LONDON, Ont - An early lead the Western Mustangs refused to let go helped them earn a close 66-62 win against the Queen's Gaels on Friday afternoon at at Alumni Hall.
"Queen's is a ranked 10 in the country and are well coached and disciplined," said coach Brad Campbell on the win. "Coming into this game we knew we had to be focused on defence. It wasn't the prettiest affair offensively, but our defence was able to hold, come up with stops, and battle on the glass enough to pull out the win."
The win improves the Mustangs' record to 2-1 on the season, moving them up to third in the OUA West, whereas the Gaels remain in fourth in the East with a 1-1 record.
Marco Kovac led the scoring efforts for the Mustangs, putting up 18 points on an efficient 54% from the field. Omar Shiddo also assisted with the point tally with 11 of his own, while Nikola Farkic had a well-rounded game, recording 7 points, 6 assists and 3 rebounds.
"[Kovac]'s just a competitor," said Campbell on his tough performance to fight through injury, "he's one of our leaders, having him out there - doing a nice job both offensively and defensively - helps us compete."
Quiton Gray was the focus of the Gael's offence, scoring 17 points alongside pulling down 5 boards. He was followed by teammates Jesse Graham and Jaz Bains, who both scored 9 points apiece.
Eager to give the fans a show for the School Day game, the Mustangs came out firing and began the quarter with a 8-2 run. Kovac put his shot to use, converting on 2 shots from beyond the arc to push forward their early lead. However, the defence was the dividing factor, as aggressive play alongside an effective press held Queens to single digits for much of the frame - concluding the quarter 15-10.
"The crowd was amazing," commented Campbell on the School Day event, "the energy, the kids screaming and cheering us on was great, and it gave us a huge lift in the first quarter."
The Gaels, quick to not count themselves out, tightened up their efforts to bring the game within one. As the teams exchanged buckets in the closely-knit affair, Queens eventually begun running out of steam - opening up the Western offence to convert on some quick threes. Shiddo established his shooting presence after a quiet start, letting it rain to record 10 points in the quarter. A final shot by Jenkins to beat the buzzer capped off the first half at 37-29.
The second half continued in a similar fashion, both teams going back and forth to keep the gap fairly stagnant. Despite various pushes by both teams, momentum was unable to shift for either side, with the purple and white leading 58-51 heading into the final 10 minutes.
The scrappy style of play remained the theme heading down the stretch, defence being the focus to keep scores tight. Locked in the constant exchange of buckets, the previously established lead allowed Western to shut down any attempts of a comeback for Queens and come out with the narrow victory.
"Coming in here and having guys play well was exactly what we needed to jump-start our season right now," reflected Kovac on the win. "I tried to bring some energy out, knowing this is one of the last times we'll ever play Queen's, I didn't want to miss an opportunity to play against them. This was a great win for our younger guys, knowing we can play against teams at the top, it'll help them gain confidence and grow their own type of game."
The Mustangs will be back in action on Saturday, November 3 to face off against the York Lions. Game time is set for 8 p.m. at Alumni Hall, and fans can catch all the action live on OUA.tv.
