REGULAR SEASON
| EAST | WEST | ||||||||
| Toronto | 9-3 | 24-12 | Ken Olynyk | Guelph | 12-2 | 24-16 | Tim Darling | ||
| Laurentian | 9-3 | 18-10 | Peter Campbell | McMaster | 11-3 | 23-12 | Joe Raso | ||
| Ryerson | 7-5 | 17-10 | Terry Haggerty | Brock | 9-5 | 20-12 | Ken Murray | ||
| Ottawa | 6-6 | 22-16 | Jack Eisenmann | Waterloo | 8-6 | 11-14 | Tom Kieswetter | ||
| York | 6-6 | 10-19 | Bob Bain | Lakehead | 6-8 | 6-18 | Lou Pero | ||
| Carleton | 5-7 | 12-17 | Paul Armstrong | Western | 5-9 | 10-16 | Art Sharp | ||
| Queen’s | 0-12 | 2-26 | Doug Aitchison | Windsor | 3-11 | 6-17 | Mike Havey | ||
| Wilfrid Laurier | 2-12 | 3-20 | Gary Jeffries | ||||||
Playoff non-qualifiers:
Carleton Ravens: Taffe Charles, Brian Smith, Brian Russell, James Marquardt, Andrew Smith, Andy Stewart, Mike Badger, Sidney Zigah, Luca Diaconescu, Sergio Movilla, Matthew Maloney, Tony Ogini, Matt Wylie, coach Paul Armstrong
Queen’s Golden Gaels: Peter Stelter, Wyeth Clarkson, Rajan Puri, Michael Mitchell, Mike McLean, Mark Holland, Ian Brisbin, Mark McHenry, Mick Sloniowski, Charles Hayfron-Benjamin, Stevan Beara, James Frith, Nick Candiotto, coach Doug Aitchison
York Yeomen: Byron Nugent, Nathan Aryev, John Poulimenos, Vittorie Fantin, Michael Partridge, Adam Bazuk, Andrew Obermayer, Nick Chatzinikolis, Wayne Gairy, Marc Gardner, Andrew Vallejo, coach Bob Bain
Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks: Shawn Roach, Peter Kratz, Tony Weis, Rico Medeiros, Stephan Barrie, David Moore, Jim Toole, Dan Pace, Mike Danielson, Andrew Vlasman, Ron Townes, Mike Wasyliw, Jay Spencer, Andrew Moir, Rob Kobe, coach Gary Jeffries
Windsor Lancers: Patrick Osborne, Todd Fuller, Matt McMillan, Krim Lacey, Geoff Rekstis, Steve Carey, Jamie Pepper, Caine Baldassi, Mark Baggio, Mark Koppeser, Earl Grant, Jody Joyce, Kevin Milne, coach Mike Havey
In the East semis, 3rd-seeded Ryerson defeated 2nd-seeded Laurentian 101-91. The Voyageurs (coached by Peter Campbell) included Brad Hann, Shawn Swords, Cory Bailey, Kevin Crittenden, Matt Dawson, Patrick Duggan, Adam Dusome, Jason Hurley, Blair Morris, Anthony Malcolm, Sanjeevs Malhotra, David Mate and Mike Scott.
In the other East semi, top-seeded Toronto thumped 4th-seeded Ottawa 101-80. The Blues led 55-39 at the half. Jason Dressler paced the Blues with 23. “They (Ottawa) have four seniors,” Dressler told the Varsity. “And we thought they would play us really hard because they wouldn’t want to lose their last game. … They’ve [Ottawa] have always been a physical team. They’ve always tried to hit us hard and get us in foul trouble. [This time] their players got into foul trouble before
ours, .so we came out on top.” The Gee-Gees (coached by Jack Eisenmann) included David Reid, Clarence Porter, Bobby Brown, Jason Bruce, John Miller, Sheldon McGibbon, Ryan Fabricius, Eric Edwards, Tim Mathieson, Steve Chapman, Pierre Dupuis, Mike Short, Marc Engfield and Ted Weltz.
In the East final, top-seeded Toronto defeated 3rd-seeded Ryerson 79-73, as Lars Dressler’s slam dunk with just over a minute to go broke up a 72-72 tie and triggered a 7-2 Toronto run down the stretch. The Rams trailed by seven to 10 points throughout, despite shooting 37 per cent from the floor and 12 of 22 from the line, despite getting off 19 more shots than Toronto and despite the timely damage inflicted by Blues long-range bombers Carl Swantee and Roland Semprie (each 5-10 from the arc). The game was tied at 72 when Ram guard Ainsworth Slowly hit a bucket. But Toronto captain Eddy Meguerian fed big Lars Dressler for a dunk and then converted an errant Ryerson pass into a layup to give Toronto a 76-72 lead. “It wasn’t that great a first half (Blues by seven), but we still had a chance,” said Ryerson coach Terry Haggerty. “I characterize good teams as those that can lose a game three or four times, but still be there to win it at the end.” The Blues, whose first four buckets of the game and three of their first four in the second half went for treys, got 25 points out of Carl Swantee, 21 from Roland Semprie, 11 by Eddy Meguerian and a big 10 out of large two-way key Dressler. The Rams’ best was centre Scott Belasco at 19 points, while Slowly settled for 13 on a 4-for-17 afternoon from the floor and big gun Alex Beason was held to 6-20 and 14 points. “We hope we can attribute some of (the Rams’ miserable day sniping) to our defence,” said Blues coach Ken Olynyk. When we gave them open shots, they nailed ’em. When we contested their shots, they had problems. With Alex (Beason), we just wanted to make it as tough as possible.” Blues guard Jason Gopaul told the Varsity that “the great thing about it is that we didn’t crack under the pressure. It shows a sign of maturity, because we’ve been together for three years and we’re strong enough now to come up big when the game is on the line. … That’s my job to be aggressive, and go for loose balls, and set up everyone else. We’ve got some great scorers, and I’ve got to make sure that they get the ball and make sure they’ve got as many opportunities as we can.” Blues coach Ken Olynyk said “we knew going into the game that defence would win the game and I think that’s what did it for us. It’s been the key for us all year long.”
In the West quarterfinals, the 4th-seeded Waterloo Warriors defeated 5th-seeded Lakehead 76-55 as Tom Balfe scored 20, along with 14 boards. Ashoak Grewel, who was returning to play after missing most of the season with a shoulder injury, came off the bench to score 13, Hopkins 10 and Sean VanKoughnett 9, along with 12 boards. Warriors coach Tom Kieswetter told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that “we used our whole bench … We had a terrible start but the guys didn’t get down on themselves and we pulled together as a team. And defensively, we really tightened up.” Paul Andrews led the Norwesters with 22. Craig Law added 20. The Norwesters (coached by Lou Pero) also included Peter Brown, Shawn Campbell, Willy Crocker, Cory Keeler, Chris Livingston, Mark Moorhouse, Brian Norland, David O’Brien, Murray Smith, Bryan Turner, Carlo Zoffranieri, Chuck Brown, Garrett Thayer and Mike Booth.
In the other West quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Brock Badgers defeated the 6th-seeded Western Mustangs 89-69 as Fabi scored 16, Tatti 15, Holtz 14, along with 11 boards, Becher 11, Sandel 8, Fuca 7, Palmieri 6, Clark 4, Dzieman 4 and Strickland 4. The Badgers hit 36-63 from the floor, 3-10 from the arc and 14-21 from the line, while garnering 21 assists, 24 turnovers and 26 fouls. Badgers coach Ken Murray told the St. Catharines Standard that “when you get into the playoffs, you’ve got to be like a hockey team with a hot goaltender. You need somebody to step it up. That’s what we need right now, we need somebody to step it up.” Michael Milne paced the Mustangs with 14. Blake Gage added 10, Hugh Bell 9, Nigel Rawlins 8 and Jonathan Dingle 7. The Mustangs hit 24-65 from the floor, 2-12 from the arc and 19-30 from the line, while garnering 12 assists, 24 turnovers and 21 fouls. Mustangs coach Art Sharp said “we didn’t expect Tatti to shoot as well as he did. When guys like him come to play, Brock’s just a tough team to beat. The Mustangs (coached by Art Sharp, assistants Brendan Noonan and Michael Yuhasz, managers Amy McLellan and Alex Rucker, trainers Marty Kleuskens and Tim Oldham, academic advisors William Avison and Carl Grindstaff) also included Reid Beckett, Mike Boydell, Brad Campbell, Jason Meskis, Jeff Wettlaufer, Jamie Bell, Nathan Stepanovic, Aaron Volkman, Jason Meskis and Brent Stewart.
In the West semis, the 2nd-seeded McMaster Marauders thrashed the 3rd-seeded Brock Badgers 95-54 as Tom Newton scored 25, Channer 12, Girolametto 11, Sontrop 10, Francis 9, Johnson 7, Matsell 6, Maga 6, Wesolowski 6 and Postma 3. The Marauders hit 31-60 from the floor, 7-12 from the arc and 26-33 from the line, while garnering 47 boards, 18 assists, 25 turnovers and 21 fouls. The Marauders led 20-15 after one quarter and opened the second frame with a 20-0 run to take a 50-27 lead at the half. “Go, go, go,” Marauders coach Joe Raso told the St. Catharines Standard. Clint Holtz led the Badgers with 21. Ryan Fabi added 14, Jason Tatti 5, Campbell Becher 4, Jamie Clarke 4, Sean Sandel 2, Pat Palmieri 2, Sam Fuca 1 and Tennison Wynter 1. The Badgers hit 32-61 from the floor, 2-16 from the arc and 8-14 from the line, while garnering 29 boards, 14 assists, 30 turnovers and 27 fouls. David Picton said “let’s face it, we’re slow.” Badgers coach Ken Murray said “this was a difficult team to figure out all year. And I never really did figure them out. … We ran out of adjustments. We exhausted our bench. We exhausted our timeouts – there’s nothing else you could do.” The Badgers (coached by Ken Murray) also included Colin Strickland and Gedis Dzieman.
In the other West semi, top-seeded Guelph dumped 4th-seeded Waterloo 76-55 as Alex Brainis scored 23, including four treys, Paul Eldridge 13 and Steve Krajcarski 10. The Gryphons led 30-26 at the half. Sean Van Koughnett paced the Warriors with 15, including 13 in the first half, while nabbing 10 boards. Poulimenos added 13 and Tom Balfe 11, along with 11 boards. Van Koughnett, who was held scoreless in the second half, told the Kitchener-Waterloo Record that team couldn’t find its rhythm in the second half. “These things happen. It just happened at an inopportune time, I guess. I felt pretty good in the first half. They hit their shots and we didn’t. I think we still played pretty smart. When we’re struggling, I start to think, I’ve got to get my game in gear, not try to force things and pick it up a notch. Sometimes that backfires and I force it. That’s the responsibility that I’ve got to take.” The Warriors hit 3-23 from the arc and 12-25 from the line. The Warriors (coached by Tom Kieswetter) also included Tom Balfe, Mark Hopkins, Bryan Boulton, Scott Carroll, Kieran Del Pasqua, Mark Eys, Ashoak Grewal, Andy Pocrnic, Nick Poulimenos, Eric Steinman, Mike Stroeder, Mano Watsa and Matt Williams.
In the West final, top-seeded Guelph spanked 2nd-seeded McMaster 76-62, as forward Paul Eldridge scored 19, while nabbing 8 boards before 4,424 fans at Hamilton’s Copps Coliseum. The Gryphons built a 24-point lead in the first half. The Marauders trimmed the margin to 9 but Paul Eldrige nailed a pair of corner treys to stem the rally. Gryphons coach Tim Darling told the Hamilton Spectator that “this win was enormous … We had some adversity early in the season. We lost four very good players but the fact is they didn’t buy into the system. I wouldn’t say there were malcontents but it didn’t make for a very good environment. Their departure brought the team together and gave the other people more ownership of the team.” Gryphon Alex Brainis said “it was our defensive intensity at the beginning of the game that did it. Overall, though, I think we have more talent than they do. It’s pretty apparent if you beat a team three times in a row. We utilize our big guys and open up the perimeter. We’re stacked at every position.” Guelph shot .640 from the floor in the first half, 8-17 from the arc and led 46-26 at halftime. The Marauders hit 6-28 from the arc. Cam Nekkers led Guelphe with 13. Collin Jones and Steve Krajcarski each added 10. Tom Newton scored 16 for McMaster. Titus Channer added 13 and Shawn Francis 10. Francis said “they force you into taking bad shots. Against them, you often don’t get the ball where you want to get it. They’re really good at turning up the pressure.” Marauder Marc Sontrop added that “Guelph outexecuted us. But we shot ourselves in the foot in the first half.” Marauders coach Joe Raso said “we made a pile of mental mistakes. Right now, Guelph is a better team than we are. They’re playing very well. They’re putting their emphasis on defence more than we are.”
In the Wilson Cup final, Toronto dumped Guelph 78-58 to capture their first OUAA title since 1958. “It’s always been (the perception that) whoever comes out of the East means cakewalk,” Toronto coach Ken Olynyk told Canadian Press. “For two, three years, this conference has been competitive with any in the country” Roland Semprie led Toronto with 19. Eddy Meguerian added 19. Blues assistant Mike Connolly told the Varsity that “the team got off to a great start. I don’t think a lot of people expected this win. I don’t think a lot of people expected us to be in the same league as the west. We took them by surprise and caught them off guard. They adapted and changed to the press, and then it was a defensive battle. Defense wins the game. You can score all you want, but if you stop people you have a good chance to win.” Blues guard Jason Gopaul, who scored 4, dished 6 assists, pilfered 3 balls and nabbed four boards en route being named player of the game. Semprie said “about three years ago the west in Ontario was the powerhouse. They sent a lot of teams to the nationals. The past two years you can see the shift. Now the eastern teams are strong. All the eastern teams that play the western teams beat them.” The East teams low status in the national rankings are a function of a “lack of respect on the country’s part, thinking that Ontario East is a joke league, and it’s not,” said Semprie. “This game was a different kind of pressure, in the sense that we knew that we were going to Halifax, but we still put pressure on ourselves to win the Ontario championships.”
The co-bronze medalist McMaster Marauders: Tom Newton; Titus Channer; Shawn Francis; Marc Sontrop; Keegan Johnson; Richard Wesolowski; Peter Matsell; Amos Connolly; James Girolametto; Shawn Francis; Derek Woodgate; Paul Maga; Andrew Middleton; Daren Spithoff; Lance Postma; Jeremy Storry; coach Joe Raso; assistant Chris Oliver
The co-bronze medalist Ryerson Rams: Alex Beason; Scott Belasco; Ainsworth Slowly; Pavle Lalovic; Rowan Jones; Kevin Morton; Lui Cinello; Radcliffe Golbourne; Duncan Prescott; Marvin Johnson; Carl Harper; Jamie Procope; Michael Chisholm; Chris Szarka; Adrian Foster; coach Terry Haggerty; assistant Richard Dean
The runner-up Guelph Gryphons: Paul Eldridge; Alex Brainis; Jeff Erskine; Mark Grant; Rob Henry; Steve Krajcarski; Cam Nekkers; Erik Otto; Aaron Rideout; Malik Shehbaz; Kris VanderVeer; Shaun Wilson; Colin Jones; Charles Yearwood; Brad Peak; Rob Richardson; coach Tim Darling; assistant Dean Pandurov; assistant Chris O’Rourke; assistant Walter Schlichthorn; manager Mark Grant; manager David Lang; manager John Beech; trainer Lisa McNeil; trainer Carla Molloy
The champion Toronto Varsity Blues: Vidak Curic; Anthony Daly; Jason Dressler; Lars Dressler; Chris Ellison; Jason Gopaul; Gabriel Gonda; Neil Kowlessar; Joe Lombardi; Eddy Meguerian; Andrew Rupf; Glen Selkirk; Roland Semprie; Carl Swantee; coach Ken Olynyk; assistant John Robb