WATERLOO, Ont. - It bears repeating, the Laurier Golden Hawks just don't know how to play a boring game.Â
Riding a five-game win streak coming into Saturday night's matchup, the purple and gold looked confident against a Lakehead team that's gotten the better of them in recent years. The Thunderwolves made them work for it, but eventually it was Laurier coming away with a thrilling 110-109 victory in double overtime. Â
219 points marks the highest combined total in program history, but you'd never have guessed that was coming from the first quarter. A combination of tight officiating and poor shooting on both ends made it a low-scoring period. The Golden Hawks led 14-13 heading into the second.Â
The shooting struggles continued for Laurier. They did a good job on the boards, grabbing nine offensive rebounds in the first half, but converted those into only two second chance points. After a dizzying 13 lead changes, Lakehead went into halftime ahead 31-29.Â
The third quarter's often been when the Golden Hawks are at their best this season, and it was no different in this one. A 12-4 lead highlighted by some explosive plays turned the tide of the game midway through the period, and Laurier went into the final frame with a 62-55 lead.Â
The Golden Hawks continued to control the pace of play in the fourth, but Lakehead was lights out from the field, hitting nearly 70% of their shots including all three attempts from beyond the arc. Trailing by two with 25.4 seconds remaining, DeAndrae Pierre earned a trip to the line and sunk both free throws to tie the game. The defence would hold on and send the game to overtime.Â
Lakehead scored early in the extra period and Laurier would spend the rest of it chasing them. A clutch three-pointer from Benhur Gebrekidan and another impressive defensive possession under pressure extended the game another five minutes.Â
Leading 103-102 midway through 2OT, the Thunderwolves were gifted a chance to make it a two-score game when 5'11" Ethan Passley was caught on a switch guarding 6'9" Harold Santacruz. Passley stayed cool and swatted away the pass into the post, leading to a fast break the other way which Pierre finished to take the lead.Â
The lead wouldn't change the rest of the way. Pierre made another clutch bucket to make it 110-106 with 0:15 on the clock, but Nathan Bilamu hit a three-pointer to bring Lakehead back within one just six seconds later. Smothering coverage on the inbound led to a Laurier five-second violation. The Golden Hawks defence stood tall, however, finally bringing the game to an end.Â
"You need to win those types of games," said Manager of men's basketball operations and head coach Justin Serresse. "I take a lot of pride in never giving up when things don't go your way."Â
"That's part of my DNA. If you're looking at my story as a man, I think I've been resilient... coming here, being an immigrant, you've got have that mindset. So, if my team doesn't have that DNA, then I start questioning myself."Â
Serresse can rest assured that exact mentality is echoed by each of his players. Â
"You don't become champions overnight," said Pierre. "You want to get to nationals, these are the type of games and the type of mentality we need." Â
Pierre was a big reason the Golden Hawks were able to secure the win, leading the team with 31 points, 16 of which came in the fourth quarter and overtime. Coming up in big moments is something the fifth-year transfer student takes pride in.Â
"Part of the reason Coach Justin brought me here is to bring that veteran presence, that leadership, that closure mentality," he said.Â
"Dre is the silent assassin," said Serresse. "When you've got a fifth-year guy coming into your program, you're putting those types of players in to make that type of impact right away and win. And at the end of the day, I'm just happy for him because I know the last couple of years have been tough for him... I'm just happy for him to be able to experience that again."Â
The win extends Laurier's streak to six games and improves their record to 12-2 on the season. They stay put atop the OUA West division and in second place in the conference. Lakehead, meanwhile, drops to 7-9.Â
BY THE NUMBERSÂ
1,000Â
Pierre's 31 points matches his U SPORTS career high and gets him exactly to 1,000 career U SPORTS points. Pierre played two seasons with the York Lions and one with the Lethbridge Pronghorns in the Canada West conference before joining Laurier.Â
"It worked out in my favour, the double overtime," he joked. "I'm happy about that, but I'm more happy that we got the win."Â
43Â
Pierre added six rebounds and five assists while leading the team with 43 minutes played. That ties for the sixth-most minutes played in a single game in program history.Â
UP NEXTÂ
The upcoming four-game stretch is one the team's had their eyes on since the schedule was announced in the summer. Next weekend, the Golden Hawks travel to the nation's capital for back-to-back clashes with the defending national champion Carleton Ravens (9-6) and the #1-ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees (14-1).Â
"You got to walk the talk," said Serresse. "You say you're #5 in the country, they think you're #5 in the country... we're about to find out."Â
They'll get no reprieve the following weekend, when they go back on the road to face the #3 Queen's Gales (12-3) and the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks (11-4).Â
"I'm super excited to go on back-to-back road trips. It's going to test us like tonight, probably even more than tonight, I don't know if it's possible. We've got to look forward to it and we've got to be ready for the challenge."Â
Tip-off against the Ravens is set for 8 p.m. on Friday, January 26 at the Raven's Nest. Follow @WLUAthletics for live updates and catch all the action on OUA.tv.Â
