KELOWNA, B.C. – The UBC Okanagan Heat men's rugby team earned the silver medal at the 2023 Prairie U Championship that wrapped up on Sunday at Nonis Sports Field.
 
The Heat fell 27-17 to their rivals, the Calgary Dinos, in the gold medal match on Sunday to fall just short of their championship aspirations.
 
The Dinos roared out to a 10-0 lead at halftime of Sunday's championship game, and extended that lead to 24-0 in the second half.
 
UBCO looked to rally as they got converted tries from Andrew Zutter of Calgary, and Jef Vreys of Kelowna, B.C.. Leading scorer Jean-Louis Desgouttes of Hong Kong, would add a penalty to cut the Dinos' lead to seven.
 
However, a late penalty from the Dinos secured them the gold medal.
 
UBCO advanced to the gold medal match thanks to a 36-3 victory over the University of Alberta on Saturday.
 
In that game, the Heat fell behind 3-0 but responded by scoring 36 unanswered points.
 
Finn Hussey of Kelowna, B.C., led the way with three tries while Zutter and Jackson Croze of Surrey, B.C., added singles. Desgouttes would also score one try along with three converts.
 
Following the tournament, the Prairie U conference announced their 2023 major award recipients. Desgouttes, who led the Heat with 71 points in four regular season games, thanks to four tries, five penalties and 18 converts, was named the conference Player of the Year. Additionally, head coach Dan Haynes was honoured as the Coach of the Year after guiding the team to an undefeated regular season.