LONDON, Ont. – Double-digit point totals from four different Mustangs and a 31-point second quarter helped power Western to a 90-65 win over the Windsor Lancers on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Hall.
"We thought we could win today, but obviously to do it in that fashion, make a bunch of three's, and that point spread, I don't think we expected that" said head coach Brad Campbell. "Overall we had great contributions from a lot of guys. We had multiple guys make multiple threes. We had a good team effort with guys contributing in different ways."
"We played great. I think it was our best basketball of the season," said Omar Shiddo. "We know what we're capable of. It's just about being consistent and being true to ourselves."
The win improves the Mustangs record to 3-9 on the year, moving them into sole possession of third place in the OUA West standings. Windsor remains in first place in the West, with the loss moving them to 7-5 on the year.
Four Mustangs recorded double-digits in their second contest of the week against Windsor, with Cam Morris on top with 16 including going 4-4 at the three-point line. He was followed by Omar Shiddo who recorded 15 points, while Eriq Jenkins and Jedson Tavernier contributed 14 points apiece. Morris and Jenkins grabbed seven rebounds apiece while Ian Smart and Nikola Farkic assisted with six rebounds each in the game.
Mike Rocca led the Lancers with a game-high 22 points, while teammate Mitch Farell followed with 11 points. Randy Oriakhi and Micqueel Martin recorded six rebounds each to lead the Lancers on the boards.
"You saw tonight a glimpse of what we can do. We have done that at times in games but nowhere near in a full game or we have lapses that cost us that," said Campbell on the team's young roster. "What we need to keep doing is clean up the things we need to work on and continue to try and maintain those things and focus that we do well."
The Mustangs started strong defensively, with Farkic and Smart grabbing four rebounds to maintain the purple and white lead in the first. Tavernier recorded the teams seven points in the last two minutes, and totaling nine overall in the first 10 minutes. The Mustangs led 20-11 to finish the frame.
Shiddo impressed in the second quarter, recording 13 points in the frame, including three baskets from beyond the arc. Western's tight defence prevented the Lancers from reaching the bottom of the basket allowing the Mustangs lead to extend to as high as 29 points. Connecting on 63.2 percent of their shots in the second frame, the Mustangs led the Lancers 51-24 at halftime.
The third quarter proved to be a much closer affair, with Windsor holding a slight 28-25 edge thanks to 20 points from Rocca, including 12 from long distance. Despite outscoring their opponents, the Lancers trailed at the end of the third 76-52.
Similar to the third, the fourth was close on the scoreboard, but the Mustangs early lead proved too much for the Lancers to overcome, with Western taking a 90-65 win.
The Mustangs take next week off before returning to Alumni Court to face the Ottawa Gee-Gees on Friday, January 27. Tip-off is at 2p.m. and can be watched live on OUA.tv.
