Skip To Main Content

Laurier Athletics - Waterloo Campus

Laurier men's basketball 2024-25 graduating seniors
Colin McKay
78
Winner Guelph GUELPH 11-17, 7-13
70
Laurier LAURIER 14-15, 8-12
Winner
Guelph GUELPH
11-17, 7-13
78
Final
70
Laurier LAURIER
14-15, 8-12
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Guelph GUELPH 19 15 20 24 78
Laurier LAURIER 15 16 13 26 70

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Natasha Giannantonio

Gryphons complete home-and-home sweep of Golden Hawks on Senior Day

WATERLOO, Ont. – The Golden Hawks were back in action Saturday afternoon for Senior Day against familiar foes in the Guelph Gryphons. The Gryphons were able to dampen the celebrations, as they handed the Golden Hawks their second straight loss, 78-70.
 
"We had a little bit better of a flow offensively, we had more spurts of defensive assertiveness," manager of men's basketball operations and head coach Cavell Johnson said.
 
It was a back-and-forth affair in the first quarter, and for the most part of the game. After the Gryphons struck first, Taye Donald had a response right away, sinking the three-ball.
   
Chidera Ubosi has been a force on the glass the past few weeks and kept that going as he rose above a Gryphon to grab the offensive board and finished with the put-back two. The score was tied at 10-10.
   
Nathan Vergin had himself a day as well coming off the bench. At 2:15, Jalen Levene scooped up the loose ball turnover and fed Vergin who turned on the jets and sped to the rim to level the score again at 15. However, the Gryphons led 19-15 at the end of ten minutes.
   
Two minutes into the second quarter, Ubosi and Donald showed off their connection like they have been doing since the start of the calendar year with Ubosi throwing down the alley-oop to get the Golden Hawks back within one.
 
"As soon as I see him driving, as soon as I see my man take a step, I just get ready to take my two steps and jump as high as I can," Ubosi said. 
   
The Gryphons would go on an 8-0 run late in the quarter, but Aidan Whalen's free throws disrupted that run, and just outside of one minute remaining, Noah Ramsbottom pulled up from beyond the arc, and that three would be the last points both teams would score in the half.
 
The Golden Hawks took to the locker room down 34-31.
 
Laurier did take the lead early in the third quarter as Ethan Passley was able to knock the ball free and send Donald the other way for the easy lay-in. However, the Golden Hawks could not keep the lead for long as their shooting did them no favours and the Gryphons put up 20 points in the frame to Laurier's 13.
 
"We didn't come out to play as hard as we needed to, and they fought for it a lot more than we did on the glass, kind of just all around," Donald said. 
 
The Gryphons were able to capitalize on the Golden Hawks' mistakes to jump to a 10 point lead going into the fourth quarter.
 
At 8:09, Vergin cashed in three of his team-high seven points in the frame, and with a minute and change remaining, he got himself into the lane for the steal and finished on the other end with the two-handed jam. He finished the night with 15 points on 5-8 shooting and 4-4 from the line.
   
"Having that spark coming off the bench and being able to find that in a couple guys on any given night, and tonight it was Nate. Having him take ownership of that role and impacting the game like he does is huge," Johnson said, crediting his rookie.
 
The remainder of the game was settled on the charity stripe as both teams got into foul trouble, and the Gryphons would ultimately prevail.
 
After the game, the Golden Hawks celebrated the six graduating student-athletes, and the team had a special guest in attendance, former head coach and current Raptors 905 assistant coach Justin Serresse.
 
"I've been blessed to have Justin Serresse for my first two years, and now Cavell, they've been amazing. I give a lot of praise to those guys, allowing me to flourish and find myself while feeding my confidence at the same time. Also the guys here, I haven't felt a brotherhood like I have felt here," senior guard Donald said, reflecting on his Laurier career.
 
Ubosi also reflected on his time with the Golden Hawks, "Everyone tells you, everyone on this team knows your potential. They don't let you take a step back, so everyone keeps you accountable for what you're capable of."
 
Despite Johnson having one year with the purple and gold, he said, "I'm blessed to have these young men impact my life. Production on the floor is meaningless compared to the impact that their energies have on my life. It's been a blessing to have that experience."

The Golden Hawks may have just played their final regular season game on home court, but they are looking ahead to the upcoming week and their playoff hopes.
 
"Reality of it is, we really want to make the playoffs. So understanding the urgency has to be there. It's got to be a collective effort from top to bottom," said Donald.
 
The Golden Hawks take to the road to face the Windsor Lancers who have been hot of late on a four game win streak. Tipoff is set for 8pm on Wednesday, February 12. Make sure to tune in live on OUA.tv.
 
Thank you, Seniors!
#3 – Taye Donald
#8 – Nana Boateng
#34 – Chidera Ubosi
#11 – Dylan Brooks
#20 – Omar Nur
#10 – Jalen Levene
 
Print Friendly Version