While athletes and fans alike may have a somewhat romantic idea of the Battle of Waterloo, tonight's game was one that lived up to the hype, as the Golden Hawks just barely defeated the Warriors 79-77 in a game that came down to the wire.
"[It was] a very fun game," agreed Manager of Basketball Operations & Head Coach
Justin Serresse after the game.
Th Golden Hawks soared out of the gates looking to extend their three-game winning streak, putting together a 12-3 run in the first five minutes looking . Laurier held an 18-14 lead heading into the second quarter, in large part thanks to second-year guard
KJ Massela, who had nine points on four for six shooting in the opening frame.
The second got off to an exciting start, as fellow Ottawa native
Ali Sow followed up his massive dunk from Wednesday's game with yet another highlight reel slam.
Credit is due to Waterloo's Kuel Thomas and Josh Akuamoah, who had the tough assignment of guarding Sow throughout the game, and managed to hold him to just 12 points. Sow, however, was still able to contribute on offense, leading the game in assists with nine. He also had seven rebounds.
With Sow not scoring at his usual pace,
Romello Taylor took over as the Golden Hawks' primary offensive option, finishing with a career-high 25 points. Romello was last week's Laurier Athlete of the Week, and is likely the front-runner for this week's award as well.
"He's playing with a lot more confidence right now," said Serresse. "I'm very happy and proud of him... He has to keep it up now."
Leading 37-31 at halftime, Laurier cooled down somewhat offensively in the third quarter. A three-point buzzer-beater from
Kareem Elliott kept the lead at five heading into the fourth.
The Golden Hawks led by as many as eleven points in the final frame, but Waterloo kept clawing their way back, even taking the lead at one point with just over a minute left to play. It was Taylor who turned the tide back in Laurier's favour though, making four straight free throws to put the game just out of the Warriors' reach.
The win extends the Golden Hawks' win streak to four games, as they improve to 6-4 on the season. Laurier has now swept their season series with Waterloo three seasons in a row.
Top Performers
Golden Hawks
G
Romello Taylor
Taylor has been on an absolute tear since the break, averaging 17.5 points, 4.8 assists, and 7.5 rebounds over his last four games.
Warriors
G Jayden Grewal
The Kitchener native had another strong game for the Warriors. He led the team with 23 points on 60% shooting, and was nearly automatic during their late-game comeback efforts.
Up Next
Tonight, the Golden Hawks surpassed Western for third place in the OUA West division standings and will face the Mustangs on the road this Wednesday at 8 PM. Watch all the action live on OUA.tv.
