REGULAR SEASON

EAST       WEST        
  Ottawa 13-1 21-9 Bob O’Billovich Waterloo 10-2 27-8 Don McCrae  
  Toronto 12-2   John McManus Windsor 10-2   Paul Thomas  
  Laurentian 11-3 13-8 Ken Shields McMaster  8-4   Bill Fowler  
  York  7-7 10-15 Bob Bain Guelph  7-5 16-10 Garney Henley  
  Carleton  6-8  9-17 Greg Poole Wilfrid Laurier  5-7   Don Smith  
  Ryerson  4-10   Ed DeArmon Brock  2-10 12-18 Les Korchok  
  Queen’s  2-12   Geoff Smith Western  0-12   Jerry Gonser  
  RMC-Kingston  1-13   Ray Bootland          
                   

In January, 1974, the OUAA administrative council, which consists of the directors of athletics at the OUAA universities, decided the formula that will be used to determine the OUAA’s entries in the CIAU basketball championship. The two entries from the OUAA will be the two finalist teams in the OUAA championship. Each section in the OUAA holds its own playoffs. The first-place team in each section meets the fourth-place team in its section (series A), while the second-place team in each section meets the third-place team in its section (series b). The winners of these two series in each section will meet in a four team, single elimination tournament, to be held at the home of the winner of series A in the eastern section. in the OUAA championship tournament the winner of series A in the West will meet the winner of series B from the East, while series A winner from the East will play the winner of series B from the West. The two teams that meet in the final of the OUAA championship will automatically advance into championship tournament.

       In September, 1973, Carleton appoints Greg Poole as coach of the Ravens. Poole was assistant at York University the previous season, and assistant to John Kootnekoff at Simon Fraser the two previous years. He played four years at Western and was a 2nd-team OUA all-star in 1968.

Playoff non-qualifiers:

       Brock Badgers: Ken Murray, Vytas Kazragis, Jim Nelligan, Dale Hajou, Gary Sharpe, Bernie Buschmann, Bob Dunton, Phil Lewis, Paul Barrell, John Corlett, Gord Banting, Joost Gragtmans, coach Les Korchok

       Carleton Ravens: Jon Love, Drew Love, Paul Armstrong, Graham Haig, George Bowles, Carl Mitchell, Rick Bell, Ross Montagano, Graham MacMillan, Ian Stark, Paul Johnson, John Mitchell, Jim Hall, Fred Zambon, coach Greg Poole, assistant Devon Woods, assistant Graham Smart

       Queen’s Golden Gaels: Derek Swinnard, Norm Hagarty, Rob Smart, John Keck, Stewart Beck, Corky McCleery, Pat Harris, Andy Christie, Ken Sagadore, Bruce Nickel, Dale Sanderson, Paul Morneault, John Muir, Lorenz Paulson, Dave Reid, Paul Morneault, coach Geoff Smith

       Royal Military College Paladins: Roger Haag, Phil Eivemark, Jim Bureaux, Barry Lane, Steve Christiansen, Mike Maxwell, Bill Sargeant, Jim Gerhart, Ralph Meyer, Guy Robson, Bob Henderson, Ken Jones, Mike Vinnins, Leroy Clarke

       Ryerson Rams: Rick Hagerman, Bill Barlow, Bob Copeman, Jim Erickson, David Fogolin, Jim Greene, Trav Lytle, Wayne McIntosh, Alex Pickering, Mike Simpson, Eric Sorenson, Tom Tuttle, Gene Venskaitis, John West, Dale Barker, coach Ed DeArmon

       Western Mustangs: Wally Kurnew, Gary Curgin, Joe Martino, John Corrente, Mike Savage, Brock Carleton, Bob Clark, Phil Monckton, David McCabe, Dave Brown, John Dow, Dave Glennie, Ted Fuller, John Brinkman, Frank Gaspar, coach Jerry Gonser

       Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks: Rod Dean, Rick Thompson, Dave Lockhart, Bert Vancook, Paul Lattanzio, Paul South, Neil Hegeman, Lynn Cond, John Dimhoff, Joe Macrito, Brian Kane, Dave Miller, Rich Hood, Mike Pierce, Peter Cameron, Dave Levac, Marty Wamsley, Jim Wendland, coach Don Smith

In the West semis, the top-seeded Waterloo Warriors thrashed the 4th-seeded Guelph Gryphons 84-78 as Mike Moser scored 29, Trevor Briggs 22, Bob Simons 11, Robert Smeenk 9, Schlote 4, Larman 4, Scott 2 and Zuwerkalow 2. Guelph led 34-30 but three buckets by Trevor Briggs, a pair from Smeenk and a free throw by Simons turned the game around. The Warriors opened the second half with a 6-0 run to take command. Warriors coach Don McCrae told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “I was a little worried when Mike (Moser) got into foul trouble early. However, Smeenk and Simons really did a job for us. (Guelph) seemed to get a little tired whereas our guys became comfortable after some scrambling during the first half.” Bob Sharpe paced Guelph with 35. Phil Smith added 10, Jeff Smith 9, Henry Vandenberg 6, Dennis Krawchuk 6, Paul Allen 4, Bill Henry 4 and Al Grunys 4. The Warriors led 41-26 at the half and 65-56 after three quarters. Gryphons coach Garney Henley said “we used a little more one-on-one stuff. We did a pretty good job with some of the changes despite having only two days to put them in. We could have used a little more scoring punch from somebody other that (Bob) Sharpe too.” The Gryphons (coached by Garney Henley, assisted by Dick Brown, Doug Dodd and Kevin Dunlop, manager Al Baker, manager Brian Evans, trainer Fred Dunbar) also included Ambrose Campana, Vic Juzenas, Bob Sharpe, Bob McKinnon, Gene Wolkowski, Greg Leon and Scott Taylor.

In the other West semi, the 2nd-seeded Windsor Lancers defeated the 3rd-seeded McMaster Marauders 79-72 as Jerry Sovran scored 20, Chris Coulthard 11, Ernie Hehn 11, Dan Devin 7, Tom Hogan 6, Roger Adams 6, Bill Lozynsky 6, Brady Spetz 4, Charley Pearsall 4 and Dave Roth 4. The Lancers hit 34-81 from the floor and 11-15 from the line. Lancers coach Paul Thomas told the Windsor Star that “a lot of the credit for this victory has to go to Sovran. He does everything for us, scores key baskets and clutch foul shots, draws fouls and rebounds with the best players in the league. … It was not one of our better games. We were guilty of a lot of mistakes that won’t show up in the statistics. I thought we played good defence most of the time but there were times when we’d slack off and give them some easy baskets.” Dave Roser led the Marauders with 21. Herwig Baldauf added 16, Sam Kaknevicius 13, Indrek Kongats 11, Jim Lane 5, Tim Tufford 4 and Brian McTaggart 2. The Marauders hit 29-79 from the floor and 14-21 from the line. The Marauders (coached by Bill Fowler) also included John Mallon, Keith Heemskerk, Chris Hunter, Bob Nelson and Paul Mitchell. Fowler told the Hamilton Spectator that “we alternated offences more than we had Saturday (a regular season-ending 100-87 loss to the Lancers) and it was a bit more effective. It was their overall inside game that hurt us.”

       In the East semis, top-seeded Ottawa dumped 4th-seed York 65-57 after rallying from a 34-31 half-time deficit. Dave Cronin notched a 7-0 run down the stretch as the Gee-Gees rallied and pulled out the win. York led 11-0 early and led 34-31 at the half. “I was just lucky,” Cronin told the Ottawa Journal. Gee-Gees coach Bob O’Billovich said “York cam ready to play. You have to give them a lot of credit.” After Ottawa took the lead in the final quarter, Jeff Simbrow cut the margin to three with four minutes to play but Todd Plaskacz and Barry Mosley responded for buckets for the Gee-Gees. Dave Cronin led the Gee-Gees with 16. Merv Sabey added 14, along with 19 boards, Pat Woodburn 10, Barry Mosley 8, Frank Papai 5, Todd Plaskacz 4, John Plaskacz 4, Mike Davis 2 and John Huff 2. Jeff Simbrow and Vince Santoro each scored 14 to lead the Yeomen. Ev Spence added 12, Romeo Calegaro 9, Mike Betcherman 6 and Sam Brutto 2. Ottawa hot 29-66 from the floor, while York was 25-53. Ottawa outrebounded York 39-23. Yeomen coach Bob Bain told The Excalibur “it was our best effort of the season. I was proud of the way we played out there.” The Yeomen (coached by Bob Bain) also included Branko Samsa, Brian Silverstein, Guy Thomas, Nick Delprincipe, Tony Colovonlos, Jeff Simbrow and Ed Lane.

In the other East semi, 3rd-seeded Laurentian nipped 2nd-seeded Toronto 73-72 despite having had fog force the cancellation of their flight, prompting the Voyageurs to make a five-hour bus trip to the Queen City. The win avenged a pair of regular season losses to the Blues. Laurentian led by eight for most of the first half and extended the margin to 14 before Toronto rallied back to trim the margin to 32-30 at the half on the perimeter shooting of Doug Fox. Laurentian rebuilt its lead to eight on the perimeter shooting of Mel Bishop and Don Charuba before a Toronto run gave the Blues a 63-60 lead with six minutes to play. But the Voyageurs stole the ball and outscored the Blues 13-9 over the final four minutes. They took a 71-70 lead on a 20-footer by Mel Bishop. A rushed shot by Glenn Scott hit the rim and Bishop added another bucket after Charuba nabbed the rebound. Doug Fox scored at the buzzer to trim the final margin to one. Paul Mousseau led Laurentian with 21. Mel Bishop added 15, Don Charuba 14, Mike Visser 12 and Erik Anderson 10. Doug Fox led Toronto with 20. Randy Filinski added 12, Brian Skyvington 14, Glenn Scott 10, centre Frank Cress 8, Arvo Albo 2, Rich Kurczyk 2, Tony Rudmik 2 and Bill Birnbaum 2. The Blues (coached by John McManus) also included Doug Baker, Rick Hoyle, Rick Hollowell, Munk Gourlie, Alex McCormick and Peter Oolup.

       In the crossover semis, West champ Waterloo thrashed Laurentian 80-63 as Mike Moser scored 25, Bob Simons 20, Trevor Briggs 8, Phil Goggins 6, Phil Schlote 5, Bob Smeenk 4, Ed Dragan 4, Don Larman 4, Mike Zuwerakalow 2 and Ed Talaj 2. Don Charuba paced the Voyageurs with 18. Mel Bishop added 14, Mike Visser 10, Paul Mousseau 9, Jeff Bennett 6, Eric Anderson 4 and Mike Heale 2.

In the other semi, East champ Ottawa nipped Windsor 72-68 despite trailing 41-27 at the half. Early in the second half, the Gee-Gees went on a 10-0 run to take a 47-43 lead that they never relinquished as Windsor essentially fell apart in the second half. Ottawa hit 25-66 from the floor (.380) and 22-36 from the line, while Windsor shot 29-62 (.460) from the floor and 10-19 from the line. Dave Cronin hit two field goals and two free throws in 1.5 as the Gee-Gees took command with 2:30 to play. “We have some trouble getting up for some of the games against teams in our own division,” Cronin told the Ottawa Journal. “But we don’t have any problems getting psyched up for teams from the West.” Gee-Gees coach Bob O’Billovich told the Journal “we went to ball control with about four minutes to go because our guards were handling the ball so well. We waited for the clear shots and the one-on-ones, which is how Dave got in for a lot of his.” Windsor coach Paul Thomas said that “Ottawa was just more physical than we were. We had 62 shots tonight. Now, we try to average around 90. Ottawa had a lot to do with that.” The Gee-Gees had 21 steals. Dave Cronin paced the Gee-Gees with 25 on 10-16 from the floor. Merv Sabey added 16, Frank Papai 10, Pat Woodburn 9, Barry Morley 6, John Plaskacz 2, Paul Hubbard 2 and Mike Davis 2. Chris Coulthard and Jerry Sovran each scored 16 to pace Windsor. Tom Hogan added 10, Bill Lozynsky 9, Ernie Hehn 4, Roger Adams 4 and Charlie Pearsall 4. The Lancers also included Dave Roth and Dan Denvin. Thomas told the Windsor Star that “this team is so unpredictable. … We made mistakes tonight that no team should make at this stage of the season and ironically, it was some of our more experienced players who played the worst … like being unable to bring the ball up the floor and missing six potential foul shots in the last 17 seconds. You certainly can’t blame any one person for this loss. Everybody contributed to it in one way or another.” O’Billovich said “our defence was superb.”

In the bronze medal match, Laurentian defeated Windsor 74-71 as Mike Visser scored 18, Eric Anderson 16, Paul Mousseau 15, Jeff Bennett 10, Don Charuba 10, Mike Heale 3 and Bob Gouley 2. The Voyageurs hit 24-35 from the line. Windsor led 15-3 early but then fell apart. The Voyageurs led 33-27 at the half and 56-46 after three quarters. Lancers coach Paul Thomas told the Windsor Star that “I honestly don’t know what to say. I didn’t recognize this team at all. … We tried everything in our playbook, both offensively and defensively, but we were unable to execute anything properly. We were not sharp in either phase of our game … Maybe we’ve been underestimating the Eastern division clubs all along. Maybe they’re catching up with us.” Brady Spetz paced the Lancers with 20. Chris Coulthard added 17, Jerry Sovran 12, Bill Lozynsky 9, Ernie Hehn 5, Tom Hogan 4, Dave Roth 3, Dan Devin 2 and Charlie Pearsall 1. Windsor hit 17-28 from the line. The Lancers (coached by Paul Thomas, assisted by Nick Grabowski) also included Tom Hogan, Roger Adams and David Roth.

       In the Wilson Cup final, Waterloo thrashed Ottawa by 37 as the Warriors shot a torrid .540 (35-64) from the floor and 23-29 from the line. Trevor Briggs led Waterloo with 21, while Mike Moser, selected tourney MVP for the second straight year, added 19, Bob Simons 16, Bob Smeenk 8, Ed Dragan 6, Don Larman 5, Phil Goggins 5, Fred Dimson 4, Mike Zuwerkalow 3, Ed Talaj 2, Jeff Scott 2 and Phil Schlote 2. Merv Sabey led Ottawa with 16. John Huff added 10, Pat Woodburn 9, John Plaskacz 8, Paul Hubbard 4, high-scoring Dave Cronin just 4, Mike Davis 4 and Barry Mosley 1. Briggs scored 16 in the first half as Waterloo built a 41-26 lead and then coasted to the easy win. Gee-Gees coach Bob O’Billovich said Waterloo “just played a super ball game. It was just one of those nights where you have a bad game and the opposition plays good ball.” O’Billovich told the Ottawa Journal that “we held (Moser) to 19 points. That’s 10 less than his average but he still hurt us in so many ways. They just shot the lights out of the basket. There was just no question as to which team was better.”

       The bronze medalist Laurentian Voyageurs: Paul Mousseau; Mel Bishop; Don Charuba; Mike Visser; Erik Anderson; Al Tekoniemi; Guy Vetrie (who left the team mid-season); Jeff Bennett; Mike Heale; Bob Gouley; Eric Anderson; Jeff Attwood; George Chandler; coach Ken Shields

       The silver medalist Ottawa Gee-Gees: Merv Sabey; Pat Woodburn; Barry Mosley; Dave Cronin; Paul Hubbard; John Huff; Frank Papai; Mike Davis; John Plaskacz; Todd Plaskacz; Dan Patterson; Rick Wasson; coach Bob O’Billovich, assistant Hank Tatarchuk, assistant Lorne Lennox, manager Dave McDonald

       The champion Waterloo Warriors: Trevor Briggs; Mike Moser; Ed Dragan; Phil Goggins; Jim McLean; Franklin Moskal; Phil Schlote; Jeff Scott; Bob Simons; Robert Smeenk; Ed Talaj; Mike Zuwerkalow; Don Larman; Fred Dimson; coach Don McCrae; assistant Court Heinbuch; assistant Tom Kieswetter