Starting a season at home against two teams with a combined 6-22 record last year would seem a soft touch, but the Blues men’s basketball season learned the hard way that taking any opponent for granted can come back to haunt you.
After a season opening 68-62 win Friday night against Waterloo, U of T entered Saturday afternoon expecting to fare at least as well against a Wilfrid Laurier team coming off a 2-12 season and featuring 10 rookies on their 16-man roster.
However, the visiting Golden Hawks had different plans and romped to an 83-62 victory.
After a pair of early three-pointers by Paul Zyla, the Blues had their run and gun tempo contained by Laurier.
The Hawks were able to work their way into a one point lead by the half, using a half-court style that kept U of T in check.
The game truly took a shocking turn early in the second half. Four minutes into the final half the Hawks unleashed an alarming offensive barrage.
In just under five minutes the Blues were blown out of their own gym by an 18-5 run that put the visitors ahead 65-51 with a dozen minutes left to play.
“It definitely deflated us quite a bit,” said U of T head coach Ken Olynyk.
“You know we’re a pressure team and we want to get after people…when they scored a couple of baskets we didn’t recover from them.”
U of T would go on to lose by a mind-boggling twenty-one points. For Laurier the win came on the heels of a narrow 72-70 win at Queen’s the night before, meaning the Hawks matched their entire win total of last season within the first two days of the 2001-02 campaign.
For the Blues, a long stretch of road games now begins before their next date at the Sports Gym January 18.
After a lengthy season-ending home stand U of T will then host the OUA East playoffs, as they try to qualify for the post-season for the first time in four seasons.
