Box Score LONDON, Ont. - After a heartbreaking loss against the Guelph Gryphons on Thursday night, the Western Mustangs wanted to play exceptionally well against the Brock Badgers in their first home game of the New Year. Western began the game with their best opening quarter of the season, but unfortunately they could not maintain the intensity and fell short to the Badgers with a final score of 87-77.

Western opened the game with energy and continued to move the ball quickly on offence. A clutch three from Peter Scholtes put Western ahead on the scoreboard and sparked energy in the team in the opening stages. On the other end of the court great defence from the Mustangs created two quick turnovers, which led to fast break points.

The great play continued in the first quarter for Western and merely seven minutes into the game the Mustangs found themselves up 11 points. Brock struggled to get anything going offensively and the tight play of the Mustang defence restricted their ability to rotate the ball. The first quarter ended with the score 26-14 in favour of the Mustangs in what was one of Western’s strongest quarters this season.

Brock began to turn things around in the second quarter, slowly constructing a fundamental offence and beginning to make shots, decreasing the deficit as the quarter went on. Greg Morrow played great in the first half, driving to the hoop with power and finishing with finesse, finishing the first half with an amazing 15 points. Both Ryan Higgins and George Johnson continued to shoot well, especially from beyond the arc, and the second quarter ended with the score 48-36 for Western.

In the third quarter, Brock began moving the ball very well and began to get into a rhythm. The Mustangs searched for a way to control Badgers powerhouse Jason Tipping who seemed to run the show in the third quarter. Fortunately, Western was able to limit the success of the Badger offence with consistent defence. The third quarter ended with the score 62-57 in favour of the Western Mustangs.

A game that started out lopsided turned into a competitive match in the fourth quarter as Brock continued to execute offensively while Western attempted to maintain their defensive pressure. With four minutes left in the game, Brock began to pour on the intensity on both ends of the court eventually taking a small lead. Tshing Kasamba began lighting it up from beyond the arc for the Badgers making three consecutive three pointers to give them the edge. As Brock pulled ahead, coach Campbell looked to Jack Daneyko and Adam Vandervoort for a few quick shots off the bench but unfortunately, the intensity of the Badgers was too much for Western and the Mustangs fell short with a final score of 87-77 in favour of the Badgers.  

Morrow, who finished the game with 18 points, three steals and one assist, had a few comments at the end of the game. When asked what happened after such a strong start in the first quarter, Morrow responded, “It was all about turnovers. We stopped pressuring their guards and we slowed down. We simply lost focus as the game went on.”

“We need to keep practicing hard to salvage the season. When we have a poor practice, we do not achieve,” said Morrow.

The Mustangs return to the court this Wednesday against the Waterloo Warriors. Game time is set for 8:00 p.m. at Alumni Hall.