LONDON, Ont. – A 31-point game from Greg Morrow helped lead the Western Mustangs to a 71-60 victory over the Laurier Golden Hawks on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Hall.
 
"I think as has been the case over the last couple of weeks our defence really did it for us today," said Western head coach Brad Campbell. "Outside of probably the second half of the fourth quarter I thought our defence was outstanding. We executed the game plan very well, and outside of some defensive rebounding I think that was the difference today."
 
The win is the Mustangs second consecutive victory, and moves the purple and white into a tie with the Golden Hawks for second place in the OUA West with both teams sporting 6-7 records.
 
Morrow's 31 points led all players on Saturday, and came off of 13-22 shooting as well as going 5-6 at the free throw line. He was also one rebound away from a double-double, with Tom Filgiano topping the Western charts with 10 boards. Guard Jedson Tavernier joined Morrow in double digits with 12 points of his own, and overall eight Western players registered points in the win.
 
"I think [the win] is big for us," said Morrow. "I think it's a big confidence boost. We always want to get revenge on Laurier because we've lost some games in the past that mean a lot, so getting this win is great for us."
 
While the Mustangs got a significant amount of their offence from a single source, the Golden Hawks spread the scoring around with four players hitting double digits in the loss. Matt Chesson led the way with 15 points, followed by 13 each from Will and Owen Coulthard, and 10 from Vlad Matovic.
 
Neither team got off to a fast start in the opening frame, with the two sides combining for only 18 total points. With both sides struggling to connect on their shots from the floor, Western had a 20% success rate compared to 19% for Laurier, the first quarter ended with he home side up 10-8. 
 
The Mustangs extended that slight lead throughout the majority of the second quarter, going on a 13-0 run that lasted just under seven minutes into the frame to take a 23-8 lead. Once the Golden Hawks got on the board they began to turn the tables on the purple and white, outscoring Western 11-9 for the remainder of the quarter thanks in part to strong shooting from Owen Coulthard and Matt Chesson. Despite Laurier's late push, Western led 32-19 at the half.

The third quarter was mostly a back and forth affair, with neither side able to go on a sustained scoring run before being cut off by points from their opponents. The Mustangs held a slight scoring edge at 22-19, giving the home team a 54-38 lead heading into the final quarter.

That lead proved to be one the Mustangs would never give up, as although the Golden Hawks outscored the purple and white in the final frame, the Mustangs closed things out with 71-60 win.

Next up for the Mustangs are a pair of weekend contests against Nipissing and Laurentian next Friday and Saturday at Alumni Hall. Game time on both nights is set for 8 p.m. and both games will be broadcast live on OUA.tv