NORTH BAY, Ont. - Faced with the tough task of closing out the fall semester with back-to-back road games hours from home, the Golden Hawks took care of business in the first leg of their Northern swing, defeating the Nipissing Lakers 80-65 on Friday night.
While Nipissing was able to pull close enough at times that a comeback was on the radar, it never stayed there for long, as Laurier's consistency on both ends of the court allowed for a comfortable win.
"Overall, I felt like we came in with the right approach," said Manager of Men's Basketball Operations and Head Coach Justin Serresse. "We kept going at them, didn't give them time to get settled. We were pushing the tempo and imposing our style of play."
This was evident from the get-go. The game began with a 7-3 run for the purple and gold, and they would not surrender the lead for the full 40 minutes.
The Lakers' Muktar Mohamed caused some problems for the defence in the opening frame. He had a game-high 12 pts in the first quarter.
Laurier's response was led by second-year guard and first-year Golden Hawk Taye Donald, who had seven points including five of five made free throws. The score was 23-18 heading into the second.
Donald continued to impress on both ends of the court in the second quarter. He finished with a game-high 23 points, the highest total we've seen from him in his young OUA career.
A 9-2 run by the purple and gold near the end of the half was halted by a three-point buzzer-beater from Nipissing's Ricardo Neves to cut the lead to 41-34 at the break.
The third quarter saw the Golden Hawks extend their lead to 63-50. It was a margin they wouldn't hold for long, however, as the Lakers opened the final frame with a 9-0 run to cut it to four.
Laurier was able to put a stop to Nipissing's comeback hopes, going on a 17-4 run of their own to put the game away.
Six of those points came from Ben Stevens, whose 12-point, 17-rebound effort marks his fifth straight double-double. It's also the fifth-year forward's career-high on the boards, and just one shy of the all-time Laurier record.
"He made some key baskets when they were trapping our guards. That's what we need from him," said Serresse.
The dagger came when Donald was able to will in a long three-pointer with the shot clock expiring.
With the win, the Golden Hawks improve to 5-4 on the season, while the Lakers fall to 2-7.
TOP PERFORMERS
Laurier Golden Hawks
"Oh yeah, he's legit," was Serresse's response when asked if this kind of performance is what we can expect from Taye Donald moving forward.
"He's a very unselfish player, and an unselfish person. He wants the team to do well... Sometimes point guards pass like they're trying to make everybody look good, and at times kind of forget about helping themselves. Finding that balance as a rookie point guard is very hard."
He seemed to have found it Friday night, as his scoring was accompanied by a career night passing the ball, recording a game-high seven assists. He also had four steals.
"There's no doubt in my mind that he will become a top scoring point guard in the country," said Serresse.
Nipissing Lakers
Third-year guard Muktar Mohamed led his team in both points (19) and rebounds (eight) while shooting an impressive 64% from the field.
UP NEXT
The Golden Hawks will be back in action Saturday night as they make the trip west from North Bay to Sudbury to take on the Laurentien Voyageurs.
This will be the first meeting between Serresse and his cousin Georges Serresse, whom he calls his little brother, since the latter was hired as head coach of the Voyageurs.
"It's going to be very special for me, but my job is not let that distract us," said Serresse. "It means the world to me, but I've got to put that aside for 40 minutes."
Tip-off is set for 8 p.m., follow @WLUAthletics for live updates and catch all the action on OUA.tv.
