LONDON, Ont.- The Western Mustangs bounced back after a three-game losing streak with an 88-81 victory over the Waterloo Warriors at Alumni Hall on Jan. 27.

The first half of the game was a tight battle between the two teams as each team applied strong defensive pressure and offensive play. The Warriors’ defence was not strong enough to hold back the Mustangs who outscored the Warriors in the first half 51-47. Western had key offensive contributions in the first half from Ryan Barbeau (Belleville, Ont.) with 14 points and Andrew Wedemire (Sarnia, Ont.) netting 11. Both went 3-4 at the foul line during the first half. 

The Mustangs extended their lead in the third quarter to 71-63 as they pushed through the Warriors' aggressive zone defence. Despite the Warriors outscoring the Mustangs 18-17 in the fourth quarter, the Mustangs defence, led by Garrett Olexiuk's (Burlington, Ont.) six rebounds, held down the Warriors offensive play and led to the Mustangs' victory.

Barbeau (Belleville, Ont.), who led the way for the Mustangs with 22 points and five assists in 35 minutes of play, said ultimately the full-team defensive pressure helped put a stop to the Warriors.

“In the second half, we forced them to take tough shots, which was key to our success,” said Barbeau. 

With this win the Mustangs improve to 8-7 and will travel to Wilfrid Laurier on Jan. 30 to take on the sixth-place Golden Hawks at 3 p.m.