The Robert J. Surtees Athletic Centre was buzzing for the Nipissing Lakers men's basketball home opener Friday night.

The energy in the gym was ecstatic as Nipissing kicked off the 2017-18 season against the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks.

Unfortunately, in the end, the Lakers would come out on the wrong end of a 84-56 decision to Laurier.

Nipissing had everyone cheering as they scored the first basket of the game and got off to a quick start.

Laurier was back in the game fast with another basket and the Hawks continued this all the way to a quick nine points.

Shots continued to drop back and forth evenly between both teams until the end of the quarter finishing with the Hawks up 20-13.

As the teams took the court for the second quarter, play continued with both teams gaining on the scoreboard.

Unfortunately, Nipissing couldn't crack the Laurier lead and the second ended with Laurier in control, up 48-31.

Going into the third, the crowd continued to amp up the players.

Laurier seemed to feed off the vibes as much as Nipissing as they kept their lead and held an advanrage of 58-41 after 30 minutes.

Tensions began rising in the fourth quarter as a few different players needed to be separated and fouls handed out.

As the game came to a close, the Lakers were unable to close the gap as the Golden Hawks grabbed the victory with the final score reading 84-56.

Leading the team with 14 points was Marvin Ngonadi with Shandon Ashitei right behind him, scoring 12 points.

The Lakers are back on the court Saturday as they host the Waterloo Warriors.

Tip-off is 8pm at the RJS Athletic Centre.