Box Score ST. CATHARINES, Ont. – The Western Mustangs men’s basketball team returned to action on Wednesday night, heading to St. Catharines to take on the Brock Badgers for the second time this month. After falling behind in the first half the Mustangs stormed back in the second, but were unable to topple the Badgers who came away with an 83-78 victory.
 
Both teams came out of the gate strong, going point for point throughout the opening quarter. The Mustangs looked to their outside shooting for the majority of their offence, going 5-8 from beyond the arc, and claiming a 25-24 lead after the first 10 minutes of play.
 
The early minutes of the second quarter played out much the same as the first with both teams exchanging points. Eventually Brock began to pull away midway through the quarter, going on a 15-0 run to jump out to a 41-30 lead. Brock finished the quarter outscoring Western 24-9 to enter the half up 48-34.
 
Despite falling behind in the previous quarter Western clawed their way back into the game in the third, mixing up their offence with standard jump shots and three point attempts. Western held a slight edge in the quarter, outscoring Brock 21-18 to close the gap to 66-55 entering the final frame.
 
Brock started off strong in the last quarter, opening things up with a 6-0 run to extend their lead to 17. Western began to take over just over two minutes into the fourth, hiting shots from all over the floor and establishing a 14-4 run to cut Brock’s lead down to seven with only 2:18 remaining. The Mustangs continued to fight with Elliot Dooley leading the way, scoring seven points in the final 2:18, and closed the gap to four points before Brock was able to escape with an 83-78 win.
 
Key to the Mustangs offence on Wednesday was a balanced attack with 31 points coming from players coming off the bench. Four Western players recorded double-digit point totals with Quinn Henderson  leading the team with 14 points. Rookies Dooley and Jack Danyeko each added 13  points while Charlie Drouin contributed 12 to the scoring column. Brock receieved similar scoring help from multiple players as five Badgers posted at least 11 points. Jameson Tipping recorded a game-high 17 along with grabbing 12 rebounds to lead all players in both categories.
 
The Mustangs return to the friendly confines of Alumni Hall for their next contest as they host the Guelph Gryphons this Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.