WATERLOO, Ont. - On the surface, this may have looked like any other Golden Hawks men's basketball game. After knocking on the door all night, Laurier came just short of stealing the lead in the final seconds, and dropped their 2023-2024 home opener to McMaster 75-72.
Of course it was close, this team only plays close games. Of course it was a hard-fought defensive battle, this team's identity is their defensive intensity, an identity they share with their rivals from Hamilton. Of course it was Taye Donald leading the way with 22 points, he was the team's go-to scorer and MVP last season.
But manager of men's basketball operations and head coach Justin Serresse says this is not the brand of basketball he wants to see from his team.
"We just shot ourselves in the foot too much," he said. "Mistakes after mistakes after mistakes, and we were still in the game, but just not sharp enough."
There were glimpses of the potential Serresse and anybody who's watched this young core knows they have.
After the Marauders opened with a 7-2 run, Taye Donald stole the ball and ran down for a dunk that brought the sizable home opener crowd to its feet early. On the next possession he made a nice kick-out to Vladimir Lukomski who sank a shot to take an 8-7 lead.
McMaster would re-take the lead 24-20 before the first buzzer on the back of Mike Demagus's 10 first quarter points, and wouldn't give it up again until late in the half.
Shooting struggles prevented the Golden Hawks from making a run in the second quarter, but strong defence at the other end meant the Marauders never led by more than six. A Benhur Gebrekidan three briefly put Laurier on top before the break, but it was McMaster ahead once again 42-40 heading into halftime.
Those shooting woes only exacerbated in the third, as the purple and gold managed a measly 13% from the field in the frame. Steady defence kept the lead from growing further than 56-51 before the start of the fourth.
Finally, Laurier's dormant offence again showed signs of life. DeAndrae Pierre drew a charge at the defensive end then made a tough layup through contact to tie the game at 57-57 early in the frame. McMaster wrangled back the lead, then Donald made it a one-point game with a three-point play with just over two minutes remaining.
The Marauders added a few scores, and it was Pierre who made a clutch three pointer to cut the lead to 75-72 with under a minute remaining. The scoreboard wouldn't change again, though, as Gebrekidan's prayer at the buzzer fell short.
This Golden Hawks team is too good for their shooting not to improve, but Serresse isn't letting his players off the hook for this season-opening loss.
"We've seen that story before, and it doesn't matter. You're going to have games like that. You've got to find a way to win."
"Nobody is exempted," he continued, "from scout execution, to composure on offence, to togetherness, to leadership, to IQ, this is not us. We have to bounce back way better. We've got to be sharper from top to bottom."
BY THE NUMBERS
22
Both Laurier's Donald and McMaster's Demagus led their teams with identical point totals of 22. Demagus was the best player on the court tonight, the fourth-year guard also had nine rebounds.
6
Over the entire game, the largest lead by either team was six points. It marks another in a series of extremely close games between these two teams over the past few seasons.
"We know each other well," offered Serresse as an explanation. "The head coach [Patrick Tatham] knows me, I know him, so we're able to take away a lot of their stuff, I know what he wants to do. I know that he knows my philosophy. We're good friends, so we understand each other well."
5
Vladimir Lukomski was his usual dependable self om the defensive end for the Golden Hawks, recording five steals in this one.
UP NEXT
The Golden Hawks will be on the road on Saturday, November 4 to face the Windsor Lancers, who narrowly won a season-long battle with Laurier for the OUA West division title last season.
Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at the St. Denis Centre. Follow @WLUAthletics for live updates and catch the game live on OUA.tv.
