WATERLOO, Ont. - Laurier's home opener also marked the season's first edition of the Battle of Waterloo between the Golden Hawks and cross-town rivals the Waterloo Warriors. It was an instant classic and lived up to rivalry expectations. Â
The Golden Hawks entered the game riding a two-game winning streak after sweeping Algoma last weekend, while the Warriors narrowly took down York in their season opener thanks to a massive 30-point fourth quarter. Â
The purple and gold got off to a hot start, and Isaiah Fisher was the reason. In the first quarter alone, he had nine points and knocked down 3-5 three-pointers. With Ethan Passley cutting in to the paint, he spotted Fisher on the wing, and he made no mistake, hitting nothing but net to put Laurier in front 8-2.Â
Later on in the first, Fisher and company kept pressing. Liban Abdalla, making his Golden Hawks debut, sent a cross-court pass to Fisher that was almost intercepted, but Fisher was able to get off a quick catch-and-shoot, and his hand stayed hot as he knocked down the three. Â
After ten minutes of play, the Golden Hawks led 21-16.Â
Coming off a career high six assists in the second game of the Golden Hawks opening weekend, Joshua Loblaw earned his third consecutive spot in the starting lineup, and he did not disappoint.Â
The Warriors took a missed bucket out in transition that set up a one-on-one with Loblaw, but he he met the Warrior at the rim for the block, and the Golden Hawks went the other way with Loblaw as the trailer, taking the feed from Passley right to the rim for two. Â
"He's shown me how much he can impact the game," manager of men's basketball operations and head coach Cavell Johnson said about Loblaw. Â
"He chooses to come in and leave his thumbprint on the game in some way. He's a guy that, when he puts his mind to something, he really gets it done. I'm just happy to see him playing like he truly believes that he can."Â
Starting with Julien Binzangi finishing off a rally of three offensive boards with a put-back two, the Golden Hawks went on a 9-2 run to close out the half, but Abdalla made it a 12-2 run as he threw up a buzzer-beater three from halfcourt. Â
The Golden Hawks went into the break up 13 at 42-29. Â
The Warriors turned the tide quickly in the third quarter, upping the pace and bringing in the full court press. Waterloo put up 28 points to Laurier's 15, forcing the Golden Hawks into seven turnovers in the quarter. Â
"We didn't respond to the pressure initially. I'll definitely take ownership of or accountability for not calling a timeout to make an adjustment sooner than I did. I have to realize when we're up against the wall to give the guys a breather, to give them a perspective shift," Johnson said. Â
"But they just continued to fight. It's very evident that these guys want to win for each other."Â
The Golden Hawks stood their ground, and it was all tied at 57 going into the fourth quarter. Â
Fisher continued to stay hot from deep as Loblaw cut to the paint from the wing to find Fisher, and despite the hand in his face, he hit the three to tie the game at 65 with seven minutes remaining. Â
"I'm going to have games or weekends where I don't make one three, like last weekend I didn't score at all," Fisher said. "But I'm confident in my game and I know I'm a shooter. Shoutout to my teammates. They keep encouraging me and giving me confidence to keep shooting. I feed off that."Â
Fisher put up 25 points and five rebounds, along with a career high seven threes.Â
With two minutes to go, Jeremy Rudnick knotted the score once again at 73 before Abdalla went to the free throw line and pulled the Golden Hawks ahead by two, but the Warriors responded to tie the game at 75. Â
The Warriors had a chance to take the lead and make it a do-or-die for the Hawks, but the layup missed, sending the Golden Hawks the other way with 14 seconds left and the ball in Passley's hands. Â
Passley was tightly guarded, but that did not stop him from spinning around his defender to find the lane and blew past another Warrior right to the rim for the soft-touch layup. Â
"Once I saw the open gap and the time on the clock, I was just patient. Little drag, dribble, and then I found the lane and just calm finish at the simple bucket. I mean, if every team is going to give me that at the end of the clock, I'm hitting every game winner," Passley said. Â
His shot would be the difference maker as the Warriors failed to convert on their brief next possession, and the Golden Hawks came away with the 77-75 win and improved to 3-0 on the season. Â
For Passley, the game was his last home Battle of Waterloo. Â
"This game meant a lot. For one, I'm from Kitchener-Waterloo, so it was a statement to let everybody know this is my city. This is where I grew up. This is where I've trained. I made a statement for not only myself, but for everybody around to know that I'm here for the season, and there's going to be more of it," he said. Â
UP NEXTÂ
The Golden Hawks are back at the Athletic Complex on November 7 when they host the Laurentian Voyageurs. Tip is at 8pm and tickets are available here. Â
