LONDON, Ont. - Four Mustangs players scored in double digits to lead Western to a 93-78 win over the Windsor Lancers on Friday night at Alumni Hall.

"It's an important win when you're playing a traditional rival of ours and any OUA West opponent, it's almost worth double the points. So, it was a big interdivisional win, especially against such a well-coached team and a good team like Windsor. We'll take it," said Mustangs' head coach Brad Campbell.

The Mustangs were led by Henry Tan, who put up 17 points to go along with seven assists in the team's 93-78 victory over the Lancers.

Three other Mustangs scored in double-figures for the purple and white, as Omar Shiddo racked up 15 points, while Jedson Tavernier added 13 to help bolster the offence for Western. Mustang forward Marko Kovac added 14 points, six rebounds, and four steals against his former team in the Lancers as a key contributor on both ends of the floor.

"It felt good to get that win. There were some familiar faces so there was some tension there, but overall it felt good to get the win over them and hopefully we can get two in a row when we meet them again in February," said Kovac on getting this win over his former team.

Prior to tip-off the matchup between the two rivals began with a moment of unity, as the life and memory of Paul Thomas was honoured pregame.

Thomas, the former iconic coach of the Lancers, was a member of the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame, the Western Athletic Hall of Fame, the Western and Windsor Halls of Honour, and a Canadian national team player. He was also a player on the Western men's basketball team from 1946-1950, winning four Ontario titles during his career as a Mustang. Thomas was honoured with a moment of silence by the two teams that he loved.

The Mustangs opened the first quarter running the pick and roll to perfection through the point guard play of Nikola Farkic and bench-scoring of Shiddo. Both teams found themselves caught up in the competitive fever of the game, as Windsor would be awarded two technical fouls through the opening frame. The Western scoring would slow down towards the end of the frame, as Windsor would maintain 60% from the field to earn a 20-19 lead heading into the second.

Shiddo continued to be a spark for the Mustang offence alongside Kovac, a former forward for the Lancers. Despite the early production from the purple and white, turnovers would quickly add up to feed the Lancer offence, leading to uncontested layups. However, Shiddo would continue to lead the offence, as both sides traded baskets throughout the frame, unable to get consistent defensive stops nearing the end of the half. Neither team would find a way to pull ahead by the end of the quarter, as the Mustangs went into halftime facing a slim 42-40 deficit.

Kovac and Tan took control of the offence to open the third quarter, pushing the pace and creating open shots for the purple and white. Ball movement would remain a theme for the Western offence, consistently making the extra pass, leading to open shots or free throw opportunities. The Mustangs eventually found their footing on defence behind the energy of Tan and Kovac, as they headed into the fourth with a 72-59 lead.

Western continued their defensive energy through the fourth quarter, trapping Windsor ball-handlers and drawing effective charges in the paint to create turnovers. The ball-movement remained the main contributor to the offence for the purple and white, as Farkic and Tan controlled the pace as the Mustangs' floor-generals in the half-court. Western would maintain their defensive presence for the remainder of the fourth, not allowing the Windsor shooters to find their rhythm, as they cruised to the eventual 93-78 victory.

"Our pace was a little slow in the first half, and I think that focus and ball-movement helps with the trust in each other. We're playing a matchup-oriented game and the ball's got to move. In the first half we didn't make shots, but they fell in the second and it made our guys feel pretty good about ourselves offensively," said Campbell.

"We're clicking at the right time. The flow of the game was much better tonight and games like these are just so big for our confidence," said Kovac, commenting on the team's second win in a row over a top-caliber OUA opponent.

With the win, the Mustangs will improve to 3-2 on the season, moving past Windsor and into second in the OUA West division. The Lancers' loss will drop them to 2-2 on the season, as they move to third in the OUA West division.

The Mustangs will be back in action this Friday, November 17 where they will travel to Ottawa for a meeting with the Gee-Gees. The game is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. and fans can catch the action live at OUA.tv.