Box Score HAMILTON, Ont. — After a heart breaking loss against the Waterloo Warriors last weekend, the Western men’s basketball team attempted to regroup and prepare for their game against the talented McMaster Marauders squad. Despite playing well at both ends of the court, the Marauders were too much for the Mustangs and the game finished with a score of 86-62 in favour of McMaster.

In the opening minutes of the game, McMaster controlled the pace of play and found an offensive rhythm. After an 8-0 run by the Marauders, the Mustangs had little choice but to run their fundamental offense. After some solid shooting, Western edged their way back into the game. Particularly, two great shots from Peter Scholtes injected some much-needed energy into Western's play. The first quarter ended with McMaster leading 19-15.

In the second-quarter, tough Marauder defense forced several quick turnovers by the Mustangs. The Mustangs continued to struggle offensively, resulting in a low scoring start to the quarter. Elliott Dooley, who entered the game off the bench, made several shots from just inside the arc. Following his lead was Charlie Drouin, who managed to hit a clutch three-pointer, assisted by Jermaine Bernard. Despite narrowing the margin, the Mustangs were still down 31-29 at the end of the half.

Trailing, the Mustangs came out in the third-quarter determined to play tough defence. Tight denial prevented the effective rotation of the ball, which caused the Marauders’ offensive attack to break down. Unfortunately, Western could not maintain their defensive intensity, and Marauders Taylor Black and Joe Rocca drained several shots to get their team back on track. After a successful run by the Marauders, the third-quarter ended with the Mustangs trailing 58-47.

With the large deficit, Western had a lot of work ahead if they wanted to stage a comeback. Quinn Henderson started the quarter off strong, making a quick jump shot followed by a clutch three-pointer. Unfortunately, Western was unable to curb the Marauder offense and dropped their sixth straight contest.

For Western, Schotles led the team in scoring with 15 points, while Ryan Higgins picked up five rebounds.

Western will need to regroup before their next game against Lakehead University on Friday, January 18 at 8:00 p.m. in Alumni Hall.