Second-half surge propels LU men to hard-court win

The LU Thunderwolves knew the No. 7 Laurier Golden Hawks were going to give them their stiffest test since a first-half loss to Carleton.

One of the highest scoring teams in the nation, the Hawks started slow, trailing 10-0 at one point, but then rallied to go up by as much as nine in the battle for top spot in the OUA West. But the Wolves, the No. 3 team in the nation, played slow and steady, refused to panic and let their defence take over and shift gears on host Laurier.

The result, thanks in part to a 24-point performance by Venzal Russell and the stellar D of guard Greg Carter, who made six steals to go with his 15 points, was an 88-83 win that pushed their record to 10-1, and at least for 24 hours into sole possession for first place in the division.

After their slow start the Golden Hawks stormed back, going on a 42-22 run and took a five-point halftime lead.

But the Wolves had an answer of their own in the third and LU pushed its lead to a game-high 12 with six minutes to go in the fourth before Laurier made a last-ditch run of its own.

But up three with 6.7 seconds to go, Russell went to the line and calmly dropped both free throws to put it away for good.
All-Canadian Kale Harrison had 24 points to lead the way for Laurier, who will host the Wolves in a Saturday rematch.

"As expected this was a tough game that saw both sides make runs. Laurier is a potent offensive team that keeps coming at you," said Lakehead coach Scott Morrison in a release. 

"In the first half they really taught us a lesson about transition. The key to our comeback was our ability to get better looks and O boards in the second half that limited their transition opportunities. Our goal now is to get ourselves focused on tomorrow's game and get ready to compete at 100 per cent for another 40 minutes."