WINDSOR, Ont. - Third-year forward Marko Kovac put up 17 points to go along with a team high seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals against his former team to help lead the Western Mustangs to a 94-86 victory over the Windsor Lancers on Saturday evening at the St. Denis Centre.

With the win, the Mustangs improve to 13-7 on the season and extend their lead over the Lancers for second place in the OUA West division. Windsor's loss will drop them to 10-10 on the year as they remain in third place in the OUA West standings.

Four other Mustangs scored in double-figures for the purple and white in the highly-competitive contest as veteran guard Henry Tan put up a team-high 19 points while Omar Shiddo and Jedson Tavernier put up 18 and 16 points, respectively. Eriq Jenkins also made his mark on the game, scoring 12 points to go along with a pair of steals in the victory.

The Lancers were led by veteran guard Mike Rocca. Rocca, as usual, made his mark on the defensive end of the floor, harassing the Mustangs on the perimeter throughout the game. Rocca not only led the Lancers with his scrappy defence but led Windsor on the offensive end as well, scoring a game-high 21 points to go along with nine rebounds and five assists before being ejected late in the fourth quarter.

The Mustangs struggled to connect from deep to begin the game, going 1-8 from beyond the arc in the opening quarter, but it was the defence which led the way for the purple and white throughout the opening frame, as Western held Windsor to sub-40 percent shooting from the field in the frame. Chris Clegg took advantage of his size early for the Mustangs, controlling the paint and helping the Mustangs to a 26-22 lead heading into the second frame.

The Mustangs quickly found their footing on the offensive side of the ball to begin the second quarter, as Tan and Kovac led the team to an 8-3 run midway through the quarter to extend the lead for Western. The threes would begin to fall for the purple and white to end the quarter, as nearly the entire Mustang rotation started chipping in baskets to help the Mustangs extend their lead to a 48-36 margin heading into halftime.

Windsor guard Mike Rocca would lead the way for Windsor to open the second half, controlling the pace for the Lancers offence and bring his team within single digits early in the quarter. However, Tan would continue to win the duel between the two floor generals, facilitating the basketball while taking on much of the scoring load in the process as the Western went into the fourth with a 71-62 advantage.

The Lancers' offence would get a surge in the final quarter of play, as Western's foul trouble would finally catch up with them, allowing Windsor to get back into the game from the free throw line. Rocca would continue to feed the Lancer offence, breaking into the paint and kicking it to shooters, but Kovac would continue to lead the purple and white against his former team to help keep the Mustangs afloat. Chaos would ensue after eight technical fouls would eventually be handed out in the final quarter of play in a heated interdivisional matchup. However, cooler heads would eventually prevail as the Mustangs walked away with the 94-86 victory. 

The Mustangs will be back in action this Wednesday, February 7 where they will travel to take on the Laurier Golden Hawks in their second meeting of the year. The game is scheduled to tip off at 8:00 p.m. and fans can catch the action live on OUA.tv.