University of Calgary Dinos guard Nate Petrone was the Canada West Player of the Year, and he played like it in the men’s basketball final.
The visiting Dinos took on the UBC Thunderbirds in the men’s final, and Petrone poured in 38 points to lead them to a 109-96 victory over the T-birds.
“The championship is the biggest one, it’s the best accomplishment,” said Petrone.
“That feeling is one that I’ll cherish for the rest of my life. When you win a championship with guys you’re bonded for life, and I seriously feel that way with this group.”
For the Dinos, it was the eighth Canada West championship in the program’s history. Petrone was on fire in the final. He had 19 points in the first quarter alone and ended up with a career-high 38 points.
The fourth-year guard says it was just one of those nights where everything went his way.
“The game honestly just felt slowed down to me,” he said.
“It wasn’t ever like, ‘I’m so hot and I need to keep shooting.’ I felt like not only were the shots going in, I felt like I was making good reads and I just felt like it was a very slowed down game for me.”
Off to the Final 8
The season isn’t over for the Dinos. They board a plane on Wednesday for the U Sports Final 8 in Vancouver.
Veteran head coach Dan Van Hooren has been there before, and he had this advice for his team.
“We celebrated the Canada West, and I think everybody has to take a moment and celebrate, and we’ve done that.”
“Now it’s time to re-focus and look forward and reset our goals, and the number one target right now is Queens, so we’ve got to be ready for Thursday’s game.”
The second-ranked Dinos face seventh-ranked Queens University in their first game at the national championship. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. PT (6 p.m. MT) on Thursday.
Petrone says the Canada West championship was unreal, but he’s ready for more. And he quotes the late Kobe Bryant, “The task is complete, but the job is never finished.”
“That’s a great Kobe quote, and hopefully come Sunday when we’re on our flight, that’s when another task is finished, but the job will never be finished,” Petrone said.
