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Western Mustangs Sports

Elliott Dooley vs. Algoma - Feb. 27, 2016
Brandon VandeCaveye
58
Algoma Thunderbirds ALGMBB 5-14
72
Winner Western Mustangs WESMBB 11-9
Algoma Thunderbirds ALGMBB
5-14
58
Final
72
Western Mustangs WESMBB
11-9
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Algoma Thunderbirds ALGMBB 5 24 22 7 58
Western Mustangs WESMBB 18 19 15 20 72

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | By Liana Timbol

Veterans lead the way in Senior Day win over Algoma

LONDON, Ont – On a night that saw the Mustangs honour their graduating seniors, a trio of Western veterans scored in the double digits to help the purple and white take a 72-58 victory over Algoma at Alumni Hall.
 
"We started the game well in the first quarter and ended it well. It was a little messy in the middle but a win is a win" said head coach Brad Campbell. "To our credit, our defence really shut the door in the fourth quarter and we got some good scores off our defence, too. It was a good fourth quarter."
 
"It feels good to get the win. It's a pretty surreal moment right now" said fifth year guard Greg Morrow. "It's my last regular season game but it might be my last game at home. It's a crazy moment with few emotions going through my head right now. At the end of the day I'm happy we got the win."
 
The Mustangs end the season with an 11-9 record solidifying their second place finish in the OUA West. The Algoma Thunderbirds record updates to 5-14, placing them in fourth place of the OUA West with one more game remaining on their schedules.
 
The veterans played strong on Senior Day with Greg Morrow leading the pack for his final regular season home game with 16 points. Alongside Morrow, Peter Scholtes finished his regular season career with 11 points and led the Mustangs defence with 10 rebounds. Tom Filgiano was a defensive specialist all game making smart moves on the defensive front to grab nine rebounds as well as contribute 12 points.
 
Despite facing strong defenders, Andre Barber was able to capitalize on shooting in the last half of play with 16 points, nine of which were made at the three-point line. Fellow senior Brett Zufelt followed with 12 points and Reng Gum led all Algoma players with eight rebounds.
 
The Mustangs made it clear they were seeking revenge for their loss to Algoma back on January 15 as the purple and white started the game with a 15-0 run that lasted for the first seven minutes of the contest. Western's strong defence in the paint prevent the Thunderbirds from getting any clean shots from in close, and the home side led 18-5 after one.
 
After Western dominated the first 10 minutes, the Thunderbirds bounced back in the second quarter, outscoring the Mustangs 24-19 in the frame. Starting a full court press early, the Thunderbirds were able to turn the tables and prevent the Mustangs from making it through the key, catching up to pull within eight, with Western leading 37-29 going into the half.
 
Algoma continued their strong play in the third quarter, taking their first lead of the game just past the five minute mark off of a basket from Barber. Western trailed for the remainder of the frame until Morrow scored on a layup at the buzzer to put Western in front 52-51.
 
That lead would prove to be one that the Mustangs would never relinquish, as they outscored 20-7 in the final quarter, thanks in large part to eight points from Spiridis and six from Scholtes. At the final buzzer the Mustangs walked away with a 72-58 victory.
 
"The most important thing is we got the win." said Campbell. "The one thing I can say about all of our fifth-year guys is that they are team guys first and that's what they care about the most. That's what was important today."
 
"It's a little bit emotional to know it's your last game, but its a weird situation where you know it's your last regular season game but there's more left." said Scholtes. "For [the playoff game] we just got to make sure we're defensively all talking and making sure guys are aware, focused and 100% into the details defensively."
 
"It feels good to contribute to the program" said Morrow on his final season as a Mustang. "I think I can say I left no regrets in my time here at Western. I always like helping Western try to help improve the program and create a positive atmosphere around it."
 
The Mustangs will now advance to the first round of the OUA playoffs on Wednesday, March 2. Check back to westernmustangs.ca on Monday when the full OUA playoff schedule is revealed.
 
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