LONDON, Ont. – Six different players scored in double digits to help lead the U SPORTS No. 4 Brock Badgers to an 80-65 win over the Western Mustangs at Alumni Hall on Wednesday night.
"That game was there for the taking." said Mustangs head coach
Brad Campbell. "We just couldn't really emerge or do anything and put back-to-back offensive possessions together to really cut into things. We had our opportunities we just couldn't get over the hump, offensively."
The loss updates the Mustangs record to 6-13, while the Badgers extend their winning streak to nine games and move to 14-4 on the year.
Omar Shiddo led the Mustangs offence with 17 points, with
Ian Smart close behind with 13.
Eric McDonald scored 11 points for the Mustangs, while also recording three steals.
Cam Morris led with five rebounds while
Nikola Farkic grabbed four.
The Badgers balanced scoring attack was led by Ryan Bennett's 14 points, followed by Cassidy Ryan with 12, while Daniel Cayer, Tyler Brown and Johneil Simpson each contributed 11 points. Dani Elgadi added 10 points in the win and recorded eight rebounds. Michael Asemoto led all players with nine rebounds on Wednesday night.
Brock got off to a strong start in the first quarter, opening things up with an 11-4 run to take an early lead. Western battled back in the late stages of the frame, rounding out the scoring with back-to-back baskets from Smart to cut the Badgers lead to 20-15 after 10 minutes.
After the two teams traded points through the first five minutes of the second quarter, the Badgers began to pull away near the midway point, going on a 13-3 run to take a 46-29 lead into halftime.
Western bounced back in the third quarter, led by Smart who tallied six free throws in the frame along with another three from Shiddo. The Mustangs strong free throw shooting accounted for half of their 18 points in the quarter, outscoring the Badgers by five and narrowing Brock's lead to 59-47 heading into the fourth.
The final quarter proved to be a back-and-forth affair, with the two teams trading points for the majority of the frame. Shiddo and McDonald recorded all but one of the Mustangs baskets in the fourth, as Shiddo registered nine points with McDonald adding in seven, but the Badgers early lead was too much to overcome, with Brock taking an 80-65 win.
The Mustangs will now prepare for their final regular season contest, with the McMaster Marauders set to visit Alumni Hall on Saturday, February 18. Game time is at 3 p.m., and fans can tune in to all the action live on OUA.tv
