| Manitoba | 10-2 | 19-3 | Don Hunter | ||
| Brandon | 7-5 | Jerry Hemmings | |||
| Winnipeg | 7-5 | 18-17 | Bruce Enns | ||
| Lakehead | 0-12 | 4-23 | Arnie Donovan | ||
The non-medalist Lakehead Thunderwolves: Tom Francis, Martin Gysbers, George Hardisty, Brett McEwan, Dan Rajnovich, Jeff Watson, Dave Kirychuk, Howie May, Mike Lalonde, Grant Pierce, Bob Ehlers, Jim Carter, coach Arne Donovan
In the finals, Manitoba d’d Brandon 95-54; 78-66 (2g-0).
In game one, Manitoba defeated Brandon 95-54 after taking a 42-31 lead at the half. 6-4 forward Rick Watts, from Dakota Collegiate, scored 24 and predicted Manitoba would win the national title. Point guard Martin Riley added 17, Greg Daniels 16, Doug Freeth nabbed 7 boards, centre Darryl Rumsey, the GPAC’s leading rebounder from Windsor Park Collegiate, scored 12 and grabbed 9 boards while Ray McKall got six rebounds. Manitoba out-rebounded Brandon 40-34, and outshot them .500 to .310 from the floor and .810 to .500 from the line, while committing 15 turnovers to Brandon’s 27. 6-8 centre Dave Smith was held to 13 points and 10 boards, while Dave Price scored 20 and nabbed 13 rebounds for the Bobcats. “This is a team of shooters. Tonight, it was me but tomorrow it might be someone else,” said Rick Watts. Manitoba coach Don Hunter noted that “I think the turning point was when we were up by 20 points early in the half and they applied a full-court press. We moved the ball up the court without letting it touch the floor once and got it in to Dougie (Freeth) and he sank an eight-footer. You could see it was like air coming out of a balloon the way they were deflated after that.” Game two was slightly closer but Manitoba prevailed 78-66. “Freeth was the outstanding player on the floor,” said coach Don Hunter. Freeth finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Rick Watts scored 23 and grabbed 8 boards. Martin Riley added 20. Darryl Rumsey scored 6 and grabbed 13 rebounds, while Greg Daniels got 8 assists and was also singled out for Hunter’s praise. “He has been playing just super ball.” Manitoba out-rebounded Brandon 47-33. Dave Price led Brandon with 27. Ryan Gray added 11 and Lloyd Small 10. Watts, 6-foot-4, was also an elite volleyball player. He was a hitter in volleyball, a member of the Manitoba squad that won the 1970, 1971 and 1972 national junior titles and the 1971 squad that claimed the gold medal at the Canada Winter Games. He was an alternate on the men’s national team even as his major focus was on basketball. Watts says he chose hoops over volleyball because of his love for the game, even though choosing volleyball might have gotten him farther in that sport. “I know I would have been a better volleyball player,” he said. “I probably would have advanced farther in volleyball. I’m pretty sure I would have made the national volleyball team, I think that would have been a given. They had started that professional volleyball league in the States; I think that I could have played in as well. But it’s the love of the game, there’s no doubt about that. My dad (Ralph) played basketball and coached basketball and was part of the administration of the game as well in Manitoba. He’s a member of the Hall of Fame from the 1954 Paulins team. It was based on, really, the challenge and love of the game.”
The bronze medalist Winnipeg Wesmen: Rolfe Bergen; Wade Bilodeau; Dana Erickson; Dan Kinaschuk; Ralf Macek; Bob Magel; Paul Player; Les Sikora; Terry Burns; John Sisler; Waldy Derksen; coach Bruce Enns
The runner-up Brandon Bobcats: Dave Smith; Dave Price; Ryan Gray; Lloyd Small; Nelson Burrell; Ken Corley; Jim Mackey; Brian Pallister; Bohdan Pisak; Ellis Ware; Lew Worrell; Gord Campbell; Bob Campbell; Murray Rodgers; George Rugg; Gord Carmichael; coach Jerry Hemmings; assistant Bill Moody; manager Kevin MacDonald; statistician Dan Majcher
The champion Manitoba Bisons: Rick Watts; Martin Riley; Angus Burr; Darryl Rumsey; Randy Kusano; Greg Daniels; Doug Freeth; Brian Rumsey; Kevin Kelleher; Grant Watson; Ray McKall; Randy Prokopanko; coach Don Hunter; assistant Dave Guss; trainer/manager Russ Horbal; manager Ross Zilkey; manager Doug Slobodian