WATERLOO, Ont. – The Golden Hawks tipped off the new year with a Saturday night showdown against their division foes, the Windsor Lancers. The Lancers were looking to sweep their Waterloo road trip coming off a 26-point win over the Waterloo Warriors, while the Golden Hawks aimed to keep their four-game losing skid a thing of the past.
It was ultimately a statement 88-73 win for the purple and gold, the 15-point difference the largest margin of victory on the season, thanks in part to Laurier's 52 second-half points and a breakout performance from the rookie Nathan Vergin.
"Dawg effort," interim manager of men's basketball operations and head coach Cavell Johnson said about his team's play.
Late in the first quarter with the Lancers up 16-10, Matei Vucenovic deferred to Vergin who drained the three-pointer. On the defensive end, an unforced Windsor error sent the Golden Hawks the other way where Terell Lloyd drew in two Lancers and fed Vergin who hit again from distance to knot the game at 16 with 2:13 remaining.
The Lancers separated themselves by four but the lead would not last long as Ethan Passley drove the rim getting the contested lay-up to go. Vergin, with Laurier's final possession of the frame, tied things up once more, converting two points. The scoreboard read 22-22 after ten minutes.
To start the second quarter, Passley found himself under tight coverage and all of his options occupied while the shot clock counted down, but the veteran guard stayed poised, sinking the step-back three with only one second remaining.
Passley and Vergin showed off their connection a minute later when Passley attacked the baseline drawing a crowd while Vergin slipped behind his defender, taking the pass, and making his third three-pointer of the game.
The Golden Hawks went on a 10-3 run in the opening three minutes to jump in front 32-25. However, the Lancers took over from there, ending the quarter on a 17-4 run of their own, taking a 42-36 lead into halftime.
A name surprisingly held to zero in the points column through the first half was the OUA's sixth-best scorer, Taye Donald.
"I had a quick chat with him before he went onto the floor to start the third quarter, and I said I know this is your half, let it come to you," Johnson said.
And of course, Donald did just that. At 8:38, Donald found nothing but net knocking down his first three of the night, and not his last. Under a minute later, he headed to the free throw line, the first time the Golden Hawks were awarded free shots all game, and made both attempts.
The Lancers still maintained a 52-46 lead, but back-to-back triples from Donald and Isaiah Fisher set the game back on even terms. Laurier was only up by one point with time winding down, but Passley found Fisher cross-court and he made no mistake from beyond the arc, giving the Golden Hawks a little bit more breathing room going into the final frame.
After being down by as much as eight points in the later stages of the second quarter, once the Golden Hawks regained the lead, they did not let Windsor back in.
"We made some small adjustments in the second half, and the guys bought into that. It was huge for us," Johnson said. "I think overall, everybody started to buy into the culture and buy into everything that we're trying to do as a coaching staff. They came back out ready to execute."
"We stayed engaged the whole game," Vergin added. "We were on the same page and we didn't let up."
At 6:22 of the fourth quarter, Donald brought his steal across the timeline, dishing to Vergin, and the hot hand stayed hot as the three-point shot fell.
A minute later, the Donald-Vergin duo connected again as Vergin drained his fifth triple from way beyond the perimeter. Vergin finished his night with 30 points, shooting 11-15 from the field, and 5-7 from distance, all marking new career highs.
Vergin's performance came just two points shy of tying the program record held by Patrick Donnelly (32 vs Waterloo in 2011) for the most points in a game by a Golden Hawks rookie.
"I know it was a rough first semester for me, but this sets a tone for myself. I'm going to continue the same momentum throughout the whole second semester," said Vergin.
"The first half of the season was so full of ups and downs … and Nate was not excluded from that. The message to him was just to continue to stay confident in himself, to understand that our whole coaching staff and his teammates have a lot of confidence in him, and we know what he's capable of," Johnson said, reflecting on his rookie.
The Golden Hawks kept rolling throughout the rest of the fourth quarter. With Laurier up 76-70, Donald extended that lead with quite the bang, putting his defender on the floor and draining another three.
After being shut out in the first half, he put up 23 points on 44% field goal shooting, going 5-12 from distance, six assists, and seven rebounds.
"I always have the utmost confidence in myself in my game. I know what I'm capable of," said Donald.
The Golden Hawks will set their sights on next weekend's series against the Algoma Thunderbirds. Despite the Thunderbirds' struggles this season, the purple and gold are not taking any opponent for granted.
"There's a new sense of urgency with all these games from in-conference play. We need to keep the same energy, no matter who we face," Vergin noted.
Tipoff is set for 8 pm on Friday, January 17, and 6 pm on Saturday, January 18.
Tickets are available now or catch the game live on OUA.tv.
