Men’s basketball downs UW

Rookie Patrick Donnelly continued to shine as he reached a career high of 32 points on Saturday when he and the rest of the Laurier men’s basketball team defeated their cross-town rivals, the Waterloo Warriors, 114-82.

A sports rivalry between Laurier and Waterloo has existed on many fronts, which is perhaps why the win over the Warriors was particularly satisfying.

The close proximity of the two universities fosters a competitive air in which many athletes feel the need to prove that their school can come out on top.

Both Laurier and Waterloo drew many spectators to the infamous Battle of Waterloo at the Laurier Athletics Complex on Saturday where the Golden Hawks prevailed with a 32-point win.

“We really needed this win,” said Donnelly after this high-scoring game.

After their loss to McMaster on Wednesday in which, according to Donnelly, the Hawks couldn’t match the Marauders physicality, this win will help the Hawks get back on track as they look to further improve their 7-3 record for this season.

Currently the team is third in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) West, right behind the Lakehead Thunderwolves who they take on in a double-header this weekend.

After the game against Waterloo, Hawks’ head coach Peter Campbell continued to credit his team with the recognition they deserve. This year, said alumni player Jesse MacDonald to Campbell, it seems that all the Hawks want to score whereas in previous years it looked as though they just had to score.

“A lot of the guys have specific weapons or talents that they bring to the table,” said Campbell about this year’s team. “We’ve got more options and more depth than we’ve had in my eleven years with this team.”

“We have enough weapons that someone is going to take the pressure off of somebody else every night,” he added. “Tonight it was Patrick [Donnelly]. Also, Kale [Harison] was good, Matt [Buckley] was good, Max [Allin] was good and in the end, the entourage was great. It was a terrific team effort.”