LONDON, Ont. – After ending regulation and the first overtime period in a deadlock, the Laurier Golden Hawks pulled ahead in the second extra period on Wednesday night, defeating the Mustangs 90-84 at Alumni Hall.
"We had two layups to finish regulation and overtime and you can't produce a better shot. We didn't convert, we didn't make them. We left the door open. We had a lot of guys who played a lot of minutes. I think we got a little tired and wore down as the game went on and didn't finish it off," said Mustangs head coach Brad Campbell.
"It's exciting to play in a game like that. It's exciting for the crowd and us players. It's high intensity, high competition," said Eriq Jenkins. "We had a chance, too. It doesn't feel right losing a game like that."
The Mustangs record moves to 1-4 on the year, currently placing them in a tie for third place with Algoma in the OUA West Division. Laurier's record evens out to 3-3 placing them in a tie for first with Windsor in the West.
Jenkins led the way for the Mustangs on Wednesday, leading all players with 26 points, while also topping the Mustangs leaderboard with 12 rebounds and four steals. Teammates Alex Coote and Cam Morris were next up on the scoresheet with 14 and 12 points, respectively.
Tevaun Kokko led his team with 22 points, including scoring 12 points from beyond the three-point arc, while Joseph Fo and Matt Chesson added 16 points apiece, along with another 14 from Shamar Burrows. Chesson also had a strong game under the net, leading all players with 17 rebounds.
Ian Smart recorded six points in the first frame, making plays deep in the key to help the Mustangs take the lead. Alex Otzyv had a strong start under the glass, grabbing four rebounds while Burrows recorded five for the Golden Hawks in attempt to catch up to their opponents. The Mustangs would take the 15-8 lead going into the second frame.
The Golden Hawks gained momentum early in the second, taking their first lead with just under three minutes left while the Mustangs continued to fight to stay on top. After trading the lead in the final two minutes, the Golden Hawks emerged with a 30-29 lead heading into the second half.
Both sides traded points for the majority of the third, with the Golden Hawks maintaining a small lead throughout the frame, before a three-pointer from Morris tied the game at 43-43 with just under two minutes left in the quarter. Western kept the momentum going, as they took a 50-49 lead heading into the fourth.
Scoring shifted in favour of the visiting team who opened the final quarter with a 11-2 run, including two three-point pointers that helped Laurier jump back in front. As the Golden Hawk lead extended to as high as 11 points, the Mustangs rallied with Jenkins leading, whose performance included eight points, three rebounds and a steal with less than five minutes of regulation that brought the Mustangs back into the contest. However, a free throw from Kokko tied the game at 70-70, and a missed layup by the Mustangs on their next possession sent the game to overtime.
Jenkins contributed six of the Mustangs eight points in the first frame of extra time, including tying things up with less than 30 seconds remaining in the period. Western had a chance in the final seconds to pull ahead, but the ball didn't find the bottom of the net, sending things to a second overtime period with the score at 78-78.
Laurier took the lead early in the second overtime, and didn't relinquish it, taking a 90-84 win.
"We got to find ways to close games out, to be better disciplined coming out of time outs and some things on the floor," said Campbell on the preparation for the next contest against Waterloo. "We got to do that in a hurry so we're going to practice and do the best we can to try and clean out those details. Defensive rebounding has been a bit of an issue for us, obviously. We work on these things every day and we'll continue to work on them."
The Mustangs hit the road on Saturday, November 26, to face the Waterloo Warriors at the Physical Activities Complex. Tip-off is at 3 p.m. and can be watched live on OUA.tv.
