SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. – Omar Shiddo and Marko Kovac combined for 48 points to help lead the Western Mustangs to an 89-80 win over the Algoma Thunderbirds on Friday night at the George Leach Centre.
 
The win gives Western a 10-7 regular season record and maintains the team's spot in second place in the OUA West, two points ahead of the Laurier Golden Hawks. Algoma is tied for sixth place alongside the McMaster Marauders, with both teams holding 4-13 records.
 
Both Shiddo and Kovac scored 24 points to lead all players on Friday night. Kovac went 8-14 from the four including three baskets from beyond the arc, while Shiddo connected on 7-14 shots from the floor with five three-pointers. Kovac also led the Mustangs rebound efforts, grabbing 12 boards in the win. Two other Mustangs also scored in double digits, with Eriq Jenkins and Alex Coote recording 12 and 11 points, respectively.
 
Nathan Riley led the way for Algoma, tallying 15 points on 4-6 shooting while also going 7-8 from the free throw line. Four other Thunderbirds made significant contributions on the score sheet, Cailum White recorded 12 points, while both Brandon Dwyer and Elijah Butler scored 11, and Reng Gum finished the night with 10. Riley and Gum also made their marks in the rebounding game, grabbing 11 rebounds each.
 
After trading baskets in the opening two minutes, the Mustangs began to build a lead near the midway point of the frame, with Western going on an extended 21-5 run to build up a 16-point lead late in the quarter. Kovac led the way for the purple and white during the run, recording seven points, including back-to-back three pointers towards the end of the run. Algoma began to battle back in the final minutes, cutting the Mustangs lead to 30-19 after 10 minutes of play.
 
The second quarter was a more closely contested affair with the Mustangs outscoring their opponents 19-16 in the frame. Neither side was able to break through an extended run, with each team's longest scoring run going for just five points each. The back and forth half ended with the Mustangs up 49-35.
 
Algoma came out strong to start the second half, going on an 8-0 run that ended with back-to-back three pointers from Pedro Costa and Lyle Jermaine to cut the Mustangs lead to six points. The Mustangs were undaunted by the Thunderbirds strong start, responding with a 10-0 run of their own, led by seven points from Jenkins to put Western back in front by 16. The Thunderbirds fired back in the final three minutes of the frame, recording 12 consecutive points to cut Western's lead to 68-57 entering the fourth quarter.
 
The Thunderbirds continued to push in the final frame, pulling to within six points just over 90 seconds in, however that would be as close as things would get, with the Mustangs walking away with an 89-80 win.
 
Next up for the Mustangs is another contest against the Thunderbirds in Sault Ste. Marie on Saturday evening. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m., and fans can watch all the action live on OUA.tv