The Mustangs hit back to back road games on the weekend with contests against the Nipissing Lakers in North Bay on Friday night and the Laurentian Voyageurs in Sudbury on Saturday night. Last weekend the Mustangs grabbed a victory against York, but followed up with a disappointing loss in the last few minutes in their thriller against Queen's.
Western enters this weekend in second place of the OUA West Division Standings, right on the heels of the Windsor Lancers. The Nipissing Lakers currently sit in fourth of the OUA North Division Standings, not yet able to grab a 'W' with a record of 0-13. The Laurentian Voyageurs, who have a record of 6-7, sit in third place of the same standings.
Fourth-year Mustang Greg Morrow leads the purple and white pack with 21.9 points per game, making him fourth overall in the CIS Individual Offence leaderboard. He also leads in the Mustang defence with 7.2 rebounds with teammate Tom Figliano following with 5.5 rebounds.
Anthony Spiridis came onto the court ready to play in their recent contest against Queen's. He topped the Mustang board with 20 points, nine rebounds and two steals. Determined to chance the outcome of their next games from their last, look out for Spiridis making plays in the key and using the paint to grab more rebounds.
Friday, February 6 at Nipissing Lakers - 8:00 p.m. - Watch live on OUA.tv
The Lakers have yet to find their winning luck this season as they currently sit with a record of 0-13. With an average 55 points per game, the Lakers offence has been struggling to catch up to big leads, with most games seeing the Lakers dealing with a deficit of over ten points.
Forward Marcus Lewis tops his teams scoreboard with 11.7 points per game and a 71% success rate from the free throw line, making him the toughest player in the squad. Teammate Marcos Clennon also leads the time, but in defence with an average 6.8 rebounds per game.
The teams scoring is most successful from the free throw line with a success rate of 64%. With six players connecting over 70% from the line, the Mustangs must be careful with their fouls given to prevent any Lakers success at the top of the paint.
Saturday, February 7 at Laurentian Voyageurs - 8:00 p.m. - Watch live on OUA.tv
The Laurentian Voyageurs are seeing some luck with a three game winning streak they intend to extend over the weekend. Defeating Brock and Nipissing twice, the Voyageurs have won with comfortable leads and offensive success.
Leading the pack is guard Ryan Bennett who is racking in an average of 17.4 points per game. Two of his teammates follow with Sam Hirst grabbing 16.2 points per game and Tychon Carter-Newman with 14.8 points per game.
Grabbing the game-high title of 27 points in the Voyageurs recent contest against Brock, Hirst has an 84.4% success rate from the free throw line to help his teams offence under intense pressure. The Mustangs have an aggressive player to go up against on Saturday night with Hirst taking the team high of 6.3 rebounds per game.
With the Voyageurs determination to extend their winning streak and the Mustangs goal to start their own, Saturday night is looking like a thriller in Sudbury.
