Box Score WATERLOO, Ont. - After dominating the Lakehead Thunderwolves in yesterday’s game, the Golden Hawks were unable to sweep the double-header, losing 89-80 in a tough-fought defensive battle.
For the second night in a row, Laurier was firing on all cylinders in the first quarter, putting together an early 16-2 run. The purple and gold led 29-14 after 10 minutes, thanks in large part to Benhur Gebrekidan (Gatineau, Que.), who went 3-4 from the arc in the first.
Gebrekidan would finish the game shooting 6-9 from three-point range, good for a career-high 18 points.
While the first quarter had the Golden Hawks feeling confident, the Thunderwolves put to rest any thoughts of another blowout in the second. Led by Nathan Bilamu’s eight points coming off the bench, Lakehead climbed back to bring the score to 39-35 for Laurier at halftime.
A scary moment came in the third quarter when KJ Massela (Ottawa, Ont.) landed awkwardly after contesting a Lakehead shot and was forced to leave the game. Thankfully, the injury does not appear to be serious, according to head coach Justin Serresse.
While Laurier was able to somewhat widen their lead early in the third, costly fouls prevented them from putting together any big runs, as Lakehead was already in the bonus with 4:25 left to go in the quarter.
The Thunderwolves took advantage, making all ten of their third-quarter free throws. They took their first lead since the opening minutes of the game with 1:16 remaining in the frame and were up 65-64 heading into the fourth quarter.
The beginning of the fourth showed promise of an exciting finish, but in what was a very tightly-called game, Laurier once again ran into foul trouble, with both Romello Taylor (Driftwood, Ont.) and Majok Deng (Surrey, B.C.) fouling out of the game.
Deng left the game with nine rebounds and a career-high eleven points. By the end of the first half, he had already surpassed his previous career-high of eight, which was set just last night.
Lakehead was able to pull away midway through the quarter, led by former NCAA Division I athlete Micheal Okafor. He had nine points shooting 100% from the field in the final frame.
While coach Serresse praised the team’s mindset heading into last night’s game, he was less pleased with that aspect of the game after Saturday's loss.
“Even though we were playing fairly well, I felt like our focus, and our mind was not there … We weren’t focusing on our gameplan, that’s for sure,” said Serresse.
One player who had an uncharacteristically quiet night was Ottawa native Ali Sow. Lakehead’s defence left Sow with very little room to maneuver and, despite scoring 17 points, the two-time OUA all-star struggled shooting the ball, going 0-9 from three-point range.
“It’s a gift and a curse when you’re that good,” said Serresse. “When you’re that good, you feel like you can make any shot you want, which is 100% right ... He just needs to stay in the moment a little bit more. It’s kind of a mental battle.”
Serresse gave credit to Lakehead for their strong defensive play and was confident Sow and the rest of the team will be able to bounce back heading into next week’s matchup against Windsor.
“Being able to handle those moments when teams are pressuring you, and making the read in the moment when the pressure is on, that’s the toughest part of playing basketball.”
TOP PERFORMERS
Laurier Golden Hawks
F - Ben Stevens
Stevens recorded his second straight double-double with ten points and twelve rebounds, all while shooting a perfect 4-4 from the field.
Lakehead Thunderwolves
G - Micheal Okafor
Okafor had another great night for the Thunderwolves, leading the team in points (15), rebounds (six), and steals (five).
UP NEXT
The Golden Hawks (1-3) will play the Windsor Lancers (2-4) in a home-and-home series, with 8 p.m. games on Wednesday in Windsor and Saturday in Waterloo at the Athletic Complex. Both games will be streamed live on OUA.tv and tickets for Saturday's home game are on sale now at tickets.laurierathletics.com
