After a 2-5 start to the season before the winter break, the Wilfrid Laurier men’s basketball team finished fourth in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) West division and will host the Brock Badgers in the first round of the playoffs.
The Hawks finished the season with a dominating 102-84 victory over the Western Mustangs Saturday afternoon to improve to 8-13 on the year.
Holding the tiebreaker over the Badgers — who now also sit at 8-13 — the Hawks needed the Windsor Lancers to win against Brock Saturday afternoon. Windsor defeated the Badgers 84-77.
The Hawks started strong Saturday afternoon, scoring 24 points in the first quarter and holding Western to only 16. The second featured much of the same with Laurier putting up 23 points going into the half, however Western was able to score 24 points against the Hawks’ defence.
Laurier continued the dominance in the third quarter, scoring 29 points and widening the gap.
Although the Hawks managed to crack the 100-point barrier, they had difficulty holding off the offence generated by the bottom-dwelling Mustangs. Western’s record dropped to 3-18 after the game and they do not qualify for the playoffs.
For the Hawks, Saturday’s game featured another strong performance by fourth-year Max Allin, who recorded a triple-double with 30 points, 12 assists and ten rebounds — the second of his career. Second-year Will Coulthard finished with 25 points.
Laurier’s bench was also able to put in some playing time, with 10 out of 13 players scoring at least two points.
The Hawks’ focus now shifts to Wednesday when they will host the Badgers at home. Tip off will be at 7 p.m. at the Athletic Centre.
