WATERLOO, Ont. - The Golden Hawks hosted the Windsor Lancers in the second game of a back-to-back and were looking to break out of their slump, but the Lancers were in control from the jump, handing the home side their third straight loss, 86-78.
Fifth-year forward Aidan Whalen opened the scoring before tallying the first nine points for the Golden Hawks. Later in the first quarter, Malik Langenegger's three-pointer put the purple and gold ahead by two.
It would be the only lead of the game for the Golden Hawks, and it was short lived as the Lancers answered back with a triple of their own.
Both teams shot pretty much even through the first ten minutes, but the Golden Hawks got into foul trouble and sent Windsor to the line six times where four shots fell.
Tensions rose in the second quarter as three technical fouls were handed out, and one more in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter. Windsor was in the bonus with 3:04 remaining in the second, but they were unable to capitalize as they made three of nine free shots.
Windsor went into the halftime break up 46-34.
The Golden Hawks were able to close the gap to four points with a 19-11 run over the first seven minutes of the third quarter, but a quick 6-0 run for the Lancers reopened the double-digit lead.
After a Laurier timeout, Jeremy Rudnick nailed the three, but Windsor answered on their next trip down the floor with a three-pointer of their own and the third quarter ended with Windsor in front 67-56.
Laurier's three-point shooting continued to be a bright spot for the team as 12 of their 22 fourth quarter points came from the long ball and went 34.2% overall. However much their three-point shooting has been keeping games within reach as of late, the Golden Hawks struggled to get in the paint, being outscored 40-24.
With the regular season winding down, the Golden Hawks' playoff hopes are fading fast.
"We have to understand that this is going to be over very, very soon," head coach and manager of men's basketball operations Cavell Johnson said.
"We have to win games to get into the playoffs. And it hurts so much when you drop the games you know you should win."
The Golden Hawks head to the road for their longest road trip of the season before coming home for three games to close out the season beginning on Saturday, February 7.
