LONDON, Ont. – The Western Mustangs fell 86-70 to the Ottawa Gee-Gees on Saturday evening at home in Alumni Hall. The loss will make for a Western record of 13-6 and put the Gee-Gees at 15-4.
 
If the first quarter were to be any indication, then the duration of the game was to be an aggressive and slowing-building back-and-forth match. With less than two minutes remaining, the Gee-Gees led by one point – only for Ukasha Khan to the pull the Mustangs back in the lead with two effortless foul shots. Nikola Farkic's name made multiple appearances for the Purple and White, as did Julian Walker's, who managed to end the first quarter 22-21 for the Mustangs.
 
The second quarter would look similar to the first. Victim to several foul calls, Eriq Jenkins played it safe and remained on the bench for what was left of the half while Aryan Sharma stepped in. Gage Sabean of the Garnet and Grey would put another five points on the board for Ottawa U, and with five minutes to go, the Mustangs would need to fight for the comeback if they wanted to win the half. With baskets from Calvin Epistola and Kevin Civil, the GGs gained a 10-point lead that they would soon be forced to let go of. With what seemed to be simultaneously too many and not enough foul calls, the half ended with a GeeGee lead of 44-38.
 
Jenkins returned to the court to mark the start of the third quarter. With the Mustangs' chemistry back intact, it wasn't long before both Jenkins and Farkic were putting up points and shrinking the GeeGee lead. A stoppage in play ensued after 6"10, 260lb Ottawa centre Marlon Kordrostami executed a slam dunk that nearly put the net on its side after holding onto the rim a tad longer than necessary. Falling behind once more, Western called for a time-out following a basket from Epistola that pushed the board to 55-42. As the margin neared 20 points, Western showed minimal signs of swinging the game back into their favour before the end of the quarter.
 
With a 67-56 lead, the Gee-Gees kicked off the fourth quarter with a shot-clock violation to put the ball directly into the hands of Omar Shiddo. Shiddo brought the lead within 6 points, allowing for a renewed burst of enthusiasm as Western put themselves back in the game.  An add-one permitted Farkic to cut that lead in half, and with six minutes on the clock, Western sat well within reach of the W. However, the last three minutes would be where things fell apart. Ottawa defense prevented the Mustangs from driving through the lane, leading to missed three-pointers and a frustrated coach. Sabean would continue to lead his team in points, re-establishing a 15-point GeeGee lead. With one final basket from Dragan Stajic, Ottawa would take the win 86-70.
 
The men's basketball team will be returning to home court on Friday, February 7^th against the Lakehead Thunderwolves. The game is scheduled to begin at 6:00 P.M. EST.