HAMILTON, Ont. - With only seven games remaining in the regular season, the 9-6 Golden Hawks made the trip down Highway 8 to face the 9-6 McMaster Marauders aware of the playoff implications this game carried.
Unfortunately, the purple and gold were unable to grab a crucial win on the road, with their second-half comeback push falling just short. The final score was 77-72 for McMaster.
The first quarter showed no signs of being the opening to such a tightly contested game, as the Marauders' loud and raucous home crowd saw their team dominate early on. The Golden Hawks struggled to generate much offence in the half court, and the opportunities they did create seldom led to points due to a 26% shooting performance from the field.
Majok Deng was able to breathe some life into Laurier's game late in the frame with seven straight points for the Golden Hawks, though McMaster added eight of their own over that span. The Marauders led 26-15 at the end of one.
Shooting struggles continued to plague the purple and gold in the second quarter, but their defence began to settle into its usual rhythm, which is always bad news for opposing teams.
A 9-2 run late in the period was somewhat spoiled by a McMaster buzzer beater to push the lead to 41-29 at halftime.
Laurier decided to use all the baskets they'd apparently been saving up throughout the first half in the third quarter, as they shot a red-hot 61% in the frame. This offensive outburst was paired with a dominant performance on the glass, as they outrebounded McMaster 15-7.
Leading the way offensively was Ethan Passley, who had 11 of his game-high 24 points in the third. A big shot from Justin Malnerich gave the Golden Hawks their first lead since the opening minutes.
The Marauders tightened up defensively late in the quarter and managed to tie the game at 56-56 heading into the fourth.
The final frame saw six lead changes as each team came up with some impressive plays on both ends of the court. Passley and Deng seemed to be on the same page throughout the night, and they connected on some big baskets for the Laurier.
McMaster's own duo of Mike Demagus and AY Osunde were equally impressive however, and it was an Osunde jumper assisted by Demagus which proved to be the dagger to cut down the Golden Hawks' comeback bid.
With the win, McMaster improves to 10-6 on the season but still trails Brock, Lakehead, Toronto, and TMU in a stacked Central division.
Laurier, meanwhile, falls to 9-7. They remain in second in the OUA West, but the gap between them and Windsor has widened with the Lancers OT win over TMU bringing their record to 10-5.
"We had limited room for error and now it's more like zero room for error," said manager of men's basketball operations and head coach Justin Serresse.
An encouraging sign for Laurier as they head into the final stretch is the return of Jahmyah Brown Jeffers. The rookie guard missed the last nine games due to injury. He scored 10 points in just 18 minutes Friday night.
TOP PERFORMERS
Laurier Golden Hawks
Majok Deng recorded season highs in points (11), rebounds (13) and minutes played (27). "He was super aggressive today. I felt like he was very confident in the game, so it was great to see," said Serresse.
That confidence was demonstrated in his first quarter three-pointer, a shot he rarely attempts. "He's showing growth in skills," continued Serresse. "That's very exciting for the rest of the season and also moving forward next year."
McMaster Marauders
While Demagus and Osunde were problems offensively, second-year forward Ares Culley-Bremmer was causing the Golden Hawks anguish all night at the other end. He had five blocks while pulling down a team-high 12 rebounds. He also scored eight points.
UP NEXT
The purple and gold will finish their three-game '"road trip" close to home as they face the Waterloo Warriors Wednesday, February 1 at 8 p.m. in the first leg of a Battle of Waterloo home-and-home.
It'll be a homecoming for Justin Malnerich, who played four years at Waterloo before joining Laurier as a graduate student. Follow @WLUAthletics for live updates and catch all the action on OUA.tv.
