SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. - The Golden Hawks tipped off their season up north against the Algoma Thunderbirds on Friday night, and started their campaign on the right foot with the 91-52 win.
The 39-point deficit was not the only impressive line of the night. 11 of the 12 Golden Hawks in the lineup made an impact on the score sheet.
"It's huge. Even going back to last year, the approach is next man up. Everybody is a contributor. And if we get everybody contributing from a points standpoint, that's always great," manager of men's basketball operations and head coach Cavell Johnson said.
He went further, though, saying, "11 of 12 got on the score sheet, but I would venture to say all 12 showed up on the stat sheet. I know Isaiah [Fisher] didn't have points, but he was a threat. He remained a threat because he shot the ball with confidence, and he impacted the game in other ways, big time defensively. He let his presence be known."
The Golden Hawks got at the Thunderbirds right from the jump, and Laurier's rookies were at the centre of it. Julien Binzangi was able to get ahold of the errant pass and drove to the rim, getting his shot to fall plus a trip to the free throw line.
At the end of the first quarter, the Golden Hawks led 27-9, limiting Algoma to three of 14 from the field and two of eight from deep.
In the second, Algoma started to find their groove, but the purple and gold were already deep in their bags. Aidan Whalen and Mark Pohner led the way for the Golden Hawks with five points each. Whalen ended Algoma's 7-0 run late in the quarter, taking Malik Langenegger's drop pass and draining the three-ball.
At the break, the Golden Hawks led 42-23 on 37.8% field goal shooting and 28% three-point shooting. The bench was also highly effective with 23 points through two quarters, and that number would continue to climb as the game went on.
Hazara Jawanda started to heat up in the third, having eight of the team's 15 points midway through the frame. He ended with eight points on 4-6 shooting with six boards.
A new face to the Golden Hawks, transferring from Waterloo, Johnson said his performance was huge, especially as the team is without a traditional centre.
"The fact that he just continues to stick with it. Sometimes when he has those slower starts, he gets in his head a little bit, but tonight he did a really good job of staying mentally strong and he figured out a way to impact the game," Johnson said.
Langenneger also had a standout debut for the Golden Hawks. At 6:57 of the fourth quarter, he intercepted the Algoma pass and went end-to-end, finishing with the dunk. The Golden Hawks rookie finished with a team and game high 13 points along with four rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
Johnson said Langenneger's tenacity was what stood out to him the most.
"I think he did a really good job coming in with the second group and keeping the energy high from a ball pressure standpoint, and did a decent job of attacking gaps when they were there for him and moving the ball."
The second group scored 57 of the total 91 points for the Golden Hawks, compared to Algoma's 17.
"They did a really good job of just playing with and through one another. We played at the pace we wanted to play," Johnson said.
"I'm very proud of the way the rookies and the new faces showed up today. It takes time to build chemistry with new and young guys, but everybody's been bought in from day one, and it shows in the way that we play and the way that we support each other."
UP NEXT
The Golden Hawks continue their opening weekend against the Algoma Thunderbirds on Saturday at 4pm. Catch all the action live on OUA.tv, or tune in for updates on X.
After the weekend series wraps up, the Golden Hawks will play their home opener on Halloween night in round one of the Battle of Waterloo.
Tickets are available here.
