REGULAR SEASON
| EAST | WEST | ||||||||
| Laurentian | 10-2 | 14-13 | Ken Shields | Waterloo | 11-1 | 24-5 | Don McCrae | ||
| Carleton | 8-4 | 14-12 | Bob O’Billovich | Windsor | 9-3 | 20-10 | Paul Thomas | ||
| Ottawa | 7-5 | 13-10 | George Potvin | Guelph | 8-4 | 16-7 | Garney Henley | ||
| York | 6-6 | Bob McKinney | McMaster | 6-6 | Bill Fowler | ||||
| Toronto | 6-6 | 7-7 | John McManus | Western | 5-7 | Jerry Gonser | |||
| Queen’s | 4-8 | 8-12 | Frank Tindall | Wilfrid Laurier | 3-9 | Don Smith | |||
| Ryerson | 1-11 | Ed DeArmon | Brock | 0-12 | 4-12 | Les Korchok | |||
Playoff non-qualifiers:
Brock Badgers: Phil Lewis; Ken Murray; Joe Majtenyi, John Corlett, Gord Banting, Bill Davis, Ortwin Baldauf, Bill Larman, Joe Davidson, Ed Godden, Bernie Buschmann, Tony Vertde
Queen’s Golden Gaels: Rob Smart, Paul Howard, Bruce Hemming, John Keck, Norm Hagarty, Stu Beck, Ian Rawes, Ken Sagadore, Dave Lefebure, Colin McCleery, Derek Swinnard, Don Sinclair, coach Frank Tindall, assistant Brian MacKenzie
Ryerson Rams: Jim Greene, Rick Hagerman, Tony D’Ambrosio, Mike DeFreitas, Steve Dinsdale, Jim Greene, Pete Grosdanis, Ian Johnson, Ron Johnson, Jim Mallard, George Perpich, Barry Richards, Tom Tittle, Gene Venskaitis, coach Ed DeArmon
Toronto Varsity Blues: Peter Oolup, Glenn Scott, Brian Skyvington, Bill Francis, Tony Rudmik, Randy Filinski, Frank Cress, Dave Ferguson, Dave Watt, Tim McGhie, Avo Albo, Doug Baker, Rick Kurczyk, Rick Hollowell, coach John McManus
Western Mustangs: Gary Ghent, Gary Curgin, Wally Kurnew, Tino Lenti, Dave Brown, Alan Van Weelden, John Corrente; Dave McCabe, Mike Savage, Raoul Kreek, Vytas Kazragis, John Brinkman, Paul Moore, Victor Jonz, Tim Tufford, Marty Marhuis, John Dow, Dave Lenz, Dave Farley, Jerry Francis, Bob Day, coach Jerry Gonser, assistant Ainsley Rose, manager Gail Reynolds, manager Dave Smith
Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks: Rod Dean, Bert Van Cook, John Dimhoff, Mike Pierce, Brian DeMarche, Gary Southworth, Tom Thompson, Neil Hegeman, Lynn Cond, Rick Thompson, Dave Lockhart, Mike Cleary, Jim Hughes, Irv Sternberg, Richard Braiden, Bert Duncan, Jim Hughes, Marty Wamsley, coach Don Smith
In the West semis, top-seeded Waterloo thrashed 4th-seeded McMaster 81-52 as Paul Bilewicz scored 21, Mike Moser 20, Mike Zuwerkalow 6, Steve Ignativicius 8, Tom Kieswetter 8, Ed Dragan 5, Pat Woodburn 2, Bob Smeenk 2, Gord Wilson 2, Phil Schlote 2, Bob Simons 2 and Ed Talaj 1. The Warriors led 21-9, 40-19 and 60-34 at the quarters Waterloo coach Don McCrae told the Hamilton Spectator that ‘we just set up around the perimeter and dumped it in. It was YMCA ball.” McCrae told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “we got to them early this time and set the style of game instead of giving them a chance to confuse us. We did a few different things against them, like setting up around the perimeter, moving the ball inside and then jamming them.” The game also saw a near brawl erupt after Marauder Larry Lavalle leveled Warrior Tom Kieswettter. Marauders coach Bill Fowler said “I want to make it positively clear that we do not condone the behaviour of some of our players. These things happen when you become frustrated. … They played solid basketball. I was impressed with their defence and they took away our driving game. You saw us at our best and at our very worst.” Joe Martino paced the Marauders with 13. Sam Kaknevicius added 10, Herwig Baldauf 6, Mark Waugh 6, Frank Nagy 5, Larry Lavelle 5, Ed Krywionek 4 and Jim McCrory 2. The Marauders (coached by Bill Fowler, assisted by Mike Lavelle) also included Bob Nelson, John Miltenburg, Jerry Simpson and Tom Turty. Fowler said “we never controlled the game with our offence. It was an inability to negotiate an offence that hurt us. … It was the consequence of some flat practices this week. They weren’t taking this game seriously enough.”
In the other West semi, 2nd-seeded Windsor defeated 3rd-seeded Guelph 98-81 after coach Paul Thomas fired up his Lancers in a close 18-16 contest by launching into a verbal assault on referee Ron Foxcroft which drew a technical. Thomas claimed that Chris Coulthard had been hit by a Guelph player in the preceding play but his purpose clearly was to ignite his players, who responded with a 20-6 run to break the game open. Thomas told the Windsor Star that Foxcroft and Schomberg “got off to a bad start. I was unhappy about their work right off the bat. Chris Coulthard got hit by a Guelph player right in front of Foxcroft. That’s why I yelled at him.” Windsor led 46-32 by the half and in control. Bruce Coulthard scored 26 to lead the Lancers. Peter Mingay added 14, Walt Lozynsky 12, Jerry Sovran 11, Chris Coulthard 10, Tom Hogan 10, Walt Lozynsky 10, Ward Conway 3 and Ernie Hehn 2. Phil Smith led Guelph with 26. Wayne Morgan added 15, Bob Sharpe 11, Dennis Krawchuk 11, Paul Allen 8, Chester Graham 5, Dennis Zettler 4 and Mike Moxley 1. The Gryphons (coached by Garney Henley) also included Scott Taylor, Vic Juzenas, Al Grunys, Jeff Smith, Greg Leon and Wes Garrod. Windsor shot 41-85 from the floor and 16-19 from the line, while Guelph shot 32-77 from the floor and 17-26 from the line. Guelph coach Garney Henley said “the damned officials were intimidated (by Thomas). Foxcroft and Hugh Schomberg whistled Guelph star Wayne Morgan for four fouls in the first 12 minutes of play. … I know this will sound like sour grapes but we deserved better officiating that that. Those early fouls against Wayne upset our game plan. It’s just too bad both teams didn’t have a chance to play from a basketball-wise point of view.”
In the East semis, top-seeded Laurentian demolished 4th-seeded York, (which had qualified for the playoffs by virtue of outscoring Toronto 148-139 in the two games between the teams that tied 6-6 in the regular season standings), 84-54 as centre Paul Mousseau scored 24, Dan Cattapan 17 and Guy Vetrie 13. York was hampered by the loss of starter Vince Santoro, who broke his ankle in practice a day earlier, but led 38-27 at the half by dominating the boards. Bob Weppler paced the Yeomen with 21. Ev Spencer added 12. The Yeomen (coached by Bob McKinney, assisted by Greg Poole, manager Tony Moscato, manager Harold Wolkin) also included Bob Pike, Larry Feldman, Jeff Simbrow, Americo Coletta, Jerry Varsava, Peter Gordon, Rod Horner, Guy Thomas (who left the team midseason after a dispute with the coach), Brian Silverstein and Mike Peterdy.
In the other East semi, 2nd-seeded Carleton nipped 3rd-seeded Ottawa 61-59, with Frank Papai scoring the winning bucket with 38 seconds to go. Vince Lukenda missed a jumper at the buzzer that would have forced overtime. Lorne Bowles led the Ravens with 18. Jon Love added 12 and Jon Lefebure 10. Carleton led 37-32 at the half. Vince Lukenda led the Gee-Gees with 17. Ravens coach Bob O’Billovich told the Ottawa Journal that Lorne Bowles did a great defensive job on Gee-Gee Merv Sabey. “Bowles was just outstanding. Sabey is the type of player who can overpower you inside but Bowles shut him off pretty well. That was a major key to our win.” Gee-Gees coach George Potvin said “they deserved to win. We’ve lost the close ones all season. Maybe it’s my fault but Carleton is a better disciplined club than we are. I don’t mean to imply that they have more control over themselves but they execute better and a good example of that is the way they set up the winning basket. We had a good chance to tie it but we couldn’t set up properly. The Gee-Gees (coached by George Potvin) also included Mike Heale, Barry Mosley, Fabio Tolnneklo, Mike Davis, Vic Chandler, Todd Plaskacz, Gerry Ashe, John Plaskacz, Geoff Gruson, R Adams, D Cronin and Barry Mosley.
In the crossover semis, West regular season Waterloo defeated East regular season runner-up Carleton 73-61, a much closer margin than the 111-63 pasting the Warriors had laid on the Ravens in mid-November. Mike Moser paced the Warriors with 16. Paul Bilewicz added 16, Tom Kieswetter 12, Steve Ignatavicius 6, Pat Woodburn 4, Bob Smeenk 4, Bob Simons 4 and Phil Schlote 2, while Ed Dragan was scoreless. The Warriors led 36-28 at the half. Warriors coach Don McCrae told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record “that’s strictly tournament basketball we played out there. We certainly did not play well. You know, it’s like a carpenter, bricklayer and so on. They bring their tools with them when they go to work. We did not bring our tools to get the job done tonight.” Jon Love led the Ravens with 14. Dave Montagano added 12, Frank Papai 11, Drew Love 8, Jon Lefebure 6, Lorne Bowles 6, Graham Haig 2 and Jim Hall 2. The Warriors hit 32-69 (.460) from the floor, while the Ravens hit 22-72 (.300). Waterloo outrebounded Carleton 44-36. “If we had any kind of shooting percentage we would have won,” Ravens coach Bob O’Billovich told Canadian Press. “But the loss was certainly no discredit to our club. We gave them a helluva battle.”
In the other semi, West regular season runner-up Windsor destroyed East regular season champ Laurentian 104-60 with Bill Lozynsky and Walt Lozynsky, who grabbed 13 rebounds, each scoring 23. Peter Mingay added 14, Bruce Coulthard 13, Jerry Sovran 10, Chris Coulthard 6, Ernie Hehn 6, Tom Hogan 5 and Ward Conway 2. The Lancers hit Laurentian with a series of multiple defence and offences, totally confusing the young Voyageurs and dominating the contest. Windsor was ahead 49-24 at the half and a desperate Laurentian tried the press in the second half. But Windsor was totally unfazed and were soon ahead by 30. Guy Vetrie led the Voyageurs with 12. Mel Bishop added 12, Mike Visser 10, Paul Mousseau 8, Dan Cattapan 6, Grady 4, Chandler 2, Bob Gouley 2, Erik Anderson 2 and Bob Murphy 2. Windsor coach Paul Thomas told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “strange as it may seem, I was not happy with our executions. We were running paths and patterns instead of running plays like we can.” Voyageurs coach Ken Shields told Canadian Press that “we had a bad night … inexperience” the difference. The Lancers shot .500 from the floor, as compared to Laurentian’s 26-71 (.380), and hit 18-19 from the line. Shields told the Windsor Star “I knew they did everything well but I thought we would give them a much better game. Everybody in the country knows what they try to do. I wasn’t a matter of not knowing what they would do but a matter of adjusting to the things they do. We just didn’t adjust quickly enough.” The Voyageurs appeared nervous and tentative from the start. Lancers coach Paul Thomas told the Star “sure we scored lots of points but I was not at all happy with our execution. Instead of running plays, a lot of times, we just ran paths.” The Voyageurs committed 41 turnovers. Shields told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “we had a bad, bad night. We’re a much better team than that. Maybe our guys felt the pressure of playoff ball a little more.”
In the bronze medal match, Carleton defeated Laurentian 77-72 as Jon Love scored 22, Drew Love 16, Dave Montagano 15, Frank Papai 8, Lorne Bowles 6, Graham Haig 6, Jon Lefebure 2 and Jim Hall 2. Carleton led 34-33 at the half. George Chandler led the Voyageurs with 28. Paul Mousseau added 11, Dan Cattapan 10, Guy Vetrie 7, Mike Visser 6, Mel Bishop 4, Bob Gouley 2, Mike Grady 2 and Erik Anderson 2. The Voyageurs (coached by Ken Shields) also included Bob Murphy, George Corozes, Stan Lang, George Chandler, and Joe Corleo.
In the Wilson Cup final, Windsor nipped Waterloo 76-75 as Jerry Sovran hit two free throws with three seconds to go. Waterloo had twice defeated Windsor during the regular season and was ranked number one in the nation for the entire season. Waterloo led 41-36 at the half, 62-54 and 71-66 deep in the second half. Windsor took a 72-71 lead late in the contest on a bucket by Ernie Hehn. Hehn scored again to give Windsor a three-point lead before Moser powered up a bucket to cut the lead to one. With 41 seconds to go in the contest, Waterloo’s Ed Dragan stole the ball from Sovran and drove in for an uncontested layup to put Waterloo ahead by one. But after being fouled on the play by Coulthard, Dragan missed a free throw that would have given Waterloo a two-point lead. Windsor raced back down the floor and with five seconds to go Bruce Coulthard threw up a desperation shot from the corner. It went over the rim and fell into Sovran’s hands. As he leapt for a shot, Moser wheeled and according to referee Stan Crowley, fouled Sovran in the act of shooting. McCrae called time out to ice the Windsor captain. But he hit both free throws. Waterloo’s Steve Ignativicius inbounded the ball to Tom Kieswetter who dribbled twice to midcourt and heaved it at the basket. It bound of the front rim and Windsor was the victor. Sovran told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “I had two shots coming to me. Maybe that’s what made it a little easier. It’s a lot different when you go to the line with one and the bonus. In that case, you have to make the first one or you don’t get a second chance. I knew I could get one of the two. When that first one went down, it made me feel real good. Coach (Paul) Thomas wanted to know if I wanted a timeout between shots. I said ‘no way’.” Windsor was led by Bill Lozynsky paced Windsor with 18. Walt Lozynsky added 14, Ernie Hehn 11, Jerry Sovran 10, Peter Mingay 9, Chris Coulthard 6, Bruce Coulthard 6, and Tom Hogan 4. Tournament MVP Mike Moser paced Waterloo with 26. Moser missed several key free throws down the stretch which would have iced the game for the Warriors. Paul Bilewicz added 13, Tom Kieswetter 11, Steve Ignativicius 9, and former AUAA all-star and Mt. Allison star Bob Simons 10, Ed Dragan 6 and Mark Zuwerkalow 2. Moser said Sovran “was going for that last shot and I fouled him. What else can I say? I Also went a little cold at the foul line. That didn’t help.” Golden Hawks coach Don McCrae said “I won’t make good copy today, boys. I’m not placing the onus for the loss on anyone. They were ahead at the 40 minute mark. In my opinion, We still have the number one team. I’m not degrading them. They beat us today but we’re a better ball club. … (Bruce) Coulthard deserves a lot of credit. He wasn’t having a good day but he never got down on himself. A lot of players do when the ball isn’t going in the basket. And that Ward Conway, that little son of a gun played his heart out.” Lancers coach Paul Thomas said “it was a matter of who going to get the big break. We go it.”
Following the season, Royal Military College of Kingston is admitted to the league, while Waterloo Lutheran officially changes its name to Wilfrid Laurier.
Bob O’Billovich left the helm of the Carleton Ravens to assume the helm of the Ottawa Gee-Gees. George Potvin retired? Fired? O’Billovich was replaced by York assistant Greg Poole.
Bob McKinney resigns at York. He is replaced by Bob Bain.
The bronze medalist Carleton Ravens: Jon Love; Frank Papai; Carl Mitchell; Benjamin Sadavoy; Drew Love; Jon Lefebure; Lorne Bowles; John Morgan; Dave Montagano; Graham Haig; Jim Hall; Brian Beck; Paul Price; Brian White; coach Bob O’Billovich; manager Brian Rose
The silver medalist Waterloo Warriors: Mike Moser; Steve Ignatavicius; Tom Kieswetter; Pat Woodburn; Paul Bilewicz; Bob Smeenk; Gord Wilson; Ed Dragan; Ed Talaj; Phil Schlote; Bill Ross; Jim McLean; Mike Zuwerkalow; Fred Dimson; Bob Simons; Frank Moskal; coach Don McCrae
The champion Windsor Lancers: Jerry Sovran; Peter Mingay; Bruce Coulthard; Chris Coulthard; Bill Lozynsky; Walt Lozynsky; Ward Conway; Ernie Hehn; Tom Hogan; Brady Spetz; Paul Mazza; coach Paul Thomas