Box Score WINDSOR, Ont. - The weather report in Windsor called for a slight drizzle tonight, but inside the St. Denis Centre, the Golden Hawks made it pour.
Laurier's 17 three-pointers made as a team - on 47.2% efficiency, no less - is the highest total so far this OUA season, and allowed the purple and gold to dominate the Windsor Lancers, winning the first leg of this week's home-and-home 110-73.
The game started off highly competitive. Neither team was able to build much separation in the first quarter, which ended with the Golden Hawks up 21-17.
Ethan Passley, a Kitchener, Ont. native, would finish the game with 18 points, the highest total seen from the standout rookie so far this season.
The second quarter was more of the same, with Laurier just barely extending their lead to six points. The scoreboard showed 45-39 in their favour at the halftime buzzer.
"We were in the trenches at halftime," said head coach
Justin Serresse after the game. "We made some runs and mistakes in the first half, but we stuck to our game plan and we stuck together.
"We knew we were getting into a battle and we embraced that."
And while that is the kind of mindset that wins basketball games, 'battle' isn't exactly the most accurate term to describe the second half.
Laurier began to heat up offensively in the third quarter, led by
Ali Sow (Ottawa, Ont.), who finished off the frame with one of the most impressive makes you'll see this season.
Trailing by a fair margin heading into the fourth, Windsor had no answer for Sow or any of the six other Golden Hawks who reached double-digits in scoring. That included Brampton, Ont. native Kareem Elliot, who scored a career-high twelve.
"Offensively, we were playing our style of basketball. A lot of ball movement, a lot of unselfishness, we were trusting each other," said Serresse.
And the stats backed him up. Laurier recorded the second-highest total assists in a game among OUA teams this season, with 26. Ten of those assists came from
Ali Sow, a career-high for the fourth-year guard.
It was a truly dominant performance from the Golden Hawks, but having learned from last Saturday's loss to a determined Lakehead team, they know they'll have to come prepared if they plan on getting their first consecutive wins of the season.
"(Windor's) a good basketball team … They're going to come back and play with much more intensity, much more urgency," said Serresse.
Top Performers
Laurier Golden Hawks
G -
Ali Sow
This was a game to remember for a player who's had a lot of games worth highlighting. He recorded his third career double-double, with 31 points and ten assists, while pulling down eight rebounds as well.
Windsor Lancers
F- Thomas Kennedy
The Lancers' number one option on offense put up a solid 19 points on a very efficient 7 for 11 shooting night. He also had eight rebounds.
Up Next
Laurier will host the Lancers in the second leg of this week's home-and-home series at 6 p.m. on Saturday, November 27th at the Athletic Complex. Tickets are on sale
here and you can watch along as always at
OUA.tv.
