| (1) | Carleton | 82 | ||||||
| (8) | Acadia | 68 | Carleton | 83 | ||||
| (4) | Lakehead | 71 | Fraser Valley | 65 | Carleton | 86 | ||
| (5) | Fraser Valley | 83 | ||||||
| —–CARLETON | ||||||||
| (2) | Alberta | 81 | ||||||
| (7) | Ryerson | 52 | Alberta | 91 | Alberta | 67 | ||
| (3) | Concordia | 82 | St. F.X. | 83 | ||||
| (6) | St. F.X. | 98 |
Seeding:
1. Carleton Ravens (OUA champions: 22-0 regular season / 3-0
playoffs/ 31-0 v CIS)
2. Alberta Golden Bears (CWUAA champions: 14-6 regular season / 4-0 playoffs/20-7
v CIS)
3. Concordia Stingers (RSEQ champions: 14-2 regular season / 2-0 playoffs/23-6
v CIS)
4. Lakehead Thunderwolves (at-large entry: 20-2 regular season / 1-1
playoffs/30-3 v CIS)
5. Fraser Valley Cascades (CWUAA finalists: 13-5 regular season / 3-2 playoffs/20-7
v CIS)
6. St. Francis Xavier X-Men (AUS finalists: 16-4 regular season / 1-1 playoffs/27-5
v CIS)
7. Ryerson Rams (OUA finalists: 13-9 regular season / 2-1 playoffs/18-13 v CIS)
8. Acadia Axemen (AUS champions: 14-6 regular season / 2-0 playoffs/20-13 v CIS)
The 2nd-ranked Lakehead Timberwolves received the wildcard berth. The Thunderwolves were ranked no lower than fourth the entire season in the weekly national coaches’ poll, including No. 2 nods each of the last seven weeks. They finished atop the OUA West standings with a 20-2 record before being upset by Ryerson, 86-70, in the OUA postseason semis. University of Saskatchewan interim coach Barry Rawlyk noted that rankings are “a little bit like perfume – you smell them but you don’t drink them. Unfortunately, in cases like this, they have to drink the perfume a little bit.” The 3rd-ranked huskies had captured the Canada West regular season title with a 16-4 record but lost to Alberta in the postseason semis. “I’ve never been a fan of the rankings, as you know,” Rawlyk said prior to Sunday’s decision. I would hope that the committee looks at the entire body of work over the course of the season and the strength of the conference that we played in this season. I think it was remarkable that we were able to finish first in our conference, given the competitiveness of both divisions.”
In the
quarterfinals, the top-seeded Carleton Ravens dispatched the 8th-seeded
Acadia Axemen 82-68. Tyson Hinz scored eight of his team’s first 12 points as Carleton
built an early 12-5 lead. He added four more points before the end of the
opening quarter to guide his troops to the commanding 27-11 advantage after 10
minutes. In the second, it was the Phil Scrubb Show, with the player of the
year netting 14 points, including 12 from long distance. Jonathan Tull reduced
the Acadia deficit to single digit for the first time in the second half with
four minutes remaining in the third, when his two free throws made it a 49-41 affair.
Anthony Sears scored on a layup with just over two minutes left in the period
to cap off an 8-0 run for the Axemen and cut the Carleton lead to 49-45. Scrubb
and Hinz also hit three-pointers on back-to-back possessions. “I thought once
we pretty much got to our lowest point, we started to hit some big shots,”
Scrubb said. “The guys on the bench got excited and the guys on the floor
started playing really well.” In the fourth, Tull once again went 2-2 from the
charity stripe to make it 65-60 with 6:50 left on the clock, but that’s as close
as Acadia would come. After Sean Stoqua missed two foul shots, Hinz made it
67-60 on a goal-tending call, and then Elliott Thompson nailed four fourth-quarter
three-point shots as the Ravens built their lead back up to 20 points. “We went
with the mindset we were going to do the best we could on (Hinz and Scrubb) on
one-on-one matchups, but our hope was to limit the other guys,” Acadia coach
Stephen Baur said. “I think what really killed us was allowing Elliot to get four
looks. He’s a great player, from here in the Maritimes, and he made all four of
them. That’s the one that really stung.” Carleton ended the affair on a 17-8 run.
“We’re not surprised by how tough they played us. They’re a very good team,”
said Carleton coach Dave Smart, who was named CIS coach of the year for a
record fifth time prior to the tournament. “The way they played last week to
beat St. FX in the AUS final, I thought they were coming in here playing as
well as any team in the country. … “Ty really was special. Phil obviously has great
talent and made some shots, but Ty was really the only guy who kept us settled
when we were struggling with the zone. It’s the first time we’ve really struggled
with the zone all year, and we finally just said, ‘Let’s get ball down to (Hinz)
and let’s play from there.’ “Player of the game Philip Scrubb said “I think it
was great for us to be tested like that in our first game. We found ourselves
outside of our comfort zone for a while. But the important thing is we played
well when the pressure was on.” Tyler Scott was chosen player of the game for
the Axemen. “We didn’t consider ourselves a number eight seed. We knew we’d have
to play Carleton eventually if we were to win the championship, so why not face
them right off the bat,” said rookie guard Sean Stoqua of Ottawa. “To be
honest, I think we could have played even better. But hats off to them. They’re
a great team.” Acadia coach Stephen Baur said “I’m really proud of my guys. We
just found ourselves in too big a hole early on. Carleton is too good a team to
give them such a lead. … There were some positives going on for us, we have
been resilient all year and I am very proud of that. They answered the challenge
today to keep battling and I think one of the differences in that stretch was the
rebounding. We did a much better job in second half that allowed us to get back
in it, but they are good for a reason and had enough discipline and composure
to hold off our run is to their credit.” Philip Scrubb paced the Ravens with 25
on 8-16 from the floor, 7-12 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 7 boards and 2 assists.
Tyson Hinz notched 22 on 8-17 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 6-7 from the
line, 10 boards and 4 assists. Elliot Thompson added 16 on 6-11 from the floor,
4-8 from the arc and 2 boards. Kyle Smendziuk scored 6 on 3-5 from the floor, 4
boards and 1 block. Kevin Churchill added 6 on 3-3 from the floor, 3 boards and
1 block. Willy Manigat scored 5 on 1-7 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc, 3-3 from
the line, 4 boards and 2 steals. Thomas Scrubb added 2 on 1-5 from the floor,
0-3 from the arc, 6 boards and 3 assists. Cole Hobin was scoreless on 0-6 from the
floor, 0-5 from the arc, 7 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Dan Penner was also
scoreless. The Ravens hit 30-70 (.429) from the floor, 11-36 (.306) from the arc
and 11-12 (.917) from the line, while garnering 45 boards, including 14 on the
offensive glass, 16 assists, 5 steals, 3 blocks, 18 turnovers and 19 fouls.
Ex-Raven Anthony Ashe paced Acadia with 13 on 5-11 from the floor, 3-8 from the
arc, 2 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Tyler Scott added 13 on 5-11 from the
floor, 1-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. Anthony
Sears added 10 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 5
boards, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Jonathan Tull notched 10 on 2-8 from the floor,
0-3 from the arc, 6-6 from the line and 3 steals. Owen Klassen scored 9 on 4-13
from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 8 boards. Sean Stoqua scored
9 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 4 boards, 5
assists and 2 steals. Thomas Filgiano scored 4 on 1-1 from the floor and 2-2 from
the line. Bradley States and Lauchlan Gale were scoreless. States nabbed 3
boards. Acadia hit 23-62 (.371) from the floor, 6-22 (.273) from the arc and 16-19
(.842) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 11 on the offensive
glass, 8 assists, 11 steals, 5 blocks, 16 turnovers and 15 fouls. The Axemen
(coached by Steve Baur, assisted by Kevin Duffie, Kevin Veinot and Nick Jordan)
also included Dustin Poirier, Thomas Johnston, Shaquille Smith, Rhys Larry and
Eli Prochnau.
The 5th-seeded Fraser Valley Cascades
clipped the 4th-seeded Lakehead Thunderwolves 83-71. The two teams got off to a
tentative start in opening quarter. The score was tied at 6-6, 8-8 and 11-11
before Fraser Valley closed the period with back-to-back three pointers by
Jordan Blackman and Sheldon Bjorgaard to take a 17-13 lead after 10 minutes of
play. The second quarter was as closely contested and featured seven lead changes.
Down 28-27 with 2:33 left, the Cascades ended the half on a 7-1 run to head
into the locker room with a 34-29 advantage. The Cascades opened the second half
with a 4-0 run to widen the gap to nine points and never looked back. Bjorgaard
pushed the lead to double digits with a pair of free throws that made it 51-41
with two minutes to go in the third frame. The Cascades led 58-51 after three
quarters. A James York basket one minute into the fourth made it a 12-point
affair at 63-51, and Fraser Valley had its biggest lead of the afternoon with
3:33 remaining in the game, at 76-63, when Mike James scored on a layup. “There were definitely some nerves early on.
Everybody was a little excited since this is our first time at Nationals,” said
Sheldon Bjorgaard, who was named player of the match for Fraser Valley. “But we
settled in pretty quickly and did a good job following the game plan. We’re
used to the pressure. We had so many close games in the Canada West playoffs.”
Coach Barnaby Craddock said 5-10 Bjorgaard was sensational. “Sheldon is a fantastic
shooter. Small guy with a big heart. He’s the heart and soul of our program. I’m
really proud of the guys. They managed to step up in the first CIS championship
game. Lakehead was a very good first-round opponent and the guys pulled it off.”
Lakehead coach Scott Morrison said “it was still close with a few minutes left.
I think we were down by only seven points. But we just couldn’t get the key
stop in the final minutes, and we had trouble finishing all day offensively.”
Detroit product Venzal Russel was chosen player of the game for Lakehead.
Sheldon Bjorgaard paced the Cascades with 19 on 5-6 from the floor, 5-6 from
the arc, 4-4 from the line, 7 boards and 2 assists. Kyle Grewal added 17 on 5-9
from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 7-8 from the line and 5 boards. Joel Friesen
notched 13 on 5-19 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc, 3-3 from the line and 7
boards. Michael James added 10 on 5-6 from the floor and 6 boards. Samuel Freeman
added 9 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards, 2
assists and 2 steals. Jasper Moedt added 6 on 3-6 from the floor, 0-4 from the
line and 14 boards. James York scored 6 on 2-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the
arc, 2-4 from the line and 5 assists. Jordan Blackman added 3, while Spencer
Evans and Klaus Figueredo were scoreless. Evans nabbed 3 boards. The Cascades hit 29-65 (.446) from the floor,
7-22 (.318) from the arc and 18-27 (.667) from the line, while garnering 56 boards,
including 19 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 4 steals, 2 blocks, 18 turnovers
and 25 fouls. Venzal Russell paced the Thunderwolves with 20 on 6-12 from the floor,
3-6 from the arc, 5-8 from the line, 4 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Joseph
Jones added 20 on 6-16 from the floor, 4-11 from the arc, 4-5 from the line, 10
boards and 2 assists. Mathew Schmidt notched 11 on 4-14 from the floor, 3-10
from the arc, 3 boards and 3 assists. Greg Carter scored 7 on 3-5 from the
floor, 1-2 from the arc, 3 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Yoosrie Salhia notched
4 on 1-6 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 11 boards and 3 assists. Adam
Johnson added 3, Benjamin Johnson 2, Brendan King 2 and Joseph Nitychoruk 2,
while Nathan Wainwright and Andrew McIntosh were scoreless. The Thunderwolves
hit 23-71 (.324) from the floor, 11-35 (.314) from the arc and 14-23 (.609)
from the line, while garnering 48 boards, including 20 on the offensive glass,
13 assists, 7 steals, 4 blocks, 12 turnovers and 23 fouls. The Thunderwolves (coached
by Scott Morrison, assisted by Matt Erdman, Pat Charlebois, Andrew Quirion and
Mark English) also included Ryan Thomson, Brandon Myketa, Matthew Schmidt, Alex
Robichaud, Sylvestor Alexander and Michael Thorne-Finch.
The 2nd-seeded Alberta Golden Bears stomped the 7th-seeded Ryerson Rams 81-52. The Bears jumped in front 6-3 in the second minute of the contest and never relinquished the lead. Alberta led 21-12 after the opening quarter, 49-25 at halftime and 66-43 at the 30-minute mark. Jordan Baker and Daniel Ferguson dominated the first half, scoring 41 of Alberta’s 49 points. Baker dominated the opening frame, scoring the Bears’ first eight points en route to a 12-point quarter. The 6-foot-7 forward also scored his team’s first four points in the second period, before Ferguson took over with 18 points before the halftime break, including 12 from beyond the arc. It looked as though the Rams would make it interesting early in the third as they opened the second half with an 11-0 run to cut the deficit to 49-36, but the Bears responded with an 8-2 of their own, all but sealing the victory. Todd Bergen Henengouwen tallied seven points in the final quarter as Alberta maintained its comfortable lead. “Our captains, Baker and Ferguson really stepped up for us tonight. They set the tone early and were an inspiration for their teammates,” said Alberta coach Greg Francis. “They came out very aggressive. That was part of our game plan. … Jordan started out so aggressive, taking his stuff to the basket, punished their defence and taking open shots, and then Ferguson shot the ball really well. Between the two of them they made plays, but they also were passing the ball and made us very comfortable offensively. … Daniel and Jordan came with great energy. They were ready to start the scoring and that gives us confidence. They came out aggressive. When we play tough defensively, we get running and we’re like a totally different team.” Ferguson said that “it was just one of those nights where everything seems to go in. I felt good out there. My teammates gave me a lot of open looks. It was an all-around great team effort. … We’ve got a bit of size on them and we worked inside out. I thought by hitting the post early we kept them honest and then it opened up for us. It’s kind of tough playing a team from a different league. You get different looks, so we just tried to make reads and not be robots out there.” Jordan Baker said “we ran our stuff and it just happened that I got the open opportunities. Guys were looking for me like they have all season and they made me look good. We stuck to our systems and we executed well.” Jahmal Jones was chosen player of the game for the Rams. Ryerson coach Roy Rana said “they are older, more mature physically, and that was a big difference tonight. Hats off to them. They played very well. … They came out and played well and we played scared. We were nervous, tentative and tight. Our youth showed itself for the first time in a (while).” Rana added the Rams were hurt by the injury to Jordon Gauthier (during the OUA finals), who toiled only nine minutes against Alberta. “We knew (Jordon) was going to be a game-time decision,” said Rana. “We’re not really deep to begin with so losing him is tough. … We’ve got nothing to be ashamed of. We’re going to try and play a good game tomorrow to go out on the right note. I’m proud of these guys. We’re the youngest team here. (It’s) not bad to have growing pains in March at a national championship.” Jordan Baker paced the Bears with 26 on 11-16 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 8 boards, 8 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks. Daniel Ferguson added 23 on 8-14 from the floor, 6-10 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 3 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Todd Bergen-Henengouwen added 15 on 4-8 from the floor, 7-8 from the line and 9 boards. Lyndon Taylor notched 7 on 3-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 6 boards and 3 assists. Robert Dewar added 4 on 2-6 from the floor, 4 boards and 3 assists. Matthew Cardoza added 4 on 2-2 from the floor and 2 boards. Nikola Manojlovic added 1 and Andrew Bates 1, while Sahr Saffa, Jason Baillie, Sebastian Cava and Adam Weir were scoreless. Saffa collected 7 boards and 2 steals. Alberta hit 30-62 (.484) from the floor, 8-18 (.444) from the arc and 13-17 (.765) from the line, while garnering 50 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 11 steals, 2 blocks, 14 turnovers and 10 fouls. Jahmal Jones paced the Rams with 15 on 6-12 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 1-4 from the line and 4 assists. Bjorn Michaelsen added 11 on 4-11 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 6 boards and 2 assists. Aaron Best added 9 on 3-9 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc and 3 boards. Luke Staniscia added 9 on 3-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Jordon Gauthier added 3 on 1-4 from the arc and 3 boards. Afeworki Gebrekerestos added 3 and Gavin Berry 2, while Ola Adegboruwa, Logan Marrast, Nem Stankovic and Shajan Navaratnaraja were scoreless. The Rams hit 19-55 (.345) from the floor, 8-26 (.308) from the arc and 6-12 from the line, while garnering 28 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 5 steals, 1 block, 15 turnovers and 14 fouls. The Rams (coached by Roy Rana, assisted by Jermaine Small, Fatih Akser and Patrick Tatham) also included Jelane Pryce, Greg Kieran, Greg Osawe, Ben Bonsu, Eric Hobson and Kent Bray.
In the last quarterfinal the 6th-seeded St. Francis Xavier X-Men whacked the 3rd-seeded Concordia Stingers 98-82. The X-Men dominated the final contest of opening day from start to finish. They started the game with a stunning 23-2 run and never looked back. The score was 32-15 after one quarter, 51-33 at halftime and 77-56 after 30 minutes. Terry Thomas blistered the nets. “When we play X tempo, we control games,” said Thomas, who was voted player of the game. “Tonight, every player did a great job. We played well on defence, we were quick in transition, we played aggressively. We didn’t like losing to Acadia in the final and we wanted to come out strong tonight.” Coach Steve Konchalski said “what can I say about Terry. He was all over the place tonight. He was dominant. When he’s on like he was today, he’s hard to stop.” Concordia coach John Dore said “they beat us in every facet of gam. They were more intense, they out-hustled us, out worked us. They did everything a little quicker, a little more efficiently.” Thomas scored 10 of his 39 points as part of St FX’s 23-2 run at the start of the contest and added nine in the second quarter. Concordia was never able to cut the deficit to less than 13 points before the halftime break. It was much of the same in the third frame and once again the X-Men’s lead never dropped to under 13. The Stingers opened the fourth quarter with a 9-2 run to make it a 79-66 affair but X responded with an 8-0 run of its own to put the game away for good. Zach Brisebois was chosen player of the game for the Stingers. Terry Thomas paced St. FX with 39 on 15-23 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 7-8 from the line, 8 boards, 4 assists and 6 steals. Jeremy Dunn added 17 on 7-17 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Marquis Clayton added 11 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Tyrell Vernon added 10 on 5-9 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 5 boards and 6 assists. Bol Kong added 10 on 4-10 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 12 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks. Jordan Clarke scored 7 on 3-7 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals. Shane Coupland added 2, along with 4 boards, and Will Donkoh 2, while Rodrigo Madera, Ellis Ffrench and Kohlin Rasenberg were scoreless. The X-Men hit 39-83 (.470) from the floor, 4-20 from the arc and 16-18 (.889) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 13 steals, 5 blocks, 14 turnovers and 16 fouls. Zach Brisebois paced the Stingers with 12 on 5-5 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 6 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Kafil Eyitayo added 11 on 5-10 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 6 boards. Jerome Blake added 11 on 4-12 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 5 boards and 5 assists. Evens Laroche notched 10 on 5-8 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 3 boards. Kyle Desmarais added 10 on 3-11 from the floor, 0-6 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 6 boards and 2 assists. James Clark added 8 on 4-14 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals. Decee Krah added 5 on 2-7 from the floor and 1-4 from the arc. Morgan Tajfel scored 5 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 3 boards and 4 assists. Taylor Garner scored 5 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-1 from the line and 3 boards. Jean-Andre Moussignac added 5 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 3 boards. Frank Fiola and Evan Gill were scoreless. The Stingers hit 34-79 (.430) from the floor, 6-26 (.231) from the arc and 8-11 (.727) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 9 steals, 3 blocks, 22 turnovers and 20 fouls. The Stingers (coached by John Dore, assisted by Ernie Rosa, David Bloom and Mike Hickey) also included Sheldon Moore.
In the semis, the top-seeded Carleton Ravens dusted the 5th-seeded Fraser Valley Cascades 83-65. The Ravens led 16-12 after the first quarter and 31-27 at halftime before dominating the third frame 28-16 to build a comfortable 59-43 lead. Carleton’s perimeter game got on track in the third quarter. “We’re going to have to play better and shoot better tomorrow if we’re going to have a chance,” said Carleton coach Dave Smart. “They did a great job taking us out of our comfort zone in the first half. Our defence kept us in the game while our offence struggled.” Fraser Valley coach Barnaby Craddock said “no need to make excuses. They were just better than us tonight. They’re a great team. The third quarter was the difference. We played ok and battled hard in the first half, but so did they. I don’t think either team had a great first half. But in the third they started to hit their stride and we weren’t able to keep up.” Thomas Scrubb was chosen game MVP for the Ravens off the bench. “My shot felt good tonight. Last night I didn’t shoot well at all, so it couldn’t get any worse,” said Scrubb. “I think our depth made the difference today. We’re very deep, and I think we wore them down in the second half.” Carleton’s bench outscored Fraser Valley’s 40 to 19. Thomas Scrubb hit a pair of first-half threes, then added two more in the decisive third quarter. “He has been great for us all year, so it’s nice to see him step up and play the way he played (Saturday),” said Smart. Thomas Scrubb said that “I think we just wore them down. We have a lot of guys who can play well. They’re not as deep, so their guys get tired and our guys are still fresh in the second half.” Barnaby Craddock pointed to his team’s 23 turnovers to Carleton’s 10 as the key stat. “Definitely a difference maker in the game. We had 23 turnovers and against a team like that, we need those possessions.” The closely contested first half featured three lead changes and as many ties. Fraser Valley tied the affair for the last time at 33 all three minutes into the third quarter on a James York three-pointer, but it was all Carleton from there. Tyson Hinz responded with a three-point basket of his own, and Phil Scrubb made it 39-33 with a bucket and a foul shot. Thomas Scrubb then scored eight of the Ravens’ next 11 points, including a pair of treys, and all of a sudden it was a 13-point game, at 50-37. Leading by 16 going into the fourth, Carleton went up by 20 when Hobin scored from up close with 7:28 left to make it 67-47. Hobin gave the champs their biggest lead of the night four minutes later when his layup pushed the score to 76-51. “No need to make excuses. They were just better than us tonight. They’re a great team,” said Craddock. “The third quarter was the difference. We played okay and battled hard in the first half, but so did they. I don’t think either team had a great first half. But in the third they started to hit their stride and we weren’t able to keep up with them.” Philip Scrubb paced Carleton with 18 on 6-11 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 5-5 from the line, 3 boards, 9 assists and 2 steals. Thomas Scrubb added 16 on 5-7 from the floor, 4-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Willy Manigat added 15 on 4-14 from the floor, 4-13 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 2 boards. Tyson Hinz notched 13 on 5-12 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc and 3 boards. Cole Hobin scored 12 on 5-8 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards, 3 assists, 5 steals and 2 blocks. Kevin Churchill scored 4 on 1-1 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 11 boards. Dan Penner added 3 on 1-3 from the arc and 2 boards. Justin Shaver scored 2, while Kyle Smendziuk, Elliott Thompson, Guillaume Boucard and Gavin Resch were scoreless. The Ravens hit 27-62 (.435) from the floor, 14-40 (.350) from the arc and 15-17 (.882) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 11 steals, 4 blocks, 10 turnovers and 14 fouls. Joel Friesen paced the Cascades with 13 on 5-11 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards and 5 assists. Kyle Grewal added 11 on 4-11 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. Jasper Moedt notched 9 on 2-3 from the floor, 5-6 from the line and 8 boards. Spencer Evans scored 9 on 3-3 from the arc. Jordan Blackman added 8 on 3-7 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 5 boards. James York scored 8 on 3-7 from the floor and 2-5 from the arc. Samuel Freeman added 5 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 3 boards. Michael James added 2 on 0-5 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Sheldon Bjorgaard was scoreless, while nabbing 2 boards and dishing 2 assists. Klaus Figueredo and Connor Oldham were scoreless. The Cascades hit 22-57 (.386) from the floor, 8-27 (.296) from the arc and 13-15 (.867) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 23 turnovers and 16 fouls.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Alberta Golden Bears defeated the 6th-seeded St. Francis Xavier X-Men 91-83. The contest was very close until the midway point of the fourth quarter, when Alberta started to pull away. The Bears led 20-15 after one period, 43-38 at halftime and 64-57 after 30 minutes. The X-Men took an early 13-6 lead on a Thomas layup but Alberta closed out the opening quarter with a 14-2 run. The Bears remained in front until the six-minute mark of the second frame when Kong made it 31-30 StFX with a basket and a free throw. Once again though, Alberta finished strong and outscored its rivals 13-7 the rest of the way to go into the break up by five. It was much of the same in the third. After StFX came back to take a 51-50 lead, the Canada west champs dominated the rest of the quarter 13-3 for the seven-point advantage after 30 minutes. Back-to-back Sahr Saffa treys all but sealed the Bears’ victory in the final stanza. The third-year forward connected from beyond the arc with 6:26 remaining to make it 71-64 and again with 5:54 left to up the score to 74-66. Jordan Baker put the game out of reach for good with a three-point shot of his own that made it a 10-point affair, at 84-74, with 1:19 on the clock. Ferguson’s gunning proved the difference, said Alberta coach Greg Francis. “Daniel makes my job very easy. He wants it so much, he sets the pace and everybody follows. He’s a phenomenal shooter. … He’s been an incredible leader all year and he’s been saving the best for last. He takes care of every huddle, he makes every play that we need and he leads these guys. … This game wasn’t much about what the coach was doing. Nothing technical, but guys were fighting and fighting. It was not a smooth game but I’m really proud of how these guys are not letting any adversity set them back. … I thought Sahr (Saffa) stepped up in the third quarter and made some space and made some shots for us,” said Francis. Ferguson said that “we kept going hard. We felt like we were bigger than them and stronger than them and over 40 minutes we didn’t think they could keep that up. (St. FX’s Terry Thomas) is a good player and he’s sneaky. If he’s not scoring the ball he’s getting the offensive rebound. We just talked about communicating the whole game and knowing where guys were, whether it was Terry or anyone else who was a threat.” Terry Thomas was chosen player of the game for the X-Men. “I give them full credit, they played a very good game,” said St. FX coach Steve Konchalski. “We struggled a little defensively. They managed to contain Terry a little better than we contained their big guys.” Daniel Ferguson paced Alberta with 31 on 9-22 from the floor, 5-13 from the arc, 8-9 from the line, 6 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Jordan Baker added 20 on 7-15 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 4-5 from the line, 9 boards, 7 assists and 2 steals. Sahr Saffa added 18 on 6-10 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Lyndon Taylor added 6 on 3-3 from the floor, 4 boards and 2 assists. Todd Bergen-Henengouwen notched 5 on 3-5 from the floor and 5 boards. Robert Dewar scored 5 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. Matthew Cardoza added 3 on 1-1 from the floor, 1-1 from the line and 5 boards. Andrew Bates scored 2, while Jason Baillie was scoreless. The Golden Bears hit 31-61 (.508) from the floor, 11-26 (.423) from the arc and 18-21 (.857) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 6 steals, 1 block, 21 turnovers and 17 fouls.
Terry Thomas paced the X-Men with 22 on 8-15 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 5-7 from the line and 10 boards. Jeremy Dunn added 21 on 6-14 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 7-8 from the line, 5 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Bol Kong notched 16 on 6-14 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 6 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Tyrell Vernon added 9 on 4-8 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2 boards and 4 assists. Shane Coupland added 7 on 3-10 from the floor and 1-5 from the arc. Jordan Clarke added 6 on 2-5 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 3 boards and 3 assists. Marquis Clayton added 2 on 0-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Ellis Ffrench and Rodrigo Madera were scoreless. The X-Men hit 29-71 (.408) from the floor, 8-26 (.308) from the arc and 17-20 (.850) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 8 steals, 2 blocks, 15 turnovers and 22 fouls.
In the bronze medal match, the 6th-seeded St. Francis Xavier X-Men survived a late charge by the 5th-seeded Fraser Valley Cascades to prevail 89-86. “I told the players before the game that they had to play for pride. A bronze medal is still a medal,” said St. FX coach Steve Konchalski. “This win was also our 30th of the season, something this program has only achieved once before in my 37 years. The guys can be proud of that. Hopefully we can build on this, come back next year and change the colour of this medal.” Player of the game Jeremy Dunn said “we had a great season and it’s definitely nice to finish with a win.” St. FX scored 30 points off of turnovers compared to 16 for its rivals. “We showed some good fight coming back at the end. We’re disappointed today but when we look back at our season, we’ll be proud of what we accomplished this year,” said Fraser Valley coach Barnaby Craddock. The score was tied at 16-16 after the opening quarter but St. FX dominated the second frame 30-19 to take an 11-point lead to the lockers. Leading 71-60 after three quarters, the X-Men looked to be in total control and led by as much as 16 points in the fourth quarter, at 79-63, when the Cascades mounted a comeback. Grewal, who was chosen player of the game for the Cascades, cut the lead to 86-83 with 57 seconds left after taking a nice inbound pass under the basket. The Cascades came back to within two at 88-86 with 10 seconds left and, after a Dunn free throw made it a three-point affair, they had 3.2 seconds to hit a trey to force overtime. But an errant inbound pass prevented them from even attempting a potential game-tying shot. Jeremy Dunn paced the X-Men with 28 on 9-15 from the floor, 4-8 from the arc, 6-7 from the line, 8 boards, 6 assists and 3 steals. Terry Thomas added 13 on 6-12 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-3 from the line, 4 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Shane Coupland notched 13 on 5-7 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 7 boards. Tyrell Vernon added 12 on 5-12 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 6 assists and 2 steals. Jordan Clarke added 9 on 4-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 3 boards and 2 assists. Ellis Ffrench notched 8 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 3-3 from the line. Bol Kong scored 4 on 1-6 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Marquis Clayton added 2 on 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 assists, while Rodrigo Madera was scoreless. The X-Men hit 32-65 (.492) from the floor, 10-28 (.357) from the arc and 15-20 from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 22 assists, 11 steals, 2 blocks, 17 turnovers and 11 fouls. Kyle Grewal paced the Cascades with 35 on 14-21 from the floor, 5-6 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 14 boards and 3 assists. Joel Friesen added 11 on 5-13 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 2 assists and 2 steals. James York scored 11 on 5-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 5 boards, 6 assists and 3 steals. Jasper Moedt added 10 on 5-14 from the floor, 7 boards and 2 steals. Jordan Blackman scored 10 on 3-10 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards and 5 assists. Klaus Figueredo notched 3 on 1-1 from the arc. Sheldon Bjorgaard scored 2 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 5 assists. Spencer Evans added 2 and Michael James 2, along with 4 boards, while Connor Oldham was scoreless. The Cascades hit 36-73 (.493) from the floor, 10-24 (.417) from the arc and 4-6 (.667) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 25 assists, 8 steals, 19 turnovers and 17 fouls. The Cascades (coached by Barnaby Craddock, assisted by Adam Friesen, Kyle Graves and Brian Crowe) also included Luke Braund, Sam Freeman and Nathan Kendall.
In the final, the top-seeded Carleton Ravens captured their eighth crown in 10 years by dusting the 2nd-seeded Alberta Golden Bears 86-67. Alberta broke to an 11-8 lead on a Matthew Cardoza trey but the Ravens point guard Philip Scrubb and game MVP Tyson Hinz began blistering the nets. Scrubb hit four buckets, including a trey, as well as five free throws, while nabbing 3 boards, as Carleton built a 31-17 lead after one quarter. Alberta rallied to trim the margin to 9 but Scrubb hit a trey and Willy Manigat nailed back-to-back treys as Carleton closed out the half with a 11-0 run to take a 52-32 lead into the lockers. Although Daniel Ferguson kept the Golden Bears vaguely within reach, Carleton’s defence and depth proved too great an obstacle in the second half. Hobin made it a 25-point affair, at 61-36, with a three-point shot of his own midway through the third, and a bucket by Kevin Churchill with 35 seconds left in the frame opened a game-high 30-point gap at 75-45. The Ravens led 76-50 after three quarters of the romp. “It’s exciting,” said Scrubb, who was chosen tournament MVP. “The biggest thing is to win the whole thing as a team. I guess I hit some shots and got lucky getting the award. We’ve worked hard all season. … It’s pretty special. A lot of guys put a lot of time and effort into this program and it’s good to carry on the tradition. We just try to win every year and to get eight is just amazing.” Scrubb added that the Ravens were determined to finish with an unblemished record (34-0) on the season. “It was our goal leading up to the season. Last year, we lost a game. The only way to get better this season is now to lose. I think we accomplished that goal. …All the guys made big plays today. It was a complete team effort. Tyson was awesome.” Hinz said the Ravens balance proved the difference. “Everyone has to step up at different points. As everyone saw here this weekend, something different stepped up for us every quarter. … It’s hard to put into words. It’s a wonderful way for our seniors (Elliott Thompson, Willy Manigat and Cole Hobin) to go out because they’ve worked hard. … We came out aggressive and we kept the pressure on. We had a great game plan and I guess it worked pretty well. I have two years left, and I want two more.” Coach Dave Smart said “it’s never a perfect game. Never a perfect game. Not close. But to win it the way we did against that team with the players they have and the coaching staff they have … we’re obviously very proud of that. … We had a plan. (Daniel) Ferguson missed a couple early, which helped a little bit in our plan. I’m not sure our plan was necessarily that good, as much as he missed a couple and that gave us a little more confidence. … “It was definitely our best all-around effort of the weekend. We defended really well early on and it set the tone.” Alberta coach Greg Francis said “although it’s a bitter pill right now, I know that my guys were clicking as well as we could by the end of the season. You can’t dig a hole like we did. They had a great season. We’re not experienced with playing their style. It’s a different thing when you’re scouting them on paper and watching them play other people. But to have to deal with them right here, it was a learning curve not only for our players but our coaching staff. … When they’re playing at the top of their game, we would have to be playing at the top of our game to even have a chance to stay with them. I think that’s why there was a pretty big difference because they played great and we were a little tired.” Daniel Ferguson, a fifth-year transfer from Berry College in Atlanta, Georgia, said making the final was a great finish to the season. “It wasn’t the points so much that made it feel like it was a good finish. It was basically just a chance to play at the biggest level on the biggest stage against the best team in the country. You look at the season as a whole we made a hell of a run, and that’s what keeps you excited and keeps you looking positively toward the next thing.” Philip Scrubb paced the Ravens with 26 on 8-15 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 7-7 from the line, 8 boards and 5 assists. Tyson Hinz added 20 on 8-13 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Willy Manigat notched 14 on 5-10 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 5 boards and 2 assists. Cole Hobin added 9 on 4-4 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 4 boards and 2 blocks. Kevin Churchill notched 9 on 2-3 from the floor, 5-6 from the line and 4 boards. Thomas Scrubb added 6 on 3-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 5 boards and 2 assists. Elliot Thompson added 2 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. Kyle Smendziuk, Dan Penner, Gavin Resch and Guillaume Boucard were scoreless. The Ravens hit 31-54 (.574) from the floor, 9-22 (.409) from the arc and 15-17 (.882) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 6 steals, 4 blocks, 16 turnovers and 17 fouls. Daniel Ferguson paced the Golden Bears with 25 on 6-22 from the floor, 3-12 from the arc and 10-11 from the line. Jordan Baker added 12 on 3-12 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 6-7 from the line, 8 boards and 6 assists. Sahr Saffa notched 12 on 5-9 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc and 2 assists. Robert Dewar added 9 on 4-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 4 boards. Todd Bergen-Henengouwen added 4 on 1-3 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Matthew Cardoza added 3 on 1-4 from the arc and 2 boards. Lyndon Taylor scored 2 on 1-4 from the floor and 4 boards, while Andrew Bates, Nikola Manojlovic, Jason Baillie and Sebastian Cava were scoreless. The Golden Bears hit 21-61 (.344) from the floor, 6-24 (.250) from the arc and 19-21 (.905) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 5 steals, 1 block, 11 turnovers and 13 fouls.
Scrubb was chosen recipient of the Jack Donohue Trophy as tournament MVP. Joining him on the all-star team were: Tyson Hinz (Carleton); Daniel Ferguson (Alberta); Sahr Saffa (Alberta); Terry Thomas (St. Francis Xavier); and Kyle Grewal (Fraser Valley).
The bronze medalist St. Francis Xavier X-men: Terry Thomas; Jordan Clarke; Marquis Clayton; Tyrell Vernon; Bol Kong; Shane Coupland; Will Donkoh; Ellis French; Rodrigo Madera; Jeremy Dunn; Kohlin Rasenberg; Omar Kadray; Jacob Simmons; Riiny Ngot; coach Steve Konchalski; assistant Doc Ryan; assistant/faculty advisor Denton Anthony; video coordinator Mat MacDonald; manager Zach Langlois; conditioning Brenda McGuire; therapist Tara Sutherland; therapist Angela Wylie; student therapist Keith Cameron; SID Krista McKenna
The silver medalist Alberta Golden Bears: Daniel Ferguson; Jordan Baker; Sahr Saffa; Lyndon Taylor; Matthew Cardoza; Todd Bergen-Henengouwen; Robert Dewar; Andrew Bates; Matthew Cardoza; Sebastian Cava; Taylor Riar; Nikola Manojlovic; Jason Baillie; Adam Weir; Tesh Aytenfisu; coach Greg Francis; assistant Ryan Dunkley; assistant Jon Verhesen; assistant Eric Magdanz; therapist Dr. Joan Matthews-White; team doctor Dr. Mike Wagner; SID Matt Gutsch
The champion Carleton Ravens: Phillip Scrubb; Tyson Hinz; Cole Hobin; Elliot Thompson; Thomas Scrubb; Willy Manigat; Kevin Churchill; Kyle Smendziuk; Gavin Resch; Dan Penner; Justin Shaver; Guillaume Payen-Boucard; Ryan Augustine; Gael Kanza; Benjamin Felix; coach Dave Smart; assistant Rob Smart Jr.; assistant Dean Petridis; assistant Shawn McCleery; therapist Bruce Marshall; manager Aaron Blakely; strength & conditioning Andy Stewart; nutritionist Harinder Ghuman; SID Christina Atallah; athletic director Jennifer Brenning