GUELPH, Ont. - Another game, another standout performance from Taye Donald, and another win for the Golden Hawks. That's been the story so far this season, and it continued on Wednesday night as Laurier left Guelph with their sixth straight win. 

22 of Donald's game-high 31 points came in the second half, as he and DeAndrae Pierre (23 points) led the purple and gold to a 91-79 victory. 

It was all Golden Hawks to begin the game. They jumped out to a 14-4 lead to silence a normally raucous Gryphons home crowd. 

"Going into Guelph is not easy," said manager of men's basketball operations and head coach Justin Serresse. "[At home], we have our football guys right behind the other team, but there's enough space for them to breathe. In Guelph, those guys are literally right on top of us," he continued. 

"Not letting the crowd get into it too early... being able to establish our game early with great stops and great execution on offence was very impressive." 

Laurier forced six turnovers in the first quarter, leading to seven points the other way. They held a 25-11 lead at the end of the frame. 

The Gryphons came roaring back with a 14-5 run to start the second quarter, led by second-year guard Dezayne Mingo.  

The 2022-2023 OUA rookie of the year scored 18 of the team's 31 points in the period, and he did it without missing a single shot, going 6-6 from the field and 4-4 from the free throw line. He'd finish with a team-high 27 points on 9-14 and 7-7 shooting. 

"He's going to do that at times, he's a legit scorer," said Serresse, "but on top of that, the other guys weren't missing" 

"That's when you really need to be good [defending] the other guys too, if with the top player's going off. We didn't do that well, I thought we did that better in the second half." 

Laurier led 48-42 at the end of a second quarter that saw both teams combine for 54 points. Guelph added another 22 points in the third and cut the lead to 69-64 heading into the final frame. 

That only set the stage for yet another Tayekover, as Donald could not be stopped. He scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, making a solid defensive Gryphons team look completely helpless at times. 

At the other end, the Golden Hawks halted any hope of a comeback, holding Guelph to just 15 points in the fourth quarter. 

The win moves Laurier to 6-1 on the season, as they remain atop the OUA West division standings. Guelph, meanwhile, falls to 2-5. 

BY THE NUMBERS 

25.3 

After failing to reach 30 points even once last season, Donald has already eclipsed the mark three times this year. His 25.3 points per game leave him just behind Toronto's Callum Baker, who holds the OUA lead at 25.8. 

"He's just got to keep it up," said Serresse. "He's going to get more and more heavily scouted, and I'm excited to see how he's going to learn how to operate against different schemes and different gameplans, that's the next level for him." 

6 

What impressed Serresse most in this game wasn't Donald or Pierre's scoring but the playmaking of Benhur Gebrekidan. The fourth-year guard/forward set a new career-high with six assists, including some absolutely beautiful passes. 

Gebrekidan has been working to improve his offensive consistency, and contributed a team third-best 14 points in this game. Along with improved rebounding and playmaking, the sharpshooter is quickly settling into a more dynamic role this season. 

8.6 

Nana Boateng's 10 rebounds improve his season average to 8.6, good for seventh in the OUA. Chidera Ubosi added eight boards off the bench. Both players have seen more minutes the past five games with Majok Deng sitting out due to injury, and have done more than their part in filling his absence. 

"What they've done is the best productivity we have had from our bigs in years," said Serresse. "When Majok comes back, maybe they play together. Maybe we go big at times." 

"What's really attractive is that all three should be able to rebound at a high clip and having big that can come in and rebound, execute on pick and roll coverage and execute out of the pick and roll is very, very important for us." 

UP NEXT 

The Golden Hawks will host the Gryphons for the second leg of this week's home-and-home on Saturday, November 25 at 3 p.m. at the Athletic Complex. Tickets are on sale now.