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Gold medal game goes today. Ontario defeated B.C. by 5 to capture the silver medal on Friday night.

N.S. men to meet Quebec for gold

By BRIAN FREEMAN Sports Reporter

The province’s men’s basketball team, unbeaten in four games in Summerside, is aiming to end a 22-year drought this morning when it tips off against Quebec in the gold medal game.

"Quebec is extremely tough," Nova Scotia coach Tim Kendrick said after Thursday’s heart-thumping 83-81 semifinal victory over Ontario.

"They’re very athletic, they’re very disciplined, they’re good size overall, they’re somewhat bigger than us, but you know, Ontario was, Saskatchewan was, Alberta was," he said, referring to three of his team’s four vanquished opponents this week.

Kendrick said the Nova Scotia team was excited after knocking off Ontario but the players realized there’s more work to be done against Quebec, which is also 4-0.

"Even in the locker-room afterwards, we understand that we came to hopefully compete for a gold medal and now we get our chance."

The Nova Scotia squad won both of its round-robin matches, opening with an 82-54 triumph over Alberta and then pasting Yukon 86-35. It overcame a nine-point halftime deficit with a monster second half to defeat Saskatchewan 91-77 in the quarter-finals before Thursday’s thrilling win over heavily favoured Ontario.

Bluenose men’s basketball teams have won two gold medals in Games history, in 1983 and most recently in 1987 when, coincidentally, the host Nova Scotia squad defeated Quebec in Sydney.