INSIDE DOUGLAS COLLEGE/APRIL 2, 1991 Winning Silver Leaves Taste For Gold (continued from page 3) and could not afford foul trouble. His advice: get busy! “They were playing slowdown and I felt we had the stronger bench, so I told our players to make it as hectic as possible,” said Nor- man “By the time we got to over- time they only had one starter left and they just couldn’t match up.” Game Two. They’re called the Kodiaks, and the name fits. The Al- berta champions from Lethbridge Community College play a bruis- ing brand of basketball. The benefit of in-your-face tactics showed in the 29-24 lead Lethbridge held over the Royals at halftime. But the slap-and-grabs caught up with the Kodiaks in the second half, as they quickly out-fouled Douglas by 8-2, sending the Royals into bonus with 11:35 to play. Case closed. Douglas shooters subsequently took 18 shots from the line, converting 12, and posting a 58-54 comeback vic- tory. Game Three. Review the en- tire 40-minute tape of the cham- pionship game between the Royals and College Ahuntsic of Quebec and you won't see the plays that decided the outcome. To see what mattered in the 55- 44 loss, wind the tape back to games one and two. Bang! Drib- bling the ball aggressively down court and trying to drive to the basket, Royals point guard Lor- raine Denis was rocked in half a dozen heavy collisions. “The tournament is much more physical than we play in the B.C. conference, the referees are letting much more go,” said Denis prior to game three. “It’s very aggres- sive basketball, but I like it.” Maybe, but after all the col- lisions, Denis left the final in pain after only 13 minutes of play. She tried to return with a heavily taped knee in the second half, but continued on page 10 Men Bring Home the Bronze (continued from page 3) back I felt it was just a matter of time," said Royals forward Chris Vandermark. “But their shooting was unreal and we didn’t hit our free throws when we had the chances and that could have settled it.” While the Royals’ free-throw percentage was a lamentable 61 percent, the telling numbers came from three-point range. Royal shooters completed only three-of- 18 attempts while the Clippers cinched eight-of-18. Game Two. Everything which didn’t work the day before func- tioned perfectly in the Royals’ second game with the Grant Mac- Ewan Griffins of Edmonton. Out- side shots dropped and the Royals’ defence generated more turnovers, which generated more fast-break baskets. The Griffins led 18-11 early, but after the Royals forced three quick steals, all leading to layups, the issue was settled. Douglas College led 53-33 at halftime and coasted to a 100-84 decision. Game Three. Or was it round three? Shifting from spacious Cariboo College to the undersized gym at Kam- loops Secondary, the Royals faced a physically aggressive team from Dawson College in Montreal with referees who ignored, or missed, el- bows and body contact. The result? With the game getting out of hand, Quebec’s Dwayne Richens was ejected after hitting Royals Ted Vanderwal in the face, while an upset Vandermark threw an elbow of his own and fouled out early. In the midst of the mayhem, the Royals built a 22-point lead, and then held on for the 104-90 win. Game Four. It’s the stuff of daydreams, sport shoe commercials and old movie scripts. Your team is one point down, there are three seconds on the clock and you're shooting from traffic in the key with a national medal on the line. Swish! The player completing the dream shot was Taras Maslechko, whose dramatic basket moved the Royals to a 71-70 win over B.C. rival Trinity Western 71-70 and gave Douglas College the bronze medal. “Even when I played in high school, I liked getting the ball in pressure situations,” said Maslechko. “I only had one other shot like’ that in col- lege before, and that was also up here in Cariboo.” Setting the stage for the last-second histrionics were two tired teams which had won semifinal games only four hours earlier. Both squads ac- centuated the low-post game, Douglas College continually forcing the ball inside to Vandermark, Vanderwal, Kevin Van Dop and hardworking Werner Knopp while TWU’s Paul Chaffee was replying with 24 points. Chaffee scored with only 19 seconds remaining to give TWU a 70-69 lead, but the Griffins defence could not deny the Royals one last shot.@ Royals’ Chris Vandermark extends for a rebound against Grant MacEwan in CCAA action.