WATERLOO, Ont. - After over two months with no home games, tonight was a reminder of just how great an experience live sports can be.
Back in front of their home crowd and facing their crosstown rivals, the Golden Hawks stumbled out of the gates, but more than made up for it with an explosive second half that saw more than its share of highlight reel plays, earning a 74-62 win.
Before the game started, and with his family in attendance, forward
Ben Stevens (Halifax, N.S.) was honoured with a framed jersey. The fifth-year Environmental Sciences major is in his fourth and final season with the purple and gold, and is among the top 10 all-time for Laurier in several categories, including rebounds and field goal percentage.
Similar to both of last weekend's games against Algoma, Laurier struggled in the first quarter. After the Golden Hawks jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, the Warriors took advantage of some defensive miscues and put together a 12-0 run.
"We made a lot of mental mistakes, especially in the first half," said Manager of Men's Basketball Operations & Head Coach
Justin Serresse said after the game.
And indeed, miscommunication seemed to be part of the reason for Laurier's poor showing in the opening frame, as at one point they played two full possessions with six men on the court. Waterloo held an 11-6 lead after one quarter.
The second quarter saw improvement on both sides of the ball for the Golden Hawks, although they continued to struggle shooting the long ball, finishing the first half just 1 for 10 from three-point range. A late-quarter run gave Laurier the lead, but Waterloo battled back to make it 34-32 at half on a buzzer-beater from Jayden Grewal. In the third quarter, the Golden Hawks began to look a lot more comfortable, and benefited from a few big plays which energized the home crowd.
Finally, in the fourth, Laurier's backcourt duo of
Ali Sow (Ottawa) and
Romello Taylor (Driftwood, Ont.) went to work, leading the team on an 18-4 run which included four straight makes from the three-point line, and what might be the play of the year so far from Sow.
Taylor, who was last week's Laurier Athlete of the Week, would finish with a season-high 20 points on 50% shooting, while also playing strong defense, tallying four steals for the second straight game.
"I think he's playing like Romello should be playing... that's who he is." said Serresse of Taylor's recent hot streak. "He's playing composed, assertive, in control... and when he plays like that, it helps the whole team."
Serresse also made a point to emphasize that the strong second half was a complete team effort.
"
KJ Massela played with four fouls the whole second half, and he's a defender, he's guarding the other team's best play-maker or iso guy."
"
Kareem Elliott with eight rebounds was clutch, and
Majok Deng with 11 rebounds was amazing."
Rebounding was in fact a key to the Golden Hawks' victory, as they out-rebounded the Warriors 48-23. Wednesday's win puts Laurier in a tie with Western for third place in the division with a record of 5-4.
They'll look to keep climbing the standings, with round one of the OUA playoffs exactly one month away.
Top Performers
Golden Hawks
G
Ali Sow
Sow seemed to feed off the home crowd's energy tonight. He led the game in points (24) and assists (6) while logging 40 minutes played.
Warriors
G Kuel Thomas
The Kitchener native was both the Warriors most dangerous and efficient option on offense, scoring 19 points on 56% shooting.
Up Next
The Golden Hawks will face the Warriors on the road Friday at 8 PM for the second leg of this year's Battle of Waterloo. As always, you can watch the game live at OUA.tv.
