Box Score Ali Validipak (Richmond Hill) hit a three from the corner and gave Waterloo a 4 point lead with just 56 seconds left in the game, but Waterloo could not score again and the visiting Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks escaped with an 83-81 win at the PAC on Wednesday night. Will Coulthard hit a huge basket with 3.1 seconds left to seal the victory in what was a very entertaining contest.
The game was back and forth all night with 15 lead changes and 13 ties in the game. Waterloo had a 10 point lead at one time in the third quarter at 49-39. An 8-2 run by Laurier brought that margin down quickly. Laurier's largest lead in the game was six points at 75-69 with 4 minutes remaining in the game. Waterloo answered that with a 7-0 run to take the lead back.
The final minute of play was intriguing as Laurier's Jacks Simmons hit a clutch basket late to cut the lead to two. A steal and layup by Garrison Thomas tied the score before Coulthard took a late shot to put Laurier up 2. After a time out and the ball in the front court, Waterloo had 3.1 seconds left, worked the ball to
Myles Charvis (Mississauga) for a shot from the arc above the key but the shot hit the front rim and Laurier had the win by scoring the game's last six points.
Myles Charvis (Mississauga) led the Warriors with 26 points and
Ben Davis (Mississauga) had a career best of 19 points with 9 rebounds.
Ali Validipak (Richmond Hill) had his second best scoring output with 17 points.
Will Coulthard, who led the comeback when the Golden Hawks were down 10, scored the game-winning basket and led the Golden Hawks with 26 points. Jack Simmons added 16 points while former Warrior Kyrie Coleman added 8 points and 8 rebounds for the purple and yellow.
The Warriors, who started off the game hitting 4 of their first 5 three point shots, ended the game shooting 47%. They also made it to the free throw line for 33 attempts, making 23 of them. Laurier held the rebounding margin, with enough offensive rebounds for many second chance points.
With the loss, Waterloo ends the pre-exam portion of the schedule with a 1-6 record and they are in fourth place in the OUA West. The top three teams in the division make the playoffs in February. The next games for Waterloo are January 9th and 10th when the division rival Algoma Thunderbirds come to visit.
