney were scoreless. Mac hit 32-75 (.427) from the floor, 1-12 (.083) from the arc and 17-22 (.773) from the line, while garnering 53 boards, including 25 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 30 assists, 20 turnovers, 3 blocks and 15 steals. Cory Bailey led Laurentian with 16 on 6-18 from the floor, 4-10 from the arc, 9 boards and 5 assists. Ted Dongelmans added 12 on 1-8 from the floor, 10-12 from the line, 11 boards and 2 blocks. Roan Biggs scored 11 on 4-8 from the floor, 3-6 from the line and 7 boards. Adam Dusome added 10 on 4-15 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 4 boards and 2 steals. Clifton Edwards added 8 on 3-9 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc and 3 boards. Kevin Gordon scored 7 on 3-9 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 4 boards, 6 assists and 3 steals. Anthony Malcolm added 2 on 1-5 from the floor, 0-2 from the line, 6 boards, 4 assists and 2 boards. Leon Sutton added 2, along with 2 boards, while Joey Turco, T Blaine, Dwayne Burton and Patrick Brandt were scoreless. Laurentian shot 23-75 (.307) from the floor, 8-25 (.320) from the arc and 14-22 (.636) from the line, while garnering 50 boards, including 29 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 19 assists, 29 turnovers, 4 blocks and 10 steals.
In the final, played before a crowd of 6,479 at the Halifax Metro Centre, Bishop’s captured its first title in its history and left McMaster with an 0-4 record in championship finals, by defeating the Marauders 74-71. “This is a dream, but it’s a true dream. It came true,” said CIAU coach of the year Eddie Pomykala. “The people of Lennoxville and the Eastern Townships supported us. We were down it looked like it was going to be a blowout city and we still did it. I dreamt about this. I can’t honestly say I ever thought it would happen. But this team and these fans would not allow me not to believe. Something magical happened. You’ve got to believe in fairy tales. You’ve got to believe in good time stories. You’ve got to.” The Marauders scored the game’s first 8 points before Ryan Thorne took the lid off for Bishop’s with a three. Mac led 15-5 and then exploded to a 20-7 lead and stretched their margin to 25-10 midway through the half as they hit four from beyond the arc while Bishop’s was an ice cold 4-16 from the field. Then the Gaiters dug in as forward Stewart Clark scored 10 and the Gaiters held McMaster without a field goal for the next 8:44 while ripping off an 20-2 run and taking a 30-27 lead. Bishop’s led 36-31 at the half. They stretched their lead to 43-33 by opening the second half with a 7-2 run. Joel Sherbino hit a pair of threes and scored nine consecutive points as Bishop’s maintained its 10 spread and led 52-42 and then took their biggest lead of the night on a three by James Woods with 10 minutes to play. Then McMaster Titus Channer began exerting his will. He scored seven points as part of a 10-4 Marauders run which chopped the lead to 64-60 with 5:45 to play. Tournament MVP Stewart Clark tapped in two Bishop’s misses to push the lead back to 68-60 and the Gaiters maintained the margin until Channer was fouled on a three-point attempt and made all three free throws to cut the lead to five. Clark hit a foul shot to make it 73-67 with 1:22 to play. But Marauders center Vojo Rusic hit a pair from the line and layup to bring McMaster to within 73-71 with 35 seconds to play. Bishop’s inbounded the ball and Ryan Thorne missed a 15-footer. But the Gaiters grabbed the offensive rebound and called timeout. Clark was fouled on the inbounds play and hit one of two from the line. Steve Maga brought the ball up court and dished to brother Mark, whose attempt from beyond the arc to tie the game was on line but bounced off the back of the rim. “I was pretty nervous,” Clark, the 6-5 fourth year forward later said, jokingly adding that he missed the second free throw to “keep the clock running.” Pomykala called Clark “a monster. And Ryan Thorne, you guys have no idea how badly he was injured (groin pull). He was out there only due to his toughness. I just told the kids to believe. This is storybook guys. Write this up. Little Bishop’s, 1700 students, wins the national championship. Yes.” Clark, from Ottawa Lisgar, said: “I can’t put how I feel into words. You always tell yourself to believe you can win, and, as each game went by, the dream came closer and closer. I’m speechless right now.” Thorne said the team never quit. “That’s the way we play. We’re a good team. They’re a good team. There’s no reason to expect anything but great basketball. We never let our heads drop when we got down. We just came out and played our style of basketball and that’s why we’re number one.” Pomykala noted that “The difference was that we got back in the game doing solid things like playing defence and rebounding. They were going to miss sooner or later. This was a ride for three days. This is what happens when you get a special community and a great little university who rally around a bunch of kids who are unselfish, who work hard. This is magic.” The graduating Channer said “I have no idea what happened. I thought we were going to win this. I really did. We started off quick. But they turned it up on defence and when they got on a run, we couldn’t really stop them. We knew they would make a run.” McMaster coach Joe Raso said his troops “kicked it away. We lost our composure when we gave ourselves the chance. I thought this team was so focused, in a bubble. I really felt different this year. It felt this was it. We were so psychologically tough. Everything was right. We were ready to win this.” Stewart Clark paced the Gaiters with 16 on 710 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 10 boards, 5 assists, 2 blocks and 3 steals. Robert Burns added 16 on 7-11, 2-2 from the line, 9 boards and 2 blocks. Ryan Thorne notched 15 on 6-13 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 4 rebounds and 6 assists.
Joel Sherbino scored 9 on 2-10 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 3-5 from the line and 5 boards. Patrick Lemieux notched 8 on 4-13 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 0-1 from the line, 12 boards, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Greg Southward scored 5 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-3 from the line, 3 boards and 3 assists. Jamie Woods scored 3 on 1-5 from the floor and 1-2 from the arc. Kris Ruiter added 2 on 1-3 from the floor and 5 boards, while Remi Aucoin, Sam Menard, Sam Rogers and Brian Woods were scoreless. Aucoin nabbed 2 boards. Bishops shot 30-71 (.423) from the floor, 6-18 from the arc and 8-15 (.533) from the line, while garnering 51 boards, including 21 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 23 assists, 23 turnovers, 7 blocks and 9 steals. Vojo Rusic led McMaster with 21 points on 9-14 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 5 boards, 3 blocks and 2 steals. Titus Channer added 20 on 6-16 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 7-9 from the line, 2 boards and 6 steals. Darren Spithoff scored 8 on 3-6 from the floor, 2-5 from the line and 5 boards. Steve Maga scored 8 on 2-8 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 11 assists. Doug Doyle scored 6 on 1-8 from the floor, 3-6 from the line, 7 boards and 2 steals. Rodney Baptiste notched 6 on 2-3 from the floor, 7 boards and 2 steals. James Akrong scored 2, along with 2 boards, while Nick Rupcich, Anthony Nichols, Jay Egbo, Patrick Sweeney and Mark Maga were scoreless. Rupcich nabbed 4 boards. The Marauders shot 23-59 (.390) from the floor, 4-18 (.222) from the arc and 21-32 (.656) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 18 fouls, 21 assists, 18 turnovers, 6 blocks and 14 steals.
The all-tourney team featured: MVP Stewart Clark (Bishop’s); Ryan Thorne (Bishop’s); Patrice Lemieux (Bishop’s); Steve Maga (McMaster); Titus Channer (McMaster); and Eric Hinrichsen (Victoria)
In April/98, the CIAU announces that Halifax has beaten out Hamilton for the right to host the national tourney over the next three years. “We were worried about the CIAU awarding the tournament to Hamilton to see how it might do there,” Bill Robinson, executive director of the Nova Scotia Sports Heritage Centre. “But we’re happy with this decision obviously. Not just from a university point of view. It is a community event. There are no professional sports teams here. The fan base we have established is phenomenal.” Halifax has been host of the tournament for the past 15 years and in the last decade has turned a profit of $135,000 each year and with corporate sponsorship up more than $20,000 this past March, that figure will be higher for 1998, said Peter Halpin, head of the Final 8 advisory committee. Halifax had just ended a seven-year agreement with the CIAU to stage the even in March. Until 2001, the tournament will maintain its eight-team single-elimination format, which includes the six conference champions and two wild-card teams. Then it will be expanded to a week-long festival beginning with the Atlantic conference championship and including festivities and events for both student-athletes and spectators. “We wanted it to be more than a basketball tournament,” Halpin said. “We wanted it to be a basketball festival.” The Hamilton bid was spearheaded by long-time referee Ron Foxcroft, inventor of the Fox 40 pea-less whistle. Head of a group including McMaster, the City of Hamilton and the Region of Hamilton-Wentworth, proposed to stage the even in the 17,500 seat Copps Coliseum. “I’m sad and disappointed,” Foxcroft said. “Obviously, the Halifax bid must have been exceptional. But if you’re going to lose, it’s nice to lose to people who have a genuine passion for the game of basketball. I was a referee at the first Halifax tournament 15 years ago. It was outstanding then. It still is.” Foxcroft did say that he believes moving the tournament from city to city makes for a better educational experience for the student-athlete. “Culturally, it is more educational and we are in the business of education,” he said, adding that the Hamilton group would have generated more corporate sponsorship and media attention for the tournament. “I think there’s a misconception that we are perceived to be a bigger centre than we really are. We are a big city with a small-town friendliness.”
The co-bronze medalist Victoria Vikings: Eric Hinrichsen; Allister Wilmott; Colin Martin; Seth Adler; Aaron Olson; Donnie Fitzpatrick; Matt Lovelace; Ole Schmidt; Tyler Bates; Keith Bustard; Ralph Chillious-Carter; Aaron Buckham; coach Guy Vetrie
The co-bronze medalist Laurentian Voyageurs: Cory Bailey; Ted Dongelmans; Adam Dusome; Kevin Gordon; Anthony Malcolm; Clifton Edwards; Leon Sutton; Patrick Brandt; Dwayne Burton; Joey Turco; Roan Biggs; Colin Crokam; Blaine Henderson; coach Peter Campbell; assistant Shawn Swords; trainer Shawna McNabb; SID Deanna Seguin
The silver medalist McMaster Marauders: Doug Doyle; Steve Maga; Rodney Baptiste; Vojo Rusic; Titus Channer; Darren Spithoff; James Akrong; Nick Rupcich; Patrick Sweeney; Anthony Nicholls; Mark Maga; Jay Egbo; coach Joe Raso
The champion Bishop’s Gaiters: Stewart Clark; Robert Burns; Ryan Thorne; Greg Southward; Patrice Lemieux; Kris Ruiter; Joel Sherbino; Remi Aucoin; Jamie Woods; Sam Menard; Sam Rogers; Brian Woods; Shawn Craik; Markus Rodousakis; Dwayne Ells; coach Eddie Pomykala