SUDBURY, Ont - With a gritty defence down the stretch, the Western Mustangs remain flawless in their pair of road games, taking a 88-78 win over the Laurentian Voyageurs on Saturday night.
Four Mustangs hit double-digits in a well-rounded offensive showing. Eric Jenkins led the purple and white with his 20 points, alongside 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Jedson Tavernier, Omar Shiddo, and Julian Walker all contributed with their shares, scoring 17, 15, and 12 points, respectively. Nikola Farkic was a key member in setting up his teammates, his 9 assists helping make his teammates' lives that much easier.
Taking advantage of Laurentian's shortened lineup - lacking the scoring-leader Kadre Grey - Western came out firing with a 12-3 run to put themselves in front early. Jenkins, coming off a good game against Nippising the previous night, pushed the offense forward with his 8 points in the quarter. The Mustangs' effectiveness came from inside the paint, dishing the ball around to open the Voyageur defense and make way for some easy buckets. At the end of the first 10 minutes, Western held a healthy lead at 28-16.
Despite the poor first quarter, the Voyageurs made good use of their players to match Western's scoring pace for much of the quarter. Several adjustments allowed for Laurentian to make several runs, but were quickly mirrored by Western's own scoring spurts. As neither team managed to gather much of a momentum swing, the Mustangs held onto their double-digit lead as buckets continued to be exchanged - closing out the half at 46-36.
The second half proved to be one of defence as the scoring pace begun slowing down in the third quarter. The Voyageurs came out of the half with a 9-2 run, but the purple and white were quick to react. Western's strong defensive core was implemented well with as they changed to a scrappy man-to-man. As Laurentian's shooting struggles turned into frustration, the Mustangs took advantage of several turnovers to quell any momentum the Voyageurs had from their previous comeback. Refusing to let the competition close the gap, Western held onto a 59-53 lead as they concluded the third.
As the Voyageurs made repeated attempts at getting hold of the lead, their lack of offensive firepower became evident as Western shut down any attempts of a comeback. A composed offence allowed for the Mustangs to safely close out the game and take home the 88-78 win.
The win helps improve Mustangs' record to 7-4 heading into the Christmas break, remaining locked in a competition for second place against Brock in the OUA West. The Voyageurs have their record for the season updated to 5-5 as they fall to fifth place in the OUA East.
The Mustangs will be back in action after the break on Saturday, January 5 where they face off against the Brock Badgers for their first meeting of the season. The game is scheduled to tip off at 3:00 P.M. EST at Alumni Hall, and fans can catch the action live on OUA.tv.
