LONDON, Ont. - Two weeks ago, when the Golden Hawks faced the #6-ranked Western Mustangs, it was a marathon decided in double overtime. This time around, however, will go down as a comeback for the ages.
The Golden Hawks entered the third leg of their five-game road trip off a Battle of Waterloo win, while the Mustangs were looking to right the ship after a 26-point loss to the TMU Bold.
Following the season's trends, the teams were neck-and-neck in the first quarter. After Julien Binzangi's layup put the Golden Hawks ahead 21-16 with 2:45 remaining in the frame, the Mustangs went on a 12-4 run to take the lead at 27-25 going into the second quarter.
Western went up by as much as six points in the early stages of the second quarter, but the Golden Hawks kept the Mustangs reined in as Joshua Loblaw cut the deficit to two points midway through.
But their grips were not strong enough. The Mustangs went on a 10-0 run that spanned nearly three minutes that put Laurier in a 12-point hole.
Western's lengthy runs paired with Laurier's struggles closing out quarters led to the Mustangs taking a 53-39 lead at the break, limiting the Golden Hawks to only 14 points while putting up 26.
The Mustangs shot 56.4% from the field to Laurier's 40.0% through the first half with Western's zone defense keeping the Golden Hawks to the perimeter. However, the Golden Hawks have been living outside the paint since the calendar flipped to 2026, and put up six three-pointers to Western's two, keeping the deficit within range.
On paper, the Mustangs won the third quarter by a slight margin at 24-22, but it could not have been more different on the scoreboard. At 5:34, the Mustangs took their largest lead of the game at 21 points, and led by 16 at the end of the period.
Surely, the 26-point second quarter alongside the double-digit deficit meant the Golden Hawks were out of it.
"I told the guys to go one possession at a time, that we just had to keep chipping away. We needed to keep fighting, keep working," manager of men's basketball operations and head coach Cavell Johnson said.
"The third quarter was rough. It didn't feel like we got the momentum that we needed."
But there was still 10 minutes left to play, and no lead is safe.
Aidan Whalen and Liban Abdalla took charge and left their fingerprints all over the fourth quarter. Whalen put up a team-high 16 points while Abdalla had 11.
The Golden Hawks started to click on both sides of the ball as the defense started to string together stops, and the offense caught fire.
Laurier cracked the code to the zone defense with their ball movement cutting in and swinging out, starting with Ethan Passley throwing an over-the-should pass to Jeremy Rudnick who kicked out to Whalen and his three-pointer hit nothing but net. The lead was brought down to seven.
Whalen ended his night tying his career high in points with 34.
A Western long ball put the Golden Hawks behind by 10 and forced Johnson to call a timeout to regroup.
"Hats off to Western. They are very strong and very established in their system. They made it difficult for us throughout the game," he said.
The Golden Hawks kept hitting from three-point range, stringing together three consecutive threes from the hands of Whalen and Abdalla, and it was a one possession game with 1:15 remaining.
On Laurier's ensuing possession after getting a crucial stop, Passley sent a no-look pass to Abdalla in the corner, and despite the quick close out, launched and hit the game-tying three.
The Golden Hawks had fouls to give and sent the Mustangs to the charity stripe on back-to-back trips. It was a gamble, but one that paid off as Western ranked 13th in free throw percentage, operating at 66.5%, and made 2-4 shots that put the Mustangs in front at 92-90 with five seconds left.
Laurier took their final timeout to draw up the game's final play.
"After we passed it in, I told Liban that if he had to catch and shoot wide open, then to take it. Otherwise, to get downhill. But his idea of downhill wasn't my idea of downhill," Johnson said.
Abdalla's hot hand would not be cooled off as he took the inbound pass on the perimeter and stepped into a hail Mary three to walk it off, handing the sixth ranked team only their fourth loss of the season, 93-92.
Abdalla went a perfect 4-4 in the quarter and had 22 points, five rebounds, and a career high four assists.
"These are the types of game endings that we all dream about as kids, and to see those guys celebrate like that, like a bunch of seven-year-olds was so amazing," Johnson said.
"It still feels surreal to me. I was telling coach David and John that I have never, in all of my years of playing basketball, felt like this after a game. It was just so surreal."
"It speaks to the dogs that we have in the locker room, guys that aren't going to give up on each other. And it shows that the culture is moving in the right direction. We have a team of selfless guys that want the guy next to them to eat just as much as they want to eat."
In the two games between the divisional foes, the Golden Hawks have put up the most points anyone has managed against the Mustangs this season at 98 and 93.
Laurier's 32-point fourth quarter was the most points the Mustangs have allowed in any quarter this season, and was Laurier's second highest scoring quarter.
With the win, the Golden Hawks are on a two-game winning streak and improve to 8-9, remaining in the fourth spot in the OUA West, as well as the final playoff spot. The Mustangs are still the division leaders, but have lost three of their last four games.
UP NEXT
The Golden Hawks continue their road trip as they visit the Windsor Lancers who are coming off a 13-point loss to the Waterloo Warriors.
