HAMILTON, Ont. – Despite a push in the final quarter to outscore their opponents, the Mustangs were unable to close the gap against McMaster, who left with the 82-94 win Saturday afternoon at the Burridge Gymnasium.
 
The loss moves Western's record to 14-8 on the season, with no effect on their placement of second in the OUA West. McMaster holds an 8-14 record to sit in a tie for fifth place in the same division.
 
Marko Kovac led the purple and white's scoring effort with 19 points, followed by Omar Shiddo and Henry Tan, who contributed 17 points apiece. Eriq Jenkins was also a large component of Western's offence, dropping 15 points while pulling down 12 boards – leading both teams in rebounds to accompany his impressive double-double.
 
Although Western was able to shut down Miles Seward – who places fourth in the OUA in scoring – his teammates were able to come up big for McMaster.
 
Matt Quiring led all players to score 23 points on 9-10 shooting, while Kareem Collins and David McCulloch also had effective nights to score 20 and 17 points, respectively.
 
The opening 10 minutes set the tone for the game, with both teams playing an aggressive offence and neither being able to build up any large advantage. Tan continued his recent streak of offensive outbursts to put up 7 points early, but McMaster was able to edge out Western, and led 22-24 heading into the second quarter.
 
The game remained a tightly-knit affair through the second frame, as the Mustangs traded the lead several times with the Marauders.
 
However, a quick pair of threes helped McMaster gain a slight lead, with Western unable to match their shooting from beyond the arc. The purple and white offence slowed down towards the final minutes to trail 36-46 at the half.
 
Not much ground was gained for Western throughout the third quarter, with several of their pushes proving unsuccessful against McMaster's defence. The Marauders used this to their advantage, extending their lead as the game went on.
 
The Mustangs fired back with a 10-3 run in the fourth, igniting a fury of buckets that brought the game within single digits. Unfortunately, Western wasn't able to generate enough steam to close the gap, and McMaster walked away with the 82-94 win.
 
Western will be back at Alumni Hall on Wednesday night for the last home game of the regular season, hosting the Brock Badgers. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. and fans can catch all the action live on OUA.tv.