N.W.T. team scores historic basketball win at Canada Summer Games
N.W.T.’s U17 men’s basketball team accomplished a first at the Canada Summer Games in St. John’s, N.L. on Monday: beating a provincial team. Team officials say that’s never happened before.
Team NT took the win with a score of 81-78 against Prince Edward Island.
“That felt very exciting, and everyone was cheering for us,” said Rex Turner, one of the players. “It was amazing.”
The game was a nail-biter, with Team NT down 13 points at halftime. Coach Mark Matheson said he didn’t conceive the boys could still win at that point.
“Honestly, not at all,” he said. “It’s a special group.”
He said he is proud of how much effort his players put in. The territory beating a province is a “big deal,” he said.
The team lost to Newfoundland and Labrador on Sunday, and the game was a let down for the team. Matheson said the coaches challenged the players to bounce back in their next game, and they delivered.
The win hit close to home for Matheson, who is from P.E.I. and played on the provincial team when he was growing up. He says Team NT had been preparing for this game as one they could win.
“I was eyeing this game, truly, as our Super Bowl, essentially,” he said.
Courtside, the team received some loud support from their counterparts on the N.W.T. women’s basketball team.
Player Zach Mathison says this made a difference because basketball is all about momentum.
“Whenever you hit a shot or whatever, if there’s a bunch of people cheering you on, you feel good and you’re ready to get back on defence.”
Team NT’s chef de mission Rita Mercredi wasn’t at the game, but she told CBC on Tuesday that the delegation is not done celebrating that victory.
“That team set out a goal to win that event that day and they did it, and they played with such heart,” she said.
For the players, the post-game celebrations didn’t last long. Turner and Mathison said they were already focused on preparing for their next games.
They added that the whole experience has reaffirmed to them that hard work pays off.
“You put in effort, good things will happen,” Mathison said.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Guy Lafleur in the North – ‘He just wanted to meet his fans’ says former NHL teammate Steve Shutt, Eye on the Arctic
Finland: Ice fishing World Championships latest in Finnish series of odd sports events, Yle News
United States: Veteran musher Brent Sass wins Yukon Quest 300, CBC News
