Box Score LONDON, Ont. – Twenty-six points from Will Coulthard and another 23 from Max Allin lead the Laurier Golden Hawks to a 100-78 win over the Western Mustangs men's basketball team on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Hall.

"I think mentally we weren't all there to start the game and Laurier is the type of team that can explode on you offensively," said Mustangs head coach Brad Campbell. "We gave a lot of open shots and made some mistakes defensively and a lot of Laurier's players felt good about themselves on offence."

The Mustangs will now watch the out of town scoreboard as the Mustangs 8-14 record guarantees them either fourth or fifth place in the OUA West. Western's final standing will be determined by the winner of tonight's Lakehead-Guelph matchup, as a win by the Thunderwolves will put them two points ahead of the Mustangs giving them fourth place, while a loss clinches fourth place for Western. Regardless of the outcome of tonight's game the Thunderwolves and Mustangs will face off in an OUA Quarterfinal matchup next Wednesday.

Despite the loss, the Mustangs players put up solid offensive numbers of their own with four players in double digits including Peter Scholtes leading the pack with 21 points, Eric McDonald scoring 15 points, and both Greg Morrow and Rashayne Case adding 14 each.

The Golden Hawks took control of the game early in the first half with a string of baskets that the Mustangs were not able to keep up with going on a 13-3 run just past the midway point of the first quarter to end the opening 10 minutes up 28-13. Despite trading points to open the second frame the Golden Hawks slowly began to pull away, thanks in part their control of their boards as they recorded 10 second chance points in the first half. After 20 minutes the visiting Golden Hawks took a 52-29 lead into halftime.

Western began to pull closer in the third quarter thanks in part to three-point shooting from McDonald and Cameron Morris and containing the Golden Hawks to only two points in the final three minutes to cut the Laurier lead to 69-54 after the third frame. Despite the Mustangs improved play in the third the Golden Hawks put things away in the fourth as Coulthard drained five three pointers in the period, including three in less than 90 seconds, to cement a 100-78 victory.

The Mustangs now turn their attention to the post-season and a first round matchup with the Lakehead Thunderwolves on Wednesday, February 19 with the place and time still to be determined.