Western vs Laurier January 30 92-93
Alumni Hall
First quarter
From the opening possession it was clear this was not going to be a slow night. With Imran Armstrong back in the starting group, Western pushed pace immediately, but Laurier matched it shot for shot. Isaiah Fisher hit an early three and set the tone for a game that would live on the perimeter. Matteo Zagar answered in the loudest way possible, exploding for a one foot dunk that shook Alumni Hall and announced Western's physical intent. Fisher came right back to the same spot and buried another three. Western recognized the shooting threat quickly and began draining the clock on offence, forcing Laurier to defend longer and rush decisions late. Isaiah Young floated one in the lane, but Laurier kept hunting mismatches and Malik Langenegger punished one with a three. Zagar did not let it sit, sprinting the floor and throwing down another dunk that rattled the stanchion in transition. The quarter flew by in a blur of threes and dunks, and Western finished it narrowly ahead 27 25 in a game already playing at full speed.
Second quarter
This was the stretch where Western looked like they were about to take complete control. Milan John found rhythm attacking downhill, collapsing the defence and finishing or kicking with confidence. Joe Baggaley Lacerte scored efficiently and Western's defence began turning stops into instant offence. When John slipped through for a layup that pushed the lead to 45 35, Laurier was forced into a timeout and the momentum felt firmly purple. Then the game turned into a highlight reel. Tye Cotie rose for a dunk that lifted the bench. On the very next trip, Owen Urquhart chose power over patience and hammered one home as well. Western was playing fast but now with control, stretching the lead possession by possession. By halftime, the Mustangs had built a commanding 53 39 advantage, up fourteen and very much in charge of the night.
Third quarter
Laurier tried to respond with shooting, but Western answered nearly every push. Max Voorpool hit a three. Raequon Pryce answered right back. The pace stayed high and the confidence stayed with Western. Baggaley Lacerte found a home in one corner of the floor and began drilling threes from the exact same spot, again and again. Late in the quarter, those shots stacked into something bigger. Western's lead swelled to twenty one, the largest of the night, and Alumni Hall felt like it was leaning toward a finish line rather than a fight. Western carried the quarter and entered the fourth up 77 61, firmly in control and seemingly cruising toward the close.
Fourth quarter
What followed was a free fall.
Baggaley Lacerte stayed hot to start the quarter, burying two more threes in quick succession, four in a short stretch bridging the late third and early fourth. When Zagar rose again for his third dunk of the night off a clean Armstrong pass, the lead was massive and the building felt ready to exhale. Even when Aidan Whalen hit a tough three to cut into it, Western had answers. Armstrong drilled a huge three of his own that pushed the margin back to double digits with only minutes left. Tye Cotie then blocked the only layup Laurier could manufacture, and it felt like the last resistance had been stamped out.
Then everything collapsed all at once.
Turnovers began stacking. Laurier started firing threes without hesitation. Whalen hit one with a hand directly in his face. Ethan Passley leaked out for a layup in transition. Liban Abdalla hit a three. Then another. Each possession felt louder than the last as the lead shrank in chunks rather than inches. A game that had been nearly twenty points moments earlier was suddenly single digits. The noise flipped. The energy flipped. The control vanished.
Afterward, head coach Brad Campbell pointed directly at the breakdown. "The issue was in the fourth quarter. We just turned the ball over constantly, and then they got very hot from three," said Campbell. "The game can turn very quickly, and that's exactly what happened. We got tentative after that," said Campbell.
Laurier completed the erase when Abdalla buried another three to tie it at 90 90, finishing a comeback that felt impossible minutes earlier. Zagar went to the line with five seconds left and Western trying to escape a collapse that already felt irreversible. He missed the first, then hit the second, giving Western a 92 90 edge.
Laurier had one possession left.
Abdalla rose and hit the three with 0.05 on the clock. 93 92. Silence hit Alumni Hall first, then disbelief.
Crowd thinks it was a 2, the refs say 3.
Campbell kept the message short afterward, knowing the schedule offers no pause. "We didn't finish the game off, obviously," said Campbell. "We got another one tomorrow. We're going to have to get ready and flip the script," said Campbell.
Western fell 93 92 in a game that swung from dominance to devastation in a matter of minutes.
Top five Western game leaders
Joe Baggaley Lacerte 20 points 5 rebounds 1 steal 2 blocks
Milan John 14 points 2 rebounds 9 assists 2 steals 1 block
Matteo Zagar 12 points 10 rebounds 7 assists 2 steals
Tye Cotie 11 points 6 rebounds 2 assists 1 block
Emmanuel Akot 10 points 1 rebound 3 assists 1 steal
