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From Laurier SID...

The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks defeated the York Lions, 66-55, increasing their overall record to 2-5.

“At times we played really well,” said Laurier’s head coach, Peter Campbell. “I think our biggest weakness was that we got them to the foul line early in several quarters, and you can’t defend against foul shots. But when crunch time came, Jesse [MacDonald (Brantford, Ont)] took over the game for us and that’s what he’s got to do.”

The Hawks started the game strong, taking the lead from the get-go after a lay-up from Matthew Buckley (Waterloo, Ont) closely followed by a three-pointer from Jesse MacDonald. Midway through the first quarter, Laurier increased their lead to 10 points, but by the end of this quarter, York had whittled this lead down to five points at 20-15.

Come the second quarter, Laurier further increased their lead over the visiting team. The half came to a dramatic end as, with only milliseconds left on the clock, Laurier’s Matthew Buckley slam-dunked the ball, making the score 34-26 for the purple and gold.

With the third quarter came a rainfall of threes courtesy of Jesse MacDonald and Kale Harrison (Stratford, Ont). Laurier ended this quarter up 20 points over the Lions, 55-35.

In the forth quarter, foul trouble ensued. The Hawks peaked at a 22-point lead over York before a seven-minute basket-free drought. During this time, York got 15 points in a row, narrowing Laurier’s lead to a mere seven points.

Thanks to Jesse MacDonald’s cool head and leadership, the Hawks got back on track, winning the game 66-55.

Jesse MacDonald was the high-scorer of the game with 18. For Laurier, Kale Harrison followed with 13 points and Matthew Buckley had 10. Maxwell Allin (Chatham, Ont) contributed with eight points and 12 rebounds. For the Lions, Stefan Haynes (North York, Ont) had 16 points.

Tomorrow Laurier takes on Laurentian with the hopes of increasing their record to 3-5.