LONDON, Ont. - The Western Mustangs held Laurentian to just 18 first-half points en route to an 78-53 win in their first game of the 2009-10 regular season on Nov. 6 at Alumni Hall. (HTML STATS)

Ryan Barbeau (Belleville, Ont.) led the Mustangs with 18 points along with four assists, three rebounds and three steals. Andrew Wedemire (Sarnia, Ont.) also had 18 points, adding eight rebounds for Western.

Garrett Olexiuk (Burlington, Ont.) had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds for the host squad.

The Mustangs jumped out to an early 6-0 lead before Matas Tirilis (Mississauga, Ont.) responded with the Voyageurs first points.

Western built a 17-7 lead with four minutes left in the first quarter, employing a simplified but effective attack.

Defence was the story though. Western led 24-15 after the opening quarter and held Laurentian to just three second-quarter points.

Western stretched the lead to 36-18 before rookie Dillon Hamilton (Vancouver, B.C.) drained a three to make it 39-18 with just under five minutes left in the half.

The Mustangs led 49-18 at the half, holding the Voyageurs to 22% shooting from the field.

Wedemire led the way with 16 first-half points while Barbeau had 12 points, four assists and two steals.
In the second, Western's lead was cut to 57-29 midway through tthe hird quarter, and the Mustangs led 66-37 after three quarters.

The Mustangs used a steady flow of bench support in the second half and held on for the win.
Western hosts York, coached by veteran bench-boss Bob Bain, who is now in his 35th season, on Nov. 7 at 3 p.m.