KINGSTON, Ont. - After having their seven-game win streak snapped by #1 Ottawa last weekend, the #4 Golden Hawks ran into yet another red-hot team from the OUA East, as they fell to the #3 Queen's Gaels on the road Friday night. The final score was 84-68.
The Gaels rank behind only the Gee-Gees in points allowed among OUA teams, and Laurier's offence had another frustrating night in front of a raucous crowd at the Queen's Athletics and Recreation Centre.
The Golden Hawks were held to a measly 12-40 from the field in the first half, including 2-20 from three-point range. Ethan Passley gave his team some life with a few impressive defensive plays leading to easy points at the other end, but the shooting struggles kept Laurier from gaining any significant momentum.
The Gaels' lead was 23-16 after the first, and was doubled to 47-32 by halftime.
The Golden Hawks came out hot to begin the third quarter, with Benhur Gebrekidan leading the way. He had 11 points in the frame and a beautiful assist to set up Majok Deng for an open dunk.
The lead was cut to single digits heading into the fourth, but that's all the ground they were able to make up. Queen's shut the door in the final frame, holding Laurier to under 30% shooting in the quarter for a third time in the game.
This marks the first time this season the Golden Hawks have dropped consecutive games. They fall to 13-4, now 1.5 games behind the second place Gaels, who improve to 15-3.
BY THE NUMBERS
20.6%
A slightly better second half (5-14) didn't do much to salvage Laurier's performance from beyond the arc. The Golden Hawks rely heavily on the long-ball, taking the third-most three-pointers of any team in the conference.
A performance like last night's is extremely uncharacteristic, but is a death blow when facing a team as strong as Queen's. They've shot below their season average of 31.1% from deep in each of their losses this season.
UP NEXT
The Golden Hawks are right back at it on Saturday as they take on the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks (14-4) in the last of this four-game road stretch, and their final road game of the regular season.
Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. in Oshawa. Follow @WLUAthletics for live updates and catch all the action on OUA.tv.
