WATERLOO, Ont. - Three games, three losses, and just six points separating the Golden hawks from their opponents over that stretch. It's far from the way Laurier wanted to finish what's been an impressive regular season, and Saturday's Senior Night loss stings just a little bit more. 

Despite late heroics from Maxwell Voorpool, the Golden Hawks fell just short against the Western Mustangs, losing 79-76 in the final game of the regular season. The loss squandered Laurier's chance at regaining first place in the OUA West division and earning a bye through the first round of the playoffs. 

"I'm a little bit disappointed that we couldn't get the bye," said Manager of men's basketball operations and head coach Justin Serresse. "It is what it is, we've got to get through the first round and figure it out." 

Despite that, Serresse was pleased with the way his team responded after a disappointing performance in Friday's loss to Toronto. 

"What we saw today in terms of the body language, energy, you can see the crowd get into it, the bench and the players are into it, it was just much better. It's a step forward back to where we were and where we want to be." 

The crowd and the bench were brought to their feet early by Taye Donald, who began the game by nailing four consecutive three-pointers. A converted and-one by Majok Deng made it a 15-4 run for the Golden Hawks. 

Both Donald and Deng were standouts on the defensive end in the first quarter as well, with the former drawing two charges and the latter recording a block. 

Trailing 26-17 heading into the second quarter, Western responded with a 7-0 run to begin the frame. Two quick threes from Benhur Gebrekidan halted the Mustangs' charge, and Laurier put together an 11-4 run of their own to push the lead to 46-35 at halftime. 

Laurier's offence dried up in the third quarter. After shooting 50% from three-point range in the first half, they went 2-10 in the period, and just 5-18 from the field. 

"They were mixing it up – zone, man, zone, man – so we were tiptoeing a little bit with that. I was trying to tell them to keep it simple, we had some sets to keep it simple, but at the same time they were just really plugging the paint and forcing us to play on the outside." 

Meanwhile, the Western found their footing offensively. 

Just like in these teams' first meeting back in early January, the Golden Hawks were able to hold the Mustangs' leading scorer Aryan Sharma to zero points in the first half. Last time, he was held to just nine in the second half. This time, he eclipsed that total less than four minutes into the third quarter.  

Sharma scored 11 points on a 13-2 Western run that tied the game at 48-48 at the 6:27 mark. The teams traded leads a couple times before Tyson Dunn sank two free throws to make it 52-51 at 4:09. The Mustangs stayed on top the rest of the way. 

"That's what he's capable of at times," said Serresse of Sharma, who finished the game with 20 points. The best player on the court Saturday, however, was Dunn, who had game-highs in points (30) and rebounds (11).  

"He's always very good when he passes and gets everybody involved and that got it going. Maybe we could have changed the coverage a little bit," conceded Serresse, but credited the Western backcourt duo, who produced despite being the focus defensively for Laurier. 

The Golden Hawks trailed 60-58 heading into the fourth. The Mustangs pulled away several times, but Laurier kept soaring back. Dunn hit a three to push the lead to seven with under a minute to go, seemingly icing the game, but two massive shots from Maxwell Voorpool made it interesting. 

"I know he can be an offensive spark and I thought he did that well today," said Serresse on Voorpool. "And I know he's clutch. At the end of the game, I was like, no matter what happens, just play Max. Because he's highly confident in those moments." 

In the end, both the Mustangs and the clock proved too much to overcome. The Golden Hawks finish the season with a record of 14-8, matching last year's. They'll be the sixth seed in the OUA playoffs, and will host the York Lions on Wednesday, February 21 in the first round.  

SENIOR NIGHT 

Before the game, Laurier honoured their four graduating seniors; Vladimir Lukomski, Benhur Gebrekidan, Majok Deng, and DeAndrae Pierre, who joined the Golden Hawks this season as a transfer student. 

"Those are four guys that I have the most utmost respect and love for," said Serresse. "Dre, I don't know as well, but the one year he came in, it's like, I wish you could play for me for another three." 

"Those four guys, but especially those three guys, mean the world to me. Vlad, Benhur, and Majok, I never doubted any commitment," he continued. "Every coach would dream to have coached those type of characters for five years." 

"They paved the way for me to be able to get my stripes and prove to the rest of the country that I can do some pretty good things, and I wouldn't be able to do it without them. They allowed me to express myself as a coach and they really trusted me. You can't ask for more." 

BY THE NUMBERS 

21.3 

Taye Donald finished the game with a team-high 20 points, bringing his per game average to 21.3 to finish the regular season. That's good for fourth place in the OUA. He also ranks seventh in the conference with 4.1 assists, and fifth with 2.1 steals. 

UP NEXT 

Tip-off against York is set for 7 p.m. at the Athletic Complex on Wednesday. Tickets are on sale now.