REGULAR SEASON
| E – OTT-ST L | WEST | ||||||||
| Concordia | 13-2 | John Dore | Guelph | 13-1 | 29-7 | Tim Darling | |||
| Bishop’s | 10-5 | 15-13 | Eddie Pomykala | Western | 12-2 | 32-3 | Craig Boydell | ||
| Carleton | 9-6 | 15-16 | Paul Armstrong | McMaster | 9-5 | Barry Phillips | |||
| Ottawa | 7-8 | 13-16 | Jack Eisenmann | Brock | 6-8 | 19-12 | Ken Murray | ||
| McGill | 2-13 | 5-21 | Ken Schildroth | Waterloo | 6-8 | 13-18 | Don McCrae | ||
| E – CENTRAL | Lakehead | 6-8 | 14-16 | Lou Pero | |||||
| Laurentian | 11-4 | Peter Campbell | Wilfrid Laurier | 3-11 | Gary Jeffries | ||||
| Toronto | 10-5 | Ken Olynyk | Windsor | 1-13 | Wayne Curtin | ||||
| York | 6-9 | 12-22 | Bob Bain | ||||||
| Queen’s | 6-9 | Barry Smith | |||||||
| Ryerson | 1-14 | 1-16 | Terry Haggerty | ||||||
The OUAA again restructured itself, reducing the number of regular season games to 15 from 18, with Ontario-St. Lawrence teams playing each other three times, and facing Quebec teams just once. The aim was to reduce travel costs. “There was a lot of concern over (the athletes’) time away from school, as well as the costs of the trips,” Carleton intercollegiate coordinator John Wilson told the Charlatan.
Playoff non-qualifiers:
McGill Redmen: Paul Brosseau, Jamie Simon, Bruce McElroy, Bruce Bird, Cam Mathison, Tim Beke, Paul Meyer, Michael Millman, Mark Alessio, Todd McDougall, Douglas McMahon, David Jespersen, Keith Driscoll, Michael Mayes, Peter Brackenberry, coach Ken Schildroth, assistant Claude Briere, assistant Vincent Lacroix, assistant Bernie Rosanelli
Ryerson Rams: Mark Thompson, Andrew Taylor, Bill Price, Cleveland Lynch, Phil Holjak, Mike Woud, Darrel Van Laare, Tracy Reece, Wayne Purboo, Brian Rose, Robert Kalac, Otis Morgan, Sean Noonan, Brendan O’Hallarn, Peter Thomas, coach Terry Haggerty, assistant Norm Clarke, assistant Brad Riley
Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks: Mark Alessio, Dan Deep, Steven Duncan, Wayne Trudeau, Tim Smith, Brad Johnston, Shawn Roach, Derrick Shirley, Alex Thornton, Mario Venditti, Rob Demeter, Sean Brennan, Chris Livingstone, Mark Bullock, Jeff Miller, Andre Baptiste, Chris Speyer, coach Gary Jeffries, assistant Tom O’Brien, assistant Roy Dahl
Windsor Lancers: Chris Daly, Dennis Byrne, Geoff Astles, Mike Ogley, Everton Shakespeare, Kris Pauley, James Pepper, Geoff Hewick, Kim Elliott, Andrew Johnson, Dave Walls, Steve Blazevic, Graham Brown, coach Wayne Curtin, assistant Gerry Brumpton, assistant Dan Hollerhead
In the West quarterfinals, 3rd-seeded McMaster defeated 6th-seeded Lakehead 77-69 as Ed Madronich scored 24, Jack VanderPol 20, along with 18 boards, Shawn Till 12 and Sheldon Laidman 9. The Marauders led 37-29 at the half and took command with a 10-0 run in the second half. Marauder point guard Rupert Wilson was on the floor for the first time since breaking an ankle in December. He scored 2 but was on the floor during the decisive run. Wilson told the Hamilton Spectator that “yeah, I noticed that too. I really didn’t have much to do with that but was sure nice to be out there.” The Marauders outrebounded the Norwesters 45-36. Lakehead coach Lou Pero said “it was a gutty performance. I don’t know if he gave them a lift or not but he played pretty good for a guy on one leg. …. If there was a difference, it was on the offensive boards. They were converting their second chances and we weren’t.” Leslie Ragguette paced the Norwesters with 19. Ray Foster added 16, Mike Lalonde 12 and Jeff Byerley 10. The Norwesters (coached by Lou Pero) also included Peter Buchan, Jason Byerley, Chris Grace, Dave Pineau, Steve Riddle, Rodney Wells, Peter Brown, Jerry Lawlor, Brian Norland, Brian Tees and Mike Connolly.
In the other West quarterfinal, 4th-seeded Brock defeated 5th-seeded Waterloo 75-66. The Warriors took an early lead as Sean Van Koughnett scored eight straight points but Waterloo soon found itself in horrible foul trouble. Brock took a 35-31 lead at the half by effectively pounding the ball into the paint. “That was a good sign for us,” Badgers coach Ken Murray told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record. Waterloo briefly trimmed the margin to two but soon began committing turnovers and Brock took command on a Gord Wood jam. They stretched their lead to 11 and romped to a comfortable win. Gord Wood led the Badgers with 26, while nabbing 11 boards. Dave Dennis added 20, Rob DeMott 11, Ray Tone 10 and Ed Spera 8. Dennis told the St. Catharines Standard that “as a team effort, it was our best of the year. We played well defensively and we played together offensively. And you have to give credit to Ed (Spera) and Glen (Tone) who did a great job off the bench.” Murray said “we finally got what we wanted all year – Dennis and Wood to play together. Gord was the key in the first half, Dave in the second. And when we went with three big men (Wood, Dennis and Spera) that confused them. Ed played a tough game and seems to have found his game again. Glen (Gord?) missed some shots but those shots opened up the inside for us.” Van Koughnett notched 40 for Waterloo on 7-15 from the floor, 7-11 from the arc, and 7-15 from the line. Waterloo committed 21 turnovers and Brock 13. VanKoughnett said “it doesn’t matter how many points I score if the team loses.” Warriors coach Don MacCrae told the Imprint that “the players pushed hard in the last two weeks to play well. We were partially rewarded but it was unfortunate to have it end at Brock. We seemed to be getting more and more warped. We had to go to Sean all the time because others were shooting at sub-par and were having elementary problems.” The Warriors (coached by McCrae, assisted by Tom Kieswetter, Tom Schneider and Mike Kilpatrick) also included Dave Rosebush, Alex Urosevic, Jason Poag, Mike Duarte, John Hamilton, Chris Moore, Robert Baird, Cam Thomas, Mike Dvoracek and Bruce Van Loon.
In the West semis, 2nd-seeded Western defeated 3rd-seeded McMaster 111-81. The Marauders (coached by Barry Phillips) included Jack Vanderpol, Greg Caldwell, Jeff Zownir, Ed Madronich, Shawn Till, Rupert Wilson, Derek Howard, Craig Connolly, Sheldon Laidman, Randy Hillmer, Lance Postma, Greg Nekkers and Kris Kernaghan.
In the other West semi, top-seeded Guelph thumped 4th-seeded Brock 104-64 as Dave Sherwood scored 20, Darren Thomas 13 and Brent Barnhart 12. Guelph led 14-2 early and 50-17 at the half. The Gryphons hit 39-68 from the floor and 21-32 from the line. The Badgers hit 24-64 from the floor and 16-21 from the line. Gryphons coach Tim Darling told the St. Catharines Standard that “I didn’t anticipate us playing to that high level.” Gord Wood paced the Badgers with 15. Rob DeMott added 13. Badgers coach Ken Murray said “they outplayed us in every phase of the game in the first half. I don’t think we did one thing right in the first half. It’s very discouraging from a coaching standpoint and it had to be very discouraging from a playing standpoint not to be able to muster up anything. There was not even one positive thing that happened in that first half.” The Badgers (coached by Ken Murray) also included David Dennis, Marc Vijh, Kevin Stevenson, Ed Spera, Joe Dekker, Stath Koumoutseas, Kevin Rome, Pat Sullivan, John Pilling, Chuck McMahon, Dave McKay and Glen Tone.
In the West final, 2nd-seeded Western nipped top-seeded Guelph 83-80 as John Stiefelmeyer scored 23 and Brian Does 17, including the winning hoop with 45 seconds to play. Dave Sherwood led Guelph with 23. Eric Hammond added 20.
In the Central semis, top-seeded Laurentian defeated 4th-seeded Queen’s 88-73. Laurentian led 39-36 at the half and put the game out of reach in the final 10 minutes. “It was always a 2-3-point ball game,” said Queen’s coach Barry Smith. “We were a couple of times, they were up, then somewhere around eight or nine minutes left to go they got up three or four and all of sudden they opened the lead to eight. That was basically the ball game. We tried to go after them. We had five guards in at one point trying to put up threes.” The Gaels hit 3-11 from the arc. Norm Hann led the Voyageurs with 25. Brad Hann added 15. The Gaels attack was hampered when Doug Laughton, star gunner, fouled out with six minutes to play. Laughton led Queen’s with 17. Mike Burleigh added 15 and James Reynolds 12. The Gaels (coached by Barry Smith) also included Denny Palarchio, Kevin Bellamy, James Reynolds, Eric Stewart, Adam Fox, Gerry Groen, Steve Monaghan, Dean Medeiros, Judd Rasmussen, Chris DeVriendt, Carl Mastomaki, Dave Pritchard and Andrew Williams.
In the other Central semi, 2nd-seeded Toronto defeated 3rd-seeded York 94-76 as Gunars Balodis scored 27. “We can go out and celebrate for about three hours, then we have to start thinking about Laurentian,” Blues basketball coach Ken Olynyk said. The Blues led 18-6 early. York rallied to within 35-31 before Toronto regained control at 45-36 heading into the lockers. The Blue sput the game away with four treys early in the second half. York coach Bob Bain told The Excalibur that it was “a tough loss. They outmatched us in every way. Their whole squad played a strong game but Balodis was the difference … they played Mark (Bellai) very well. But inside and outside, they really closed the lid on him. He did get some shots but unfortunately, none of them were dropping. Tonight was a rough game for him.” Clive Anderson said “we played a hard game. I thought that when we brought it to within four (at 35-31), we had a shot but we just couldn’t pull it off.” The Yeomen (coached by Bob Bain) also included Alex Piperski, Chris Pollman, Andrew Ebanks, Mathew Morten, Alex Brainis, Marty McCrone, Kevin Gallivan, Don Taylor, Jeff Krupski and Peter Sarellas.
In the Central final, top-seeded Laurentian defeated 2nd-seeded Toronto 77-62. Norm Hann paced Laurentian with 19. Gunars Balodis led Toronto with 21. Blues coach Ken Olynyk told the Varsity that his troops were undone by “anxiety,” which led to 12 turnovers and off-shooting night. The Blues (coached by Ken Olynyk, assisted by Peter Domengoni, Bernie Offstein and John Robb) also included Linas Balaisis, Scott Bleue, Jason Ciceri, Dan Conrad, Peter Nkansah, Dave Sutcliffe, Rob Wilson, Trent Arendse, Howard Buckstein, Chris Dennis, Rich Dobson, Kurt McIntosh, Gunars Balodis and Chris Somerville.
In the Ottawa-St. Lawrence semis, top-seeded Concordia defeated 4th-seeded Ottawa 86-73. The Gee-Gees had rallied back within 70-67 and had the ball with six minutes to play but then fell apart as they were outscored 9-0 over the next three minutes. “It’s the same every time we play them,” coach John Dore told the Montreal Gazette. “They’re got good athletes. They’ve got good big men.” But fold down the stretch, was the unspoken phrase. The Stingers were playing without Mike Cohee but had enough depth to withstand the Gee-Gees. Ottawa had taken a 10-2 lead at the start and were ahead 37-36 with six minutes to play in the first half when Emerson Thomas nailed three treys to give the Stingers at lead at the half. Thomas finished with 15 points, including 11 in the first half. Nick Arvanitis added 17 and Dino Perin 16. Bill Shane and Carlos ‘Bobby’ Brown each notched 19 to lead the Gee-Gees. Shane also nabbed 13 boards. Dore noted that his troops “didn’t shoot very well from outside. We really needed to make a few outside shots to open up the middle but we were never able to manage that. Thomas was the only guy who was shooting well from outside. Robert Ferguson was cold and Pat Sullivan, who’s usually our best three-point shooter, couldn’t make anything.” The Gee-Gees (coached by Jack Eisenmann, assisted by David DeAveiro and Eric Tiessen, weights Dave Ablack, strength & conditioning Brad Norris, manager Robert Stark, trainer Lyne Corbeil, doctor Gary Greenburg) also included Chris Lemcke, Rod Lee, Teddy Weltz, Clarence Porter, Vince Smyth, Kevin McNamara, Dave Howell, Brian Samuel, Mark Gallagher, Adrian Bradbury, Pierre Renaud, Jerome Chambers, Ed Botchwey, Gary Laurin, John Walsh and Felix Weeks.
In the other Ottawa-St. Lawrence semi, 2nd-seeded Bishop’s defeated 3rd-seeded Carleton 70-58 as Pierre Tibblin scored 22, Jeff Harris 15, Ted Branch 12 and Tim Johnston 12. Taffe Charles paced the Ravens with 13, Mike McInrue 12, Larry Elliott 11 and Mike Trought 11. The Gaiters led 38-21 at the half. Coach Eddie Pomykala told the Montreal Gazette that his troops “didn’t play well. But maybe it’s for the best. If we had played two perfect halves, we might not have had anything left for Sunday.” Ravens coach Paul Armstrong was at a loss to explain Carleton’s inability to play with teams from Quebec. “I tell you one thing, it is a different style of play, a little more aggressive.” Bishop’s led 38-21 at the half. “In the second half (we went to) a more half-court trapping defence but it wasted a lot of energy,” Armstrong said. Carleton couldn’t get closer than six points. “Six was a barrier we just couldn’t break,” said Mike Trought. The Ravens (coached by Armstrong, assisted by Andy Cheam and Hugh Reid) also included Paul Chaplin, Michael Hatcher, Scott Wykes, Wayne Ferguson, Geoff Wheeler, Justin Fontaine, Steve Brown, Stepan Dever, Nat Garrow and Jeff Cressman.
In the Ottawa-St. Lawrence final, top-seeded Concordia defeated 2nd-seeded Bishop’s 97-68 by taking complete control in the second half. “We played without thinking. We just went out and did it,” forward Michael Cohee told the Montreal Gazette. “We’re the kind of team that gets into trouble when we think about what we’re doing on the court. With us, it’s a good old street-ball approach to the game.” Nick Arvanitis, who paced the Stingers with 21 on 9-14 from the field and 3-3 from the line, said the squad was determined to avenge a regular season loss. “We have a few scores to settle with teams that have beaten us this year.” Bishop’s coach Eddie Pomykala said “we felt good going into the game.” Less so, after. Concordia coach John Dore said “we kept changing our defence to keep them off-balance and we did a great job of keeping (Pierre) Tibblin off-balance.” Tibblin was held to 12 points and 5-15 from the floor. The Gaiters were also affected by starting Dave Fisher having picked up two quick fouls in the game’s first two minutes. With Fisher on the bench, Arvanitis and Dino Perrin had free rein in the paint as Concordia built a 44-33 lead at the half. Bishop’s clawed back to within seven but Dexter John drove the court for a three-point play to ignite a decisive Concordia run. Arvanitis said he was determined to make an impact. “I wanted to play well because I wasn’t happy with the way I played in the last game. That was a case of Bishop’s doing a job on me like we did on Tibblin today. I played well. But I think it was a case of everybody playing well today.” Perrin added 18 for Concordia. Robert Ferguson notched 12, Ernie Rosa 12, Dexter John 11 and Mike Cohee 11. Tibblin, Ted Branch and Jeff Harris each notched 12 for the Gaiters. Dave McBride added 10. The Gaiters (coached by Pomykala, assisted by Bob Laderoute) also included Mark McAuley, David Fisher, Tim Johnston, Tom Van Alstine, Daniel Methot, Scott Ride, Brennan Wares, David McBride, Colin Feasby, Glen Faucher and Darren Horsman; coach Eddie Pomykala; assistant Bob Laderoute
In the Central-Ottawa-St. Lawrence playoff, Concordia defeated Laurentian 102-83 as Nick Arvanitis scored 29 points and nabbed 14 boards. “If Nick isn’t an all-Canadian this year, it will be a travesty,” Voyageurs coach Peter Campbell told the Montreal Gazette. Arvanitis said “I’m just happy to have given them a good game. I’m happy that we won in our last game here this season. And I think it was entertaining for the fans. … People tell me that I should get the All-Canadian but I don’t think about it. If it comes, fine. To me, what’s important is winning another national championship. I would be happier with that.” The Stingers running game left the Voyageurs gasping for air. They led 52-38 at the half and by as many as 24 early in the second half. “I’m just glad (John Dore) had the right people on the court at the end so we could get inside 20 points,” said Campbell. “We sure weren’t going to do it by ourselves.” Ernie Rosa added 20 points and 10 boards for Concordia. Robert Ferguson notched 17. Norm Hann led the Voyageurs with 21, including four from beyond the arc.
In the Wilson Cup, Western defeated Concordia 98-97. The Mustangs capitalized on a 17-2 run midway through the first half to take a big lead and then held on for the win. Guard James Green scored 23 for Western. John Stiefelmeyer added 21 and Dave Ormerod 17 to earn player of the game honours. Western trailed 28-18 but held Concordia scoreless for next four minutes as they finally got on track. Western led 54-47 at the half and extended their lead to as many as 13 before Concordia rallied down the stretch. Brian Does hit a pair of free throws to give the Western a 98-94 lead. Robert Ferguson hit a trey at the buzzer to trim the final margin to one. Nick Arvanitis paced Concordia with 27. Robert Ferguson, Dexter John and Dino Perrin each added 17.
In May, 1991, the OUA announces that it will discontinue the interlock with Quebec schools. “The basic concern that we have – not only by us but by universities across Canada – is the travel commitment time that it takes to go to Quebec,” said OUAA president Wally Delahey. And according to Bob Pugh, executive vice-president of the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union, the decision was also financial. Athletic departments all over the country have been cutting budgets, he said. But McGill University athletic director Robert Dubeau doesn’t see it that way. He told Canadian Press the move would be “viewed as another slap in the face to Quebec.” Since 1988, Concordia, McGill and Bishop’s have been in the OUAA basketball league while Trois-Rivieres, Concordia and McGill have been playing Ontario teams in hockey. According to the OUAA, the ’88 arrangement was supposed to be a temporary one until Quebec could set up a better schedule there. In a press release, the OUAA cited a report by the Ontario Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics to the Council of Ontario Universities that raised concerns about the travel and time commitments made by the student-athletes and the impact on school work.
The co-bronze medalist Laurentian Voyageurs: Norm Hann; Rod Gilpin; John Campbell; Chris Fisher; Brad Hann; Mike Short; Derek Sharpe; Walter Johnson; Dwayne Rivard; Chris Kilbride; Dave Gomes; Greg Sandblom; Blaine Rutland; David Gardiner; Brad Rollo; Mark Cain; coach Peter Campbell; assistant Angelo Mazzuchin
The co-bronze medalist Guelph Gryphons: Dave Sherwood; Eric Hammond; Brent Barnhart; Tim Mau; Kurt Vanclief; Shawn Taras; Steve Cuevas; Brian Moore; Ray Darling; Chris O’Rourke; Kevin Larose; Jason Myles; Ken Ferguson; Garnet Williams; Steve Hinkson; Scott Bales; Darren Thomas; coach Tim Darling; assistant Dave MacNeil; assistant Larry MacDonald; assistant Ray Kybartas
The runner-up Concordia Stingers: Nick Arvanitis; Michael Cohee; Dexter John; Dino Perrin; Robert Ferguson; Patrick Sullivan; Emerson Thomas; Ernest Rosa; Charlie Mason; Raphael Tyrell; John Rimple; Roberto Feig; Conroy Barnes; coach John Dore; assistant Harvey Liverman; athletic director Bob Philip; SID Mike Hickey
The champion Western Mustangs: John Stiefelmeyer; James Green; Brian Does; Dave Ormerod; Glenn Eastland; Ryan Smith; Aaron Czaja; Peter VandeBovenkamp; Steve King; Mike Yuhasz; Mike Partridge; Mike Lynch; Bob Hitchon; Brendan Noonan; Brian Does; coach Craig Boydell; assistant Jim Allen; assistant Carl Grindstadt; trainer Terri Todd; manager Marli Pinneau; manager Cindy Mar; SID Fred Smith; athletic director Darwin Semotiuk