LONDON, Ont. – "It was no secret that today was a do-or-die situation for us, and the guys came out and played with a great sense of urgency, and it showed," manager of men's basketball operations and head coach Cavell Johnson said.
The Western Mustangs had already clinched the top seed in the West division and wanted to put an end to the Golden Hawks' playoff push while hoping to finish the regular season with a third consecutive win. However, the Golden Hawks had much different plans, upsetting Western by 12 points at 76-64.
The Laurier squad knew they had to come out and throw the first punch, and did they ever.
Ethan Passley set the tone for the first quarter on the team's first shot, draining the three-pointer. Two minutes later,
Isaiah Fisher turned his defensive board into a triple, setting the score at 6-4.
Not even 30 seconds later, the Golden Hawks switched it up to take advantage of the zone defence as
Aidan Whalen fed
Chidera Ubosi down low who finished with the contested lay-in.
Three weeks ago, the Mustangs were able to keep
Taye Donald, the OUA's third best scorer, well under his average, but with the Golden Hawks' season on the line, Donald was a force to be reckoned with. Fisher cleaned up the offensive glass and Passley took over, cutting down the lane and kicking out to Donald for three. On the very next possession, he sank another for back-to-back three-balls, putting the Golden Hawks in front 14-4.
At 2:46, big-man
Omar Nur forced the turnover that sent the Golden Hawks out in transition where it was Passley again finding
Aidan Whalen, who picked up right where he left off
the night before with a career high six made three's, and hit all twine for another Golden Hawk triple.
The Golden Hawks were in their flow state, and with a minute and two cents left in the first quarter, the Mustangs had another defensive lapse that left
Terell Lloyd wide-open in the corner, and of course, added three more points. Laurier took a dominant 24-12 lead into the second quarter.
Laurier made six three's to Western's two, marking the highest amount they have made in a single quarter this season, with five of Laurier's eight players having at least one three-pointer in the first quarter. What is more is that the Golden Hawks ended the night with 11 long shots, a total they had not put together since their first meeting with the Mustangs a few weeks ago, enough for the second most threes made on the season, and there was no better time to do it than with the season on the line.
However, the second quarter was like watching an entirely different team. The sharp-shooting faded away while the Mustangs ramped their intensity up.
"We got a little gassed and started giving up some untimely buckets on the defensive end of the floor, and that allowed Western to get set in their zone defence. I don't think we were moving and attacking gaps the way we had done really well in the first quarter," Johnson said.
The script flipped entirely as the Mustangs put up 22 points on 50% shooting from the field to the Golden Hawks 10 points on 21% field goal shooting. The Mustangs chipped away at the 12 point deficit, and by the end of the half, the teams were level at 34 a piece.
For the majority of the third quarter, the Mustangs dominated. After Passley's jumper put Laurier up by two, Western went on an 11-0 run that kept the Golden Hawks off the scoresheet for over three minutes. Eventually, the Mustangs put the Hawks in their own 12 point hole.
But the game was one of runs, and the Golden Hawks ran. Whalen found himself with space at the three minute mark and his jumper fell, ending the Mustangs' streak.
"We got some really good stops on the defensive end, and it allowed us to get out and push in transition, and that gave us a little bit of momentum to close that gap," Johnson said.
The Golden Hawks went on a 12-2 run with three minutes remaining in the third. "The guys knew the urgency. They gave it everything they had, and just dug deep, stayed together, stayed composed, and got ourselves back into the game."
With 25 seconds to go, Donald found his rhythm again, sinking a contested three, all before taking the feed from Passley, with time winding down, and hitting the buzzer-beater triple that almost completely erased the deficit. Of Passley's five assists in the game, four of them went to Donald.
"He did a good job of finding that balance of knowing when it's time to go create for himself to score and then knowing when it's time for him to facilitate and move the ball. He did a really good job of choosing to be that guy, to be a different kind of facilitator for us tonight," Johnson said, crediting the veteran Passley.
Nur and Ubosi were huge factors when it came to the rebounds, having nine and eight, respectively, while combining for six of the team's 11 offensive boards.
"They just stayed relentless. They played with an assertive presence on both ends of the floor. They played purposefully and intentionally. I was very pleased with their defensive presence, some nice blocked shots, a handful of altered shots as well," said Johnson, acknowledging the performances of both his forwards.
The Mustangs had the slight advantage at 53-52 going into the fourth quarter.
The tables turned back to their original position as the Golden Hawks pulled even on Nur's free throw, and they would not give up the lead again. The Golden Hawks put up 24 points to Western's 11, which created a new record for the Mustangs on the season: the fewest points they have scored in a single quarter.
At 7:35, Nur collected the offensive rebound, and the Golden Hawks went to work breaking down the zone defense that left Passley open on the wing where he connected from distance, giving the Golden Hawks a 10 point lead. Passley finished with 17 points and five assists.
On Western's ensuing inbound, Donald intercepted the errant pass and did not have to go very far to get to the bucket for two points, forcing the Mustangs to burn their second timeout of the quarter, just three minutes in.
"Some big defensive rebounds, keeping them to one shot, some huge steals from Taye and Ethan, and then just a rhythm on the offensive end of the floor. We ran with the right energy in the fourth quarter, and got the ball into the high post, and we were able to make things happen," said Johnson.
A minute later, Whalen's shot would not fall but Passley was on the baseline to scoop up the loose ball and found Donald cutting to the paint where he would adjust in mid-air to avoid the charge, laying in two for the Golden Hawks' biggest lead of 16 points.
At the final buzzer, Donald recorded 29 points, six rebounds, seven assists, and three steals.
"At one point, actually in the third quarter, I had a quick conversation with him, just about not putting too much pressure on himself and about enjoying the game and making sure he wasn't feeling too tense. And he goes, "I'm good coach, I just really want to win this game. I don't want this to be my last game." I think he did a really good job of staying locked in and making sure that he was contributing in all facets of the game," Johnson said about Donald.
Laurier found themselves in the bonus, and finished the game shooting from the line, ending Western's two game win streak while snapping their own three game slide, and their playoff hopes lie in the balance, waiting for the rescheduled game between the Toronto Varsity Blues and McMaster Marauders.
