WATERLOO, Ont – First-year guard Omar Shiddo scored a career-high 36 points to lead the Western Mustangs to an 88-65 win over the Laurier Golden Hawks on Saturday afternoon at the Physical Activities Complex.

The win moves Western to 6-12 on the year, while Laurier's record updates to 8-11 with the loss.

Shiddo's 36 points came on 12-22 shooting, with 15 of those points coming from behind the three-point line. Fellow rookie Eriq Jenkins followed with 17 points while Eric McDonald registered nine. Jenkins led the way on the boards with eight rebounds, with Cam Morris grabbing seven and Nikola Farkic, Jedson Tavernier and Shiddo each registering six rebounds apiece.

Tevaun Kokko led the Golden Hawks with 18 points while Matt Chesson added 14. Chesson registered nine rebounds for the home side, while Vlad Matovic and Kokko grabbed eight rebounds each.

The first frame was largely a back-and-forth affair, with both teams trading points throughout the opening 10 minutes. Chesson recorded six points in the first to help the Golden Hawks take a 15-10 lead into the second quarter.

Western came out firing in the second, with the Mustangs going on a 20-8 run in the first five minutes of the quarter, including 13 points from Shiddo. He'd go on to score 21 of the Mustangs 34 points in the frame to give the purple and white a 44-32 lead at halftime.

Laurier responded with improved defence in the third, with both teams trading points in the frame, with Western outscoring their opponents 20-17 to take a 15-point lead into the final ten minutes.

Western started the fourth frame on a 12-0 run, eventually building their lead as high as 28 points, on their way to an 88-65 victory.

The Mustangs return to home court for the final two games of regular season next week, starting with the Brock Badgers on Wednesday, February 15, before facing the McMaster Marauders on Saturday, February 18. Tip-off on Wednesday is at 8 p.m. and can be watched live on OUA.tv.