WATERLOO, Ont. - For six quarters of basketball this week, the Waterloo Warriors defended the #7 Laurier Golden Hawks better than any team in the OUA has been able to do this season. Laurier escaped with the win in a 64-61 nailbiter at Waterloo on Wednesday, but found themselves trailing at halftime at home on Saturday afternoon. 

It took a career night from Benhur Gebrekidan to finally open things up as a big second half lifted the purple and gold to an 84-57 victory. 

The Warriors had as good a start as you could hope for on the road against a nationally ranked team, putting together a 12-0 run to begin the game. Even with Waterloo's defence looking impenetrable, the Golden Hawks were able to fight their way back with a 12-2 run of their own, and went into the second quarter tied 16-16. 

"I thought we had some great shots to start," said Manager of men's basketball operations and head coach Justin Serresse. "You could tell from our body language. When we were missing those shots, I was more worried about the defense." 

Laurier's shooting struggles continued in the second, while Waterloo's stifling defence made it difficult to find any sort of rhythm, creating what Serresse called a "vicious cycle." 

"In the first half, we had 60% of our possessions with one or zero passes, we can't play our style of basketball if we're not moving the ball." 

Trailing 35-31 at halftime, Serresse and his team were in need of a spark. They found it in fifth-year veteran Benhur Gebrekidan. 

"That first half was kind of like last game, just going back and forth close," said the Gatineau, Que. native. "You need to flip the switch and come out fighting, just be aggressive on both ends of the floor. So we started off the third quarter just ready to go at them." 

Rather than go back to his starting lineup, Serresse started Gebrekidan alongside Taye Donald, DeAndrae Pierre, Vladimir Lukomski, and Majok Deng, and the Golden Hawks went to work right from the first whistle, mounting a 15-0 run to begin the second half. 

M?? Q3 - The Hawks are HOT to start the third, Donald makes it a 13-0 run!#SoarAbove | #WLUvsWAT pic.twitter.com/4aUXj3y8Id

— Laurier Golden Hawks (@WLUAthletics) January 13, 2024

After a first half of mostly slow, defensive basketball, the home crowd was finally treated to the free-flowing offence they're used to seeing, and witnessed likely the most dominant quarter Laurier has played so far this season. Waterloo didn't score their first basket until over halfway through the period. 

"It all started on defence," said Gebrekidan, "We were getting a lot of defensive rebounds and were able to just explode and run out in transition and not let them set up their defense." 

Gebrekidan is right to credit the defence, which was excellent, holding the Warriors to a startling 16.7% shooting from the field in the second half. But the 6'5" guard was a major factor as well, draining three of the Golden Hawks' eight three-pointers in the third quarter. He also had two rebounds and a steal. 

M?? Q3 - Benhur Gebrekidan's ??on fuego??#SoarAbove | #WLUvsWAT pic.twitter.com/cmYC3LrucS

— Laurier Golden Hawks (@WLUAthletics) January 13, 2024

Laurier would outscore Waterloo 33-8 to take a 64-43 lead into the final frame, far too big a deficit for a now-reeling Warriors squad to overcome. 

The win is Laurier's third straight since the holiday break, and extends their winning streak to five games dating back to December. They improve to 11-2 on the season and remain in first place in the OUA West and second overall in the conference.  

Waterloo, meanwhile, drops below .500 at 6-7. It's the eleventh straight win for the Golden Hawks over their cross-town rivals, marking the longest winning streak on record by either team in this matchup. 

BY THE NUMBERS 

7 

Gebrekidan would add two more long bombs in the fourth, bringing his total for the game to a career high seven three-pointers on just 11 attempts. It's tied for the second most three-pointers in a game in program history. All of Gebrekidan's game-high 21 points came from beyond the arc. 

M?? Q4 - Benhur can't miss! He's got a career-high 6? three-pointers!#SoarAbove | #WLUvsWAT pic.twitter.com/g3xVdpxCTp

— Laurier Golden Hawks (@WLUAthletics) January 13, 2024

16.7% 

Meanwhile, the Warriors struggled mightily as a team from long range in this game, making just four of their 24 attempts, which matches their percentage from the field in the second half. 

52 

In addition to Gebrekidan, Laurier got big offensive contributions from Ethan Passley (13 points, five assists) and rookie Maxwell Voorpool (10 points) off the bench. Chidera Ubosi and Nana Boateng added four points each, adding up to 52 bench points for the Golden Hawks. 

UP NEXT 

The Golden Hawks play just once next week. They host the Lakehead Thunderwolves (6-8), who sit  in sole possession of fourth-place in the OUA Central division, at 8 pm on Saturday, January 20. Tickets are on sale now.