Nova Scotia will play for gold at the Canadian Under-17 Boys’ Basketball Championship at Saint Mary’s on Saturday.

The host team knocked off British Columbia 58-55 in a tense semifinal game on Friday to earn a ticket to the title game against Ontario.

Nate Darling had a huge night for Nova Scotia, scoring 27 points in front of a noisy home crowd. Alex Carson added 12 points.

Nova Scotia fell behind in the opening minutes but showed good poise by patiently erasing the deficit and going blow for blow with the favourites from B.C. the rest of the way. The hosts clinched the win by denying a three-point attempt just before the buzzer.

Keenan Dowell (13 points) was the top scorer for B.C., which will face Quebec in the bronze-medal game at 1:30 p.m. at the Homburg Centre. The championship game is at 6 p.m.

Ontario 91, Quebec 70: R.J. Barrett poured in 32 points to help Ontario win its semifinal game.

In the under-15 championship, Nova Scotia lost its consolation round game 77-70 to B.C.

Alyjah Ford was Nova Scotia’s top scorer with 18 points.

In semifinal play, Ontario beat New Brunswick 92-85 and Quebec downed Saskatchewan 65-55.

The title game between Ontario and Quebec is at 3:45 p.m. local timeand New Brunswick will play Saskatchewan for the bronze at 11:15 a.m local time.

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