TORONTO, Ont. - The Laurier Golden Hawks erased a 21-point deficit but could not finish the comeback, falling 86-78 to the Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday night at the Goldring Centre.
Toronto finished the game on an 8-0 run after
Joshua Loblaw tied the game with 3:03 remaining, handing Laurier its first loss of the season and moving the Golden Hawks to 1-1.
Max Voorpool led Laurier with 21 points, while
Isaiah Fisher added 19 points and seven rebounds.
Loblaw finished with 12 points, including eight in the fourth quarter.
Matei Vucenovic collected a game-high 13 rebounds off the bench, and
Liban Abdalla contributed 10 points and seven rebounds.
Laurier struggled offensively early, committing seven turnovers and trailing 19-9 after the first quarter.
Toronto extended its lead to 21 in the second, hitting seven three-pointers.
Fisher helped spark Laurier's response with 12 second-quarter points, including a late three that cut the halftime deficit to 48-38.
The Golden Hawks carried that momentum into the third. Fisher's three tied the game at 54 before Voorpool's layup gave Laurier its first lead with 4 minutes to go in the third.
Voorpool scored 11 points in the quarter, helping the Golden Hawks build a four-point lead before Toronto quickly stole the lead back, leading 63-62 entering the fourth.
Loblaw and
Malik Langenegger supplied baskets to keep Laurier close, while Vucenovic's offensive rebound and finish put the Golden Hawks ahead 72-71 with 5:21 remaining.
After Toronto regained the lead, consecutive Loblaw baskets tied the game at 78 with 3 minutes to go.
However, Laurier went scoreless the rest of the way as Andrew Dangelas and Lucas Prekovic delivered late layups before Dangelas secured the win at the free-throw line for the Varsity Blues.
Toronto held a 17-4 edge in points off turnovers and a 15-4 advantage in second-chance points.
Up Next
Laurier visits the Nipissing Lakers (0-2) on Friday, October 30 at the Robert J. Surtees Athletics Centre in North Bay.
Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m., streaming live for subscribers on OUA.tv
