The Mustangs will be back in Alumni Hall for their final two games of a seven-game homestand with matchups against the Gryphons and Marauders following a pair of victories against the Lakehead Thunderwolves this past weekend.

Western found themselves down early against a struggling Lakehead team, but a strong second and third quarter, spearheaded by a 26-point performance from Marko Kovac, helped the purple and white retake the lead and escape with a nine-point victory.

Omar Shiddo made his presence known in his role as a starter, chipping in 19 points and five rebounds to help lead the team to 84-75 victory.

The following night once again saw the Mustangs dig themselves in a hole, this time in the third quarter, allowing the Thunderwolves to go on a sustained scoring run and retake the lead late in the game. However, once again the fourth-quarter heroics of Kovac and Shiddo would lift the purple and white to a 30-15 run in the frame, putting up 20 and 19 points in the game and giving Western the 77-67 win.

Western vs. Guelph – Wednesday, January 17 at 8:00 p.m. - Watch live on OUA.tv

The Mustangs will be entering Wednesday's matchup for the first of two meetings with the Gryphons this season, as Western fell 83-81 in the team's home opener and last meeting with Guelph last season. Eriq Jenkins led the Mustangs with 22 points on the night, with 4 Mustangs hitting double-digits, as the offence came fairly easy in the first half for the purple and white. However, the Mustangs fell flat in the third, allowing Guelph to sustain a run of their own. Western managed to bring it within one point in the fourth, but a pair of free throws helped Guelph edge out Western for their first loss of the season.

Despite the disappointing result last season, the Mustangs have moved on to boast an 8-6 record on the year, sitting second in the OUA West division, while the Gryphons hold a 3-11 record this season while sitting in seventh in same division.

Guelph has struggled from beyond the arc this season, sitting in last place in the country in threes made, the bottom-quarter of the country in rebounding, and the bottom-quarter of the league in assists per game. Consistency on both ends of the floor has been the biggest challenge for Guelph this year, as a surging Western team will be hoping to take advantage of the Gryphon's three-game losing skid.

The Gryphons will be led by Daniel Dooley, who is averaging 13.6 points per game for Guelph while also leading the team with three assists per game, an area the team has struggled to improve in all season long. Dooley will be aided by the scoring of Taylor Boers and Drew Walford, who average 10.6 and 10.2 points per game for the Gryphons, respectively.

Western vs. McMaster – Saturday, January 20 at 6:00 p.m. - Watch live on OUA.tv

Western will enter Saturday's game for the first matchup with McMaster since last season, where the Mustangs walked away with a 95-89 victory over the Marauders.

The game was led by former Mustang Eric McDonald, who scored 15 points on the night and was one of five Mustangs to hit double-digits on the evening. McMaster brought themselves back in the game with a 13-point run to bring themselves with two points, but clutch free throws by the Mustangs in the final minute helped ice the game and give the Mustangs a victory in their final game of the season.

If last season was mediocre for the Marauders, this season has proven to be more of a struggle, as the team holds a 2-12 record, only sitting above Lakehead in the OUA West division.

McMaster has played with pace all season long, sitting top five in shot attempts, but their offensive struggles come from the fact that those 72.2 attempts per game only register 75.4 points per game, as the Marauders have shot an abysmal 35.9 percent from the field this season.

However, despite their struggles in terms of scoring, the team has found success in rebounding, sitting third in offensive rebounds per game, most likely aided by high-volume of shot attempts. If Western wants to slow down the Marauders' rebounding, they'll need to box out early and anticipate short rebounds off of penetration.

McMaster will be led by veteran guards David McCulloch and Miles Seward. McCulloch, who is averaging 19.5 points per game, has proven himself to be an overall key piece to the Marauders' game plan, averaging 4.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.5 steals per game to go along with his scoring output. Seward has also been a consistent figure for McMaster, shooting a respectable 42 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from three.