Final 4 Field Decided in Canada West

All four Quarter-Final series wrapped up Saturday in Canada West playoffs, with 2 going to a 3rd game, and the other pair being 2 game sweeps.  #1 UBC Thunderbirds and #3 Saskatchewan Huskies swept Manitoba and Regina respectively, and these 2 power teams return to the Championship Tournament again. Trinity Western recovered from a game 1 loss to beat Fraser Valley, and Alberta captured game 3 against a tough Victoria team.   

 

Saskatchewan 92   Regina  75 ... Jamelle Barrett scored 30 points and counted 9 assists to send the Huskies to their 2nd straight Final 4 as the defending champions with a sweep of Regina.  Rejean Chabot scored 24, Nolan Brudehl 10, and Michael Lieffers had 8 plus 10 rebounds as Saskatchewan hit 47% of their shots, and won the rebounding 40-36.  Regina got 20 from Paul Gareau and 14 from Kris Heshka, but a 31-15 Huskies 3rd quarter surge sealed their fate.

UBC  103 Manitoba  85 ... the Bisons were down just 9 at the half, but a 30-17  UBC burst in the 3rd quarter put the T-Birds far out front, and on their way to their 3rd straight Final 4 as the #1 seed, with home court advantage. Nathan Yu scored 19, Melvyn Mayott had 17, Brent Malish and Doug Plumb 15, and Josh Whyte counted 14 in a typical UBC team effort.  Manitoba were led by Eric Garcia, who scored 25 points in his final game as a Bison, as he hit 5/11 from beyond the arc.  Jonar Huertas scored 18, and all 3 of Sean Maxwell, Richard Reimer, and Kevin Oliver added 12, with Oliver claiming 10 boards. UBC’s Malish matched Oliver’s rebounding total, as as the ‘Birds won the board battle 47-40.

Trinity Western 89  Fraser Valley 75 ...  ‘Big Jake’ Doerksen came through with 32 points and 17 rebounds to spark the Spartans over a game Fraser Valley squad who hit 14/37 (38%) 3 point shots, but couldn’t match the inside power of TWU.  Trinity shot 25/36 from the free throw line compared to just 9/16 for UFV, and the home club ruled the boards 49-26.  Calvin Westbrook added 16 for TWU and Kyle Coston scored 13 and snared 8 rebounds.  The Cascades were led by their 3 guards, Joel Friesen with 20, Sam Freeman scoring 19, and Zeon Gray counting 17.

Alberta  86 Victoria  79 ...  the Golden Bears take the deciding game behind the 34 points from Daniel Ferguson, who tallied 63 in games 2 and 3 of the series.  Jordan Baker scored 19 and had 5 rebs., while Ken Otieno hit 14 and grabbed 7 boards. Alberta was 60%  from the floor, including 6/12 from 3 point range, while the Vikes hit 50% of their field goal attempts in a well played game.  Jeff Cullen led the Vikes with 16 points, Wendell Thomas scored 15, and mike Berg 14.  The game turned in the 3rd quarter, where Alberta out - scored Victoria 27-17 to pull in front by 6, after trailing 40-36 at the half.

The draw for the Final 4 at UBC’s war Memorial Gym will be as follows ...

Friday, March 4 ... #2 Trinity Western vs #3 Saskatchewan

                              #1 UBC  vs  #4  Alberta

Saturday, March 5 ... 3rd place game

                                  Championship Game

CIS Scores Friday

at St. FX  107  UPEI  73

at Dalhousie  78   St. Mary’s  72

at Concordia  89  Bishops 85

  Laval  84   at UQAM  74

at Cape Breton 74  UNB  67

at Acadia  86  Memorial  65

The Axemen and the Sea-Hawks play Sunday in Wolfeville to officially wrap up the Atlantic regular season.

OUA Tournament Teams Settled

OUA Playoffs Saturday ...

Carleton  97  Ryerson  73

Ottawa  85   Toronto  60

Lakehead  63    Western  49

Laurier  85   Windsor 82

The 1st OUA Final Four is set for next Friday and Saturday, March 4 and 5, at McMaster in Hamilton.  This will be a neutral site for the 4 winning teams from Saturday’s qualifiers.  The heavy favourites, of course, will be the CIS’ #1 ranked Carleton Ravens .  The Ravens will face the Laurier Golden Hawks, the West’s #3 seeded team in one semi-final, while Lakehead, # 7 in the CIS poll, will be up against  Ottawa, who trimmed Toronto in the 2/3 match-up in the East.

 

Wilson Cup - Final Four  ...   McMaster U. , Hamilton

Friday, March 4

East #1 Carleton vs  West #3  Laurier

West  #1 Lakehead  vs  East #2  Ottawa

Saturday, March 5

Wilson Cup Final  (there is no 3rd place game)

                           

                                                              

   Notes ...

1. • Depth Chart for the Final 4 ... UBC has been going 10 deep (players going for 10+ minutes of floor time), while Saskatchewan, Trinity,  and Alberta have 8.  This is not as much of a factor in a short playoff but the UBC players will be fresher for their use of more players over the long season.
   

1. • The T-Birds have played in the last 5 Canada West Final 4s, winning 2 titles, with Saskatchewan, Calgary, and Victoria winning the others. This is the 2nd Final 4 for Trinity Western in that 5 year span, and Alberta’s 1st since 2008 in Calgary. No host team has won the championship in these 5 years ... UBC won at Brandon and Calgary.  Saskatchewan won at UBc last year, and Calgary won at UBC in 2009.
   

1. •  Mount Royal Cougars won the 3rd and deciding game 87-70 over the Grant McEwan Griffins in Calgary on Saturday in their quarter-final series in the ACAC.
   

   

 

    

                                                              

  

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