(1)Ottawa79
(8)Concordia69Ottawa75
(4)Victoria85Victoria89Victoria82
(5)Bishop’s73
—–VICTORIA
(2)Calgary109
(7)Queen’s98Calgary87Calgary53
(3)U.B.C.72U.P.E.I.54
(6)U.P.E.I.90

SEEDING

1. Ottawa Gee-Gees (OUA champions: 20-2 regular season, 3-0 playoffs)

2. Calgary Dinos (Canada West champions: 16-4 regular season, 3-0 playoffs)

3. U.B.C. Thunderbirds (hosts and Canada West finalists: 20-0 regular, 2-1 playoffs)

4. Victoria Vikes (Canada West bronze/Canada West host berth: 14-2 regular, 2-1 playoffs)

5. Bishop’s Gaiters (RSEQ champions: 14-2 regular season, 2-0 playoffs)

6. U.P.E.I. Panthers (AUS champions, 12-8 regular season, 2-0 playoffs)

7. Queen’s Gaels (OUA finalists, 16-6 regular season, 2-1 playoffs)

8. Concordia Stingers (wildcard, RSEQ finalist, 14-2 regular season, 1-1 playoffs)

      In the quarterfinals, held in Vancouver, the 4th-seeded Victoria Vikes defeated the 5th-seeded Bishop’s Gaiters 85-73. The Gaiters led 18-4 early and 22-16 after one quarter. The Vikes led 48-38 at the half and 68-56 after three quarters. Player of the game Shadynn Smid said “I came out with confidence today. Murphy [Burnatowski] has always been about being confident. I was ready, and the team lifted me up every time. I had to hit them early, hit them first and be as big as I can, and trust the guys so if I box them [Bishop’s] out, the guards would be there to get the rebounds.” Renoldo Robinson paced the Vikes with 18 on 7-14 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 10 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Sam Maillet added 18 on 6-10 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 5-8 from the line, 6 boards and 2 assists. Geoffrey James notched 15 on 5-11 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 2 assists and 2 steals. Shadynn Smid scored 14 on 5-10 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 4 boards, 3 blocks and 4 steals. Aaron Tesfagiorgis added 8 on 3-8 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Ethan Boag scored 6 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 1-1 from the line. Griffin Arnatt added 3 on 1-3 from the arc and 2 boards. Sergio Pereira scored 2 on 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Ryan Gallagher added 1 on 0-1 from the arc and 1-2 from the line, while Scott Morozov, Jackson Agazzi and Dylan Gage were scoreless. The Vikes hit 29-63 (.460) from the floor, 11-29 (.379) from the arc and 16-24 from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 17 fouls, 12 assists, 14 turnovers, 4 blocks and 11 steals. Charles Robert paced the Gaiters with 21 on 7-13 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 6-8 from the line, 7 assists and 2 blocks. Etienne Gagnon added 14 on 5-11 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 6 boards. Yanis Malanda notched 11 on 5-14 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 7 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Carl Jacob scored 8 on 3-8 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc and 7 boards. Obinna Dike added 7 on 3-9 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 5 boards and 2 assists. David Navarro scored 6 on 2-5 from the arc. Zach John added 5 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2 boards and 4 assists. C.J. Skye scored 1 on 0-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 1-2 from the line, while Tiernan McDougall, Zacharie Michaud, Rowan Halpenny, Michael Dooley, Kyle Maurice and Ulrich Larochel were scoreless. The Gaiters hit 27-68 (.397) from the floor, 8-28 (.286) from the arc and 11-14 (.786) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 16 assists, 17 turnovers, 3 blocks and 7 steals. The Gaiters (coach Matt McLean, assistant D.J. Ngom, assistant Julien Martin, assistant Steve Dunn, assistant Berkay Ozkumova, assistant Ron Crevier, assistant Lyph, academics Mike Andrew, strength & conditioning Mike Fullum, therapist Katrina Lambert, therapist Maddy Higgins, student trainer Hala Mansour, video analysis Doug McCooeye, social media Alexander Charbonneau) also included Yve Nsanzinshuti, Oscar How, Owen Lewis, Jovani Cinfinix and Joshua Koulamallah.

      The top-seeded Ottawa Gee-Gees clipped the 8th-seeded Concordia Stingers 79-69. The Gee-Gees led 15-8 after one quarter and 38-22 at the half. The Stingers led 51—50 after three quarters. Brock Newton paced the Gee-Gees with 17 on 6-9 from the floor, 5-7 from the line, 3 boards, 2 assists and 4 steals. Justin Ndjock-Tadjore added 14 on 4-12 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 6-9 from the line, 8 boards, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Jacques-Melaine Guemeta notched 13 on 6-11 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 3 assists. Khalifa Koulamallah scored 11 on 3-7 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 3-8 from the line and 6 boards. Ankit Choudhary added 10 on 4-11 from the floor, 0-7 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Dragan Stajic scored 8 on 3-10 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 8 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Matthew Smith added 6 on 3-4 from the floor and 2 boards, while Will McCauley, Owen Kenney, Josh Muoka, Wil Zylyk and Enrique Garcia were scoreless. Kenney nabbed 4 boards. The Gee-Gees hit 29-66 (.439) from the floor, 4-22 (.182) from the arc and 17-28 (.607) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 12 assists, 8 turnovers, 6 blocks and 11 steals. Alec Phaneuf paced the Stingers with 19 on 8-16 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc and 2 boards. Karam Sahly added 14 on 7-11 from the floor, 0-1 from the line and 5 boards. Junior Mercy notched 12 on 5-10 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 7 boards and 3 assists. Gabriel Bourdages scored 8 on 4-8 from the floor and 8 boards. Jaheem Joseph added 8 on 1-9 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 5-8 from the line, 13 boards and 2 steals. Yohan Leger scored 6 on 3-11 from the floor, 0-6 from the arc and 8 boards. Ba-Amara Djame added 2 on 0-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 6 boards, while Aurele Ouellet, Liam Daniel Ngos, Miguel Doyon-Jeremy, Owen Sootjens and Jordan Telfort were scoreless. Soontjens nabbed 5 boards. The Stingers hit 28-74 (.378) from the floor, 6-23 (.261) from the arc and 7-13 (.538) from the line, while garnering 59 boards, including 22 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 8 assists, 24 turnovers, 1 block and 4 steals. The Stingers (coach Rastko Popovic, assistant Damian Buckley, assistant Aleks Mitrovic, assistant Dwight Walton, assistant Jay Prosper) also included Emmanuel Duprate, Diego Barragues Nash, Nino Lamborot, Louis-Vincent Gauvin, Tyrell Lamar Williams, Bradley Louidon, Sami Jahan, Jeremy Royer and Malakai Whittaker.

      The 2nd-seeded Calgary Dinos dispatched the 7th-seeded Queen’s Gaels 109-98 after leading 31-25, 57-55 and 78-71 at the quarters. Dinos coach Dan Vanhooren said “they pressed like crazy constantly, even on a miss, and we had to be tough with the ball. For us to have 25 assists and only 13 turnovers, I thought that was a terrific showing of what we are capable of. We knew Aidan would get going because he was freed up like that. We were going to put up a big number if we were running up and down like that. I was pleased with our guys’ effort and really with our composure through that game.” Dino Dylan Lutes said “they are a team that plays like no other team we’ve faced all season. They executed their game plan perfectly and they tired us out. Nate [Petrone] told me earlier today, ‘I don’t care if I don’t shoot a ball today,’ because we knew the game plan. He said, ‘It’s going to be you and Aidan,’ and we had to be ready to shoot threes. And we were.” Dylan Lutes paced the Dinos with 27 on 11-19 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 6 boards, 6 assists and 2 blocks. Nate Petrone added 26 on 8-19 from the floor, 6-10 from the arc, 4-5 from the line, 9 boards and 8 assists. Aidan Smith notched 20 on 6-11 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 8 boards. Noah Wharton scored 14 on 4-7 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 5 boards and 4 assists. Declan Peterson added 10 on 4-5 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 10 boards. Martynas Sabaliauskas scored 7 on 2-8 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards and 2 blocks. Gurshan Sran added 3 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards. Daniels Baumanis scored 2 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2 boards and 5 assists, while Arinze Aniagu, Spencer Roberts, Alan Spoonhunter and Beckett Johnson were scoreless. Johnson nabbed 2 boards. The Dinos hit 37-76 (.487) from the floor, 19-35 (.543) from the arc and 16-23 (.696) from the line, while garnering 54 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 25 assists, 13 turnovers, 4 blocks and 2 steals. Andrade Junior Cummings paced the Gaels with 24 on 9-13 from the floor, 6-8 from the arc and 5 boards. Oliver Engen added 20 on 8-20 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 2 boards. Lucas Ponting notched 15 on 5-14 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Luka Syllas scored 13 on 4-19 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 5-8 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Ashton Bain added 9 on 4-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 6 boards. Kai Dalen scored 4 on 2-5 from the floor and 10 boards. Malcolm Bailey added 4 on 2-5 from the floor and 4 boards. Scott Jenkins scored 4 on 1-2 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Tyson Lama added 3 on 1-1 from the arc. Jalen Sikkema scored 2 on 1-6 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 assists, while David Ayon and Gianni Itegeli were scoreless. The Gaels hit 37-91 (.407) from the floor, 10-26 (.385) from the arc and 14-17 (.824) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 24 fouls, 9 assists, 5 turnovers, 3 blocks and 6 steals. The Gaels (coach Stephan Barrie, assistant John Curcio, assistant Justin Wallace, operations Grady Mcauley, social media Paige Owen, analytics Jon Adams, therapist Craig Belfer, student trainer Maddie Miskimmin, student trainer Eagan Tormey, student trainer Emilio Agostinelli Stull, student trainer Emily Taylor) also included Sam Kong, Tyson Lama, Aaron Tennant, Isaac Krueger, Zaveh Antwi, Simon Bailey and Lukey Butler.

      In the last quarterfinal, the 6th-seeded U.P.E.I. Panthers thrashed the 3rd-seeded U.B.C. Thunderbirds 90-72. The score was knotted at 20 after one quarter. The Panthers led 47-33 at the half and 63-37 after three quarters. The Panthers quickness and defensive pressure swamped the Thunderbirds. Panthers coach Darrell Glenn said “this is who we have to be, especially against a team with this much length. We knew coming in that if we put pressure on them, we could create turnovers and get out in transition.” Panther Kamari Scott said “we live and die by our defence. We communicated, stayed in the gaps, and locked in on their key guys.” Kamari Scott paced the Panthers with 21 on 8-12 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 7 boards and 3 steals. Kyree Thompson added 15 on 5-15 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc, 5-10 from the line, 4 boards and 6 assists. Daniel Gonzalez Longarela notched 10 on 5-10 from the floor, 8 boards, 2 assists and 4 steals. Nicolas Gonzalez Longarela scored 9 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-1 from the line and 2 boards. Sam Chisholm added 9 on 3-11 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Sam Dyck scored 4 on 1-3 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Grant Schell added 1 on 0-1 from the floor and 1-2 from the line, while Matthew Magnan and Owen Smith were scoreless. Smith nabbed 2 boards. The Panthers hit 35-75 (.467) from the floor, 4-17 (.235) from the arc and 16-31 (.516) from the line, while garnering 48 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 24 fouls, 17 assists, 14 turnovers, 3 blocks and 16 steals. Adam Olsen paced the Thunderbirds with 17 on 6-15 from the floor, 1-9 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 2 boards, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Gus Goerzen added 14 on 5-9 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 4 boards and 2 blocks. Fareed Shittu notched 8 on 3-11 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 6 boards, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Brendan Sullivan scored 8 on 2-8 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 8 boards and 2 assists. Victor Radocaj added 6 on 2-5 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Nylan Roberts scored 5 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 2 boards. Nikola Guzina added 5 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-4 from the line and 3 boards. Arnaud Konan scored 4 on 2-2 from the floor and 2 boards. Micah Jessie added 3 on 1-7 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 6 boards and 2 assists. Tobi Akinkunmi scored 2 on 0-5 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards, while Toni Maric and Jerry Hayes were scoreless. The Thunderbirds hit 25-71 (.352) from the floor, 6-31 (.194) from the arc and 16-25 (.640) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 25 fouls, 11 assists, 22 turnovers, 9 blocks and 8 steals. The Thunderbirds (coach Kevin Hanson, assistant Phil Jalalpoor, assistant Taylor Williams, assistant Doug Eberhardt, assistant Jamie Oei, assistant Mike Hamilton, assistant Luke Penner, strength & conditioning Joe McCullum, trainer Dilman Dhiman, trainer Felix Chong, social media Nico Saguin) also included Raj Dhadda,  Kashie Ugoji, Jacob Antchak, Karan Aujla and Juan Navarro.  

      In the semis, the 4th-seeded Victoria Vikes torched the top-seeded Ottawa Gee-Gees 89-75. The Vikes broke to a 19-3 lead and led 23-10 after one quarter. Jacques-Melaine Guemata hit a pair from beyond the arc and Ankit Choudayr a trey as the Gee-Gees rallied to within 25-22 but Geoffrey James answered with a trey for the Vikes, Griffin Arnatt a putback, and Ethan Boag a slam. James continued to drain treys, while the Gee-Gees continued to indulge in casual ballhandling, as the Vikes rebuilt their lead to 48-37 at the half. With the Gee-Gees only periodically emerging from their fog, the Vikes extended their lead to 72-54 after three quarters and romped to the easy win. Vikes coach Murphy Burnatowski said “They’re [Ottawa] a good team. We knew they weren’t going to go down easy. They constantly kept making runs and putting pressure on us. I give them a lot of credit for that, but I also give a lot of credit to our guys on this big stage – against a good team it’s easy to fold, and we were able to keep it going to close it out.” Geoffrey James paced the Vikes with 21 on 7-16 from the floor, 5-10 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 7 boards and 2 assists. Shadynn Smid added 18 on 8-12 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 8 boards. Sam Maillet notched 13 on 6-6 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 10 boards and 8 assists. Ethan Boag scored 12 on 2-11 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 8-8 from the line, 6 boards and 2 assists. Renoldo Robinson added 11 on 3-8 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 6 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Griffin Arnatt scored 7 on 3-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2 boards and 3 assists. Aaron Tesfagiorgis added 5 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 6 boards. Ryan Gallagher scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor, while Sergio Pereira, Scott Morozov, Jackson Agazzi and Dylan Gage were scoreless. The Vikes hit 32-65 (.492) from the floor, 8-23 (.348) from the arc and 17-18 (.944) from the line, while garnering 49 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 20 fouls, 23 assists, 21 turnovers, 3 blocks and 5 steals. Jacques-Melaine Guemeta paced the Gee-Gees with 24 on 9-18 from the floor, 4-9 from the arc, 2-7 from the line and 3 steals. Brock Newton added 14 on 5-12 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4-5 from the line, 7 boards and 3 steals. Ankit Choudhary notched 13 on 3-13 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 5-5 from the line and 2 assists. Dragan Stajic scored 10 on 4-8 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 1-3 from the line, 7 boards, 6 assists, 2 blocks and 4 steals. Khalifa Koulamallah added 7 on 3-9 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc and 6 boards. Justin Ndjock-Tadjore scored 4 on 2-11 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 5 boards and 3 steals. Owen Kenney added 3 on 1-2 from the arc, while Matthew Smith, Will McCauley, Josh Muoka, Will Zylyk and Enrique Garcia were scoreless. Smith blocked 3 shots. Garcia nabbed 2 boards. The Gee-Gees hit 27-74 (.365) from the floor, 9-34 (.265) from the arc and 12-22 (.545) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 21 fouls, 8 assists, 15 turnovers, 5 blocks and 14 steals.

      In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Calgary Dinos dusted the U.P.E.I. Panthers 87-54 after leading 28-17, 46-33 and 64-45 at the quarters. Dino guard Nate Petrone said “We felt like underdogs, no matter what. We just had that mentality and we are going to keep rolling with it. … It was like open gym – just have fun out there,” Petrone said of playing without Peterson and Wharton. “The pressure went away. We have two of our starters out [Noah Wharton and Declan Peterson, who was injured during the games], we can play free, no one expects us to win now. It’s going to be just proving more people wrong. It is fun – we are going to do it for them.” Dinos coach Dan Vanhooren said “I thought we did a really good job defending early.We did our work before they got to spots and then we rebounded the ball pretty well. … [Daniels Baumanis] was terrific (stepping in for Wharton). For someone we’re going to need in the future, this is a great experience for him, and he contributed so well.” Nate Petrone paced the Dinos with 30 on 11-21 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 6-6 from the line, 10 boards, 8 assists and 5 steals. Daniels Baumanis added 14 on 5-11 from the floor, 4-8 from the arc and 2 assists. Aidan Smith notched 13 on 4-11 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 9 boards, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Dylan Lutes scored 11 on 4-12 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 6 boards and 2 blocks. Alan Spoonhunter added 7 on 3-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 5 boards. Declan Peterson scored 4 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the line and 5 boards. Beckett Johnson added 4 on 2-3 from the floor and 0-1 from the arc. Arinze Aniagu scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor 0-1 from the arc and 2 boards. Gurshan Sran added 2 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 7 boards and 2 blocks, while Martynas Sabaliauskas and Spencer Roberts were scoreless. Sabaliauskas nabbed 4 boards and dished 2 assists. The Dinos hit 33-76 (.434) from the floor, 11-32 (.344) from the arc and 10-12 (.833) from the line, while garnering 51 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 18 assists, 13 turnovers, 8 blocks and 8 steals. Kyree Thompson paced the Panthers with 16 on 6-13 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 5 boards and 4 assists. Kamari Scott added 9 on 3-10 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 8 boards. Daniel Gonzalez Longarela notched 9 on 3-9 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 7 boards. Owen Smith scored 6 on 3-4 from the floor. Sam Chisholm added 5 on 2-8 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 6 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Nicholas Gonzalez Longarela scored 3 on 1-3 from the floor and 1-2 from the line. Sam Dyck added 2 on 0-4 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 2 boards, while Matthew Magnan and Grant Schell were scoreless. The Panthers hit 20-68 (.294) from the floor, 2-12 (.167) from the arc and 12-21 (.571) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 14 assists, 17 turnovers 2 blocks and 7 steals.

      In the bronze medal match, the top-seeded Ottawa Gee-Gees dispatched the 6th-seeded U.P.E.I. Panthers 86-70. The Panthers led 16-14 after one quarter. The Gee-Gees led 41-34 at the half and 63-60 after three quarters. The win marked the third consecutive bronze medal finish by the Gee-Gees. Justin Ndjock-Tadjore paced the Gee-Gees with 25 on 9-13 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 5-8 from the line, 3 boards and 5 assists. Brock Newton added 22 on 9-15 from the floor, 4-7 from the line, 5 boards and 2 blocks. Ankit Choudhary notched 12 on 2-9 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 6-7 from the line an d3 boards. Jacques-Melaine Guemeta scored 11 on 5-18 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc and 10 boards. Dragan Stajic added 7 on 3-7 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 7 boards and 8 assists. Matthew Smith scored 4 on 2-3 from the floor. Owen Kenney added 3 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 4 boards and 2 steals. Will McCauley scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor and 2 boards, while Josh Muoka, Wil Zylyk, Khalifa Koulamallah and Enrique Garcia were scoreless. Koulamallah nabbed 5 boards and pilfered 2 balls. Zylyk nabbed 3 boards. The Gee-Gees hit 32-76 (.421) from the floor, 6-26 (.231) from the arc and 16-24 from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 17 assists, 11 turnovers, 4 blocks and 8 steals. Kamari Scott paced the Panthers with 21 on 8-13 from the floor, 5-6 from the line, 7 boards and 3 assists. Daniel Gonzalez Longarela added 16 on 8-13 from the floor, 0-2 from the line and 9 boards. Kyree Thompson notched 13 on 5-14 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Owen Smith scored 10 on 4-7 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 2-3 from the line. Sam Dyck added 2 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-2 from the line and 3 boards, while Nathan Whitnell, Matthew Magnan, Grant Schell, Nicolas Gonzales Longarela and Sam Chisholm were scoreless. Chisholm nabbed 5 boards and dished 2 assists. Magnan nabbed 2 boards. The Panthers hit 30-67 (.448) from the floor, 1-11 (.091) from the arc and 9-16 (.563) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 13 assists, 16 turnovers, 1 block and 4 steals. The Panthers (coach Darrell Glenn, assistant Marcus Cusinato, advanced scout Jonathan Lane, assistant Jared Cheverie, director of operations Koren Glenn, statistics Pierre Audoin, academics Jack Headley) also included Nathan Whitnell, Daren Clarke, Hugo Bermejo, Justyce Grant, Sina Ayerman, Tarrence Booker, Both Deng, Zachary Tucker, Christian Hager, Quinton Martin, Matthew Carmichael and Hudson MacGregor.

      In the final, the 4th-seeded Victoria Vikes mauled the 2nd-seeded Calgary Dinos 82-53 after leading 12-2 early 18-6, 40-23 and 65-42 at the quarters. The Vikes held the Dinos scoreless for 7.5 minutes in the first quarter. They ripped off 9-0 and 7-0 runs in the second quarter as they built their double-digit lead and romped to the easy win, their ninth title in tournament history. Tournament MVP Sam Maillet said “it’s pretty amazing. This group has worked so hard all year, and I’m just really proud of them. It’s amazing feeling, it’s pretty surreal. … We just got back to being ourselves. We’ve said all year, we want to have more fun than the other team. We’ve had fun and just played with joy. We played together and played for each other, and there’s so many guys that are strong leaders in our locker room so we could get back to that We had nothing to lose and everything to win, and we played like that. We were hungry, starving for a title, and we got it done.” Vikes coach Murphy Burnatowski said “it’s amazing. It’s something we’ve talked about, and I feel it was a little bit like a fairy tale for us, just in the way we lost in the conference playoffs and the way we stepped up. The way I’ve seen the boys come together as a team, as a family, has truly been unbelievable.” The Dinos were hampered by injuries to starters Noah Whaton and Declan Peterson earlier in the tournament and to Aidan Smith early in the final. Dinos coach Dan Vanhooren said “I’m just proud of the guys. They’ve battled a lot of adversity, and we showed up and played hard, but we couldn’t get anything to fall. We were playing a very good basketball team and down three starters, it’s going to be tough. We had to play perfect today. Their defensive pressure on us was really heavy, and getting the ball up the floor was difficult at times. Loosening up the floor for someone like Nate (Petrone) to get free was really hard – but that’s how it is. Our team showed great character over the last four weeks. We came together the way you need to as a team, and unfortunately, we had some rotten luck. But I am super proud of them. They’re great character kids and represented the University of Calgary very well.” Player of the game Renoldo Robinson paced the Vikes with 24 on 10-22 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 9 boards and 4 steals. Geoffrey James added 17 on 7-13 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals. Ethan Boag notched 1 2on 3-12 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 6-7 from the line, 2 boards and 2 blocks. Shadynn Smid scored 11 on 5-9 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 17 boards, 2 assists and 3 blocks. Sam Maillet added 9 on 4-8 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 6 boards, 3 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals. Griffin Arnatt scored 5 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 7 boards. Aaron Tesfagiorgis added 4 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards and 4 assists, while Sergio Pereira, Scott Morozov, Jackson Agazzi, Dylan Gage and Ryan Gallagher were scoreless. Gage nabbed 2 boards. The Vikes hit 31-81 (.395) from the floor, 7-28 from the arc and 11-17 (.647) from the line, while garnering 59 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 19 fouls, 13 assists, 8 turnovers, 9 blocks and 11 steals. Alan Spoonhunter paced the Dinos with 20 on 8-17 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Martynas Sabaliauskas added 14 on 5-11 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 5 boards. Nate Petrone notched 10 on 2-12 from the floor, 1-8 from the arc, 5-8 from the line, 6 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Dylan Lutes added 4 on 1-9 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 15 boards, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Gurshan Sran scored 3 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 5 boards and 2 blocks. Beckett Johnson added 2 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 0-2 from the line, while Arinze Aniagu, Spencer Roberts, Noah Wharton, Daniels Baumanis and Aidan Smith were scoreless. Baumanis dished 2 assists. Smith nabbed 3 boards. The Dinos hit 18-66 (.273) from the floor, 6-29 (.207) from the arc and 11-20 (.550) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 16 fouls, 11 assists, 18 turnovers, 8 blocks and 4 steals.

      Commencing in 2024-25, uSports essentially removed its restricted on athletic scholarships for freshmen, lifting the requirements that they have an 80% average in high school and a 60% average in their first year of study. They also announced that schools must award at least 45% of their scholarships to men and at least 45% to women.

      The all-tournament team featured MVP Sam Maillet (Victoria); Nate Petrone (Calgary); Geoffrey James (Victoria); Renoldo Robinson (Victoria); and Brock Newton (Ottawa).

The bronze medalist Ottawa Gee-Gees: Ankid Choudhary; Will McCauley; Wil Zylyk; Cid Ruhamyandekwe; Dragan Stajic; Liban Abadalla; Khalifa Koulamallah; Steven Agnenent; Andre Novicic; Justin Ndjock-Tadjore; Brock Newton; Ryan Harris; Owen Kenney; Matthew Smith; Thomas Armstrong; Josh Muoka; Enrique Garcia; Jacques-Melaine Guemeta; coach James Derouin; assistant Michael Parsons; assistant Clarence Porter; assistant Hennessy Roppovalente; assistant Todd Spencer; assistant Fofo Adetogun; assistant Suleiman Sualim; assistant Arman Rezaeipour; strength & conditioning Kajeel Grant; operations coordinator Alex Louis

The silver medalist Calgary Dinos: Julius Kennedy; Nate Petrone; Kace Archuleta; Alan Spoonhunter; Beckett Johnson; Javier Ramos-Yzquierdo; Arinze Aniagu; Noah Whartonb; Cian Smith; Daniels Baumanis; Dylan Lutes; Martynas Sabaliauskas; Dylan Kalambay; Aidan Smith; Spencer Roberts; Declan Peterson; Gurshanb Sran; coach Dan Vanhooren; assistant Kyle Landry; assistant Cooper Hamaliuk; assistant Blaine Miciak; assistant Jhony Verrone; athletic development Rich Hesketh; therapist Bonnie Sutter; student therapist Denny Chau; manager Sydney Tait

      The champion Victoria Vikes: Sam Maillet; Aaron Tesfagiorgis; Geoffrey James; Jackson Agazzi; Diego Maffia; Ethan Boag; Dylan Gage; Griffin Arnatt; Shadynn Smid; Sergio Pereira; Renoldo Robinson; Ryan Gallagher; Scott Morozov; coach Murphy Burnatowski; assistant Josh Reddy; assistant Terrell Evans; assistant Niasi Malua; assistant Joe Thomas