WATERLOO, Ont. - With fans in the Laurier Athletic Complex bleachers for the first time since February 7, 2020 the atmosphere in the gym was loud and intense for Saturday night's home opener against the Brock Badgers.

Unfortunately, the Golden Hawks were unable to deliver the result fans were hoping for, losing their second straight game to start the season, 95-74.

The game started tilting in the Badgers' favour early. About two minutes in, Brock went on a 20-0 run, led by TJ Lall who sparked it coming off of the bench. The Cambridge, Ont. native had 12 first quarter points. 

Lall would continue causing problems for the Laurier defence throughout the game, finishing with a game-high 31 points on 11 for 18 shooting. 

After being largely held at bay by Brock’s stellar defensive play during Wednesday’s season opener, Laurier once again struggled early offensively, mustering only 7 points in the first quarter to Brock's 32.

The purple and gold showed improvement in the second, although they still found themselves trailing at halftime, 46-26. 

A high point came when Romello Taylor (Driftwood, Ont.) showed off his excellent playmaking skills, beating his man on the dribble and then dishing to Ben Stevens (Halifax, N.S.) who scored on a nice layup.
 

The Taylor-Stevens connection continued to yield highlight-reel results in the second half, with Stevens slamming home a long lob pass from Taylor, to the delight of the Laurier crowd. 

Laurier’s offence hit their stride in the third quarter, matching their output from the entire first half with 26 points and shooting an impressive 67% from three. Despite this, the Golden Hawks were unable to put a significant dent in the Badgers’ lead and still trailed 70-52 going into the fourth. 

The final quarter offered some decent entertainment in the form of Ali Sow. While the familiar sight of Sow pouring in buckets was welcomed warmly by Laurier fans, his fifteen fourth-quarter points weren’t enough to make a difference. 

The loss puts the Golden Hawks at 0-2 to start the season, and while that’s not the record Head Coach Justin Serresse was hoping to be at one week in, he identified more than a few positives to be taken from the first home-and-home series. 

“The adjustments we made from game one to game two, I thought were pretty solid,” said Serresse. “Overall, our rebounding and ball movement was better. We got to the free-throw line way more, we got paint touches, we challenged them more physically, so those are good points.

"We’re two games into the season. We can’t overreact and blow things out of proportion.” 

As for what needs to improve going forward, Serresse emphasized ball movement as a key to getting their offence moving.

“We can’t be in situations where we’re not willing to swing the ball and explore on the weak side. Our big men on the roll-out are doing a decent job, but I don’t think we’re finding them as much as we could."

TOP PERFORMERS

Laurier Golden Hawks
#6 - Ali Sow
Sow is off to a hot start offensively, matching his points total from last game with 30. 

Brock Badgers
#8 - TJ Lall
Lall, who spent time at both guard and forward during the game, was a scoring machine for the Badgers, recording 31 points and also contributing defensively with a steal and a block.

UP NEXT:

The Golden Hawks will have almost two weeks off before their next game. They host the Lakehead Thunderbirds two nights in a row on Friday, November 19 and Saturday, November 20, with both games starting at 8 p.m. at the Athletic Complex.