WATERLOO, Ont. - The Golden Hawks are in the home stretch. Just two games remain, but two games are enough to decide who's in and who's out of the playoff picture.
The Brock Badgers are firmly in, sitting second in the OUA Central, and entered the game off an upset win over the #5-ranked Carleton Ravens. Laurier, on the other hand, sits fourth in the West and fell to Toronto the previous weekend.
The team's started fast in the first quarter, something manager of men's basketball operations and head coach Cavell Johnson said was "how we wanted to play."
The big three led Laurier through the first quarter. Ethan Passley, Aidan Whalen, and Liban Abdalla combined for 21 of the team's 30 points, with Whalen and Abdalla going perfect from the field and free throw line.
The Golden Hawks led 30-28 at the end of ten minutes.
Isaiah Fisher took over in the second quarter with a team high eight points on 3-3 shooting. Midway through the frame, Fisher intercepted the errant pass and went coast-to-coast, finishing with the one-handed jam to put Laurier up by seven.
Later, there was more from Fisher. On a missed three-pointer, Fisher knocked the ball loose from the rebounding Badger and hit the deck to maintain possession, tipping the loose ball to Joshua Loblaw who hit the spin move sending his defender sliding, and Fisher finished off his hustle play with the no-doubt three-pointer.
"I'm doing everything to help the team get as many possessions as we can," Fisher said. "Brock is a kind of team that's going to collapse the paint, and Josh is a guy who can get downhill, and that's what he did, and the ball found me."
The Golden Hawks had five players contribute to the point total in the second quarter compared to three from Brock, but the Badgers won the quarter by one point. Yet the Golden Hawks led 52-51 at the break.
After Fisher hit the first three of the third quarter, the Badgers stormed back on a 7-0 run to go up by three points.
The long-range shots were falling in a flurry for both sides as they made four three-pointers apiece. A Laurier turnover cost the team three points, but Passley got them right back off a feed from Fisher.
With the Golden Hawks in front by one in the final minute, the Badgers came away with an offensive rebound that turned into a buzzer-beater three, and Brock led 74-72 going into the final quarter.
It was neck-and-neck right until the final whistle. With two minutes remaining, Passley went right down the lane to the rim for two points, cutting the deficit to four points. On Laurier's next possession, Passley was able to keep the dribble alive and moved his way into the paint but kicked out to Fisher who hit his fourth three-pointer of the game, and suddenly it was a one-point game.
The Golden Hawks had fouls to give, but a crucial miscue put the Badgers in the bonus and two made free throws brought the Brock lead back to three points.
Coming out of a timeout, Max Voorpool released a three-pointer that just barely beat the shot clock and tied the game at 91-91.
But Brock would come back down the floor for the game-winning layup, beating the Golden Hawks 93-91.
"I think it started with the press they put on us," Passley said, reflecting on what could have gone differently for the team.
"They applied pressure on us very well, and I don't think we were entirely ready for it. There were little mishaps, little turnovers here and there where we couldn't execute plays."
"It was a tough back-and-forth game. We fought back, but it's just a tough one. We just came up short."
Fisher ended the night with 18 points on 6-8 shooting, while Passley had 15 points, five rebounds, and six assists.
UP NEXT
The Golden Hawks wrap up the regular season on Saturday night in a matchup with the York Lions. The game will feature a celebration for the graduating student-athletes.
"We have to make sure the guys understand that we have work to do. Yes, it'll be emotional, but we have a job to do first. If you want to put some emotion in it, let there be more passion for the guys that this will probably be their last home game in front of our fans," Johnson said.
