LONDON, Ont. - The No. 6 Western Mustangs capped a perfect pre-season beating UQAM 83-74 on Sunday afternoon. The Mustangs went 6-0 during their exhibition schedule beating Memorial, Algoma, Queen's, McGill and UPEI.
Western persevered through their exhibition schedules despite suffering a number of minor injuries. Head coach Brad Campbell acknowledged that the injuries set the Mustangs back.
"We're pleased with the record, but we feel we are a little behind where we want to be," Campbell said. "We had several injuries that limited what we could do in our practices."
Despite the minor setbacks, the new additions to the Mustangs' squad are meshing well together. Adam Jespersen, a London, Ont. native, has transferred from Hawaii and combined with forward Andy Wedemire has created a powerful front-court tandem. Campbell said he is pleased with Jespersen's integration into the Mustangs, stating that he "provides a very physical presence and plays with an edge."
Jespersen was not the only new face on the Mustangs this season. The recruiting class was one of the best in the province with Peter Scholtes (London, Ont.), Nathan DiLoreto (London, Ont.), Andrew Vincent (Timmins, Ont.) and Quinn Henderson (Dundas, Ont.)
Scholtes has cracked the starting lineup in the exhibition games and Henderson has been excellent contributing off the bench during the pre-season.
"Our recruiting class was very good," Campbell said. "Scholtes and Quinn have had great games, we are going to need them to contribute for us this season."
With Ryan Barbeau (Belleville, Ont.) running the show at the point, Marcus Barnett (Hampton, Virginia) at the two guard, the starting five of Jespersen, Wedemire, Scholtes, Barnett and Barbeau will be formidable for any opponent this season. Added to the mix will be Garrett Olexiuk, of Burlington, Ont., who has rested this pre-season to be ready for the regular season.
Campbell said he believes in his squad's talent and how they will match up in the OUA this season.
"The OUA conference as a whole is the best top to bottom, it's gonna be a war," Campbell said. "We've got the make up and the pieces to be one of the top teams in the conference and even the nation."
"We think we have a great shot at winning the OUA West."
The Mustangs will take their confident squad on the road to start the season heading to Sudbury, Ont. to face Laurentian on Nov. 5 at 8 p.m.. They will then face the York Lions on the road on Nov. 6. at 8 p.m. (
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Western will get to return to the cozy confines of Alumni Hall the following weekend as they face Ryerson in their home opener on Nov. 12 and Toronto on Nov. 13. Both games will follow the women's basketball games and tip-off at 8 p.m.
2010-11 New Playoff Format
The top two teams in the OUA West and OUA East divisions each receive first-round playoff byes, while divisional quarter-finals pit the divisional sixth-place team at third-place team, and fifth-place team at fourth-place team.
The 6-at-3 winner plays the second-place team in their division and the 5-at-4 winner plays at the first-place team in divisional semifinals.
Once divisional semifinals are complete, this year a new format will determine the OUA's two seeds at the CIS National Final 8 in Halifax.
The top seed remaining in the West will face the second-best East team remaining, while the best team remaining in the East will face the second-best in the West in an OUA Final Four tournament to be held in Hamilton, Ont., at McMaster University.
The semifinal winners will play for the Wilson Cup and will both advance to nationals. The two OUA semifinal losers could be eligible to qualify for nationals in an at-large, wild-card berth.
