London, ON – The Mustangs rode a roller-coaster of ups and downs but were able to come away with a 92-89 win over the Windsor Lancers Saturday night on Seniors Day.
 
"It was kind of a crazy game, a lot of runs back and forth," said Mustangs Head Coach Brad Campbell "At one point we got up by ten but then relinquished it and they took the lead but we've got some offensive tools that we can rely on and it showed tonight."
 
The Mustangs had a buzzer beater opportunity when an Aryan Sharma three pointer missed and the Lancer led after the first quarter 23-21. Omar Shiddo led the way for Western with seven points including a three pointer.
 
Julian Walker stepped up in the 2^nd quarter with a pair of clutch three-pointers to put Western up by five. The Mustangs took a 46-39 lead into halftime.
 
"My teammates were finding me, Nik (Farkic) is always finding me, Omar (Shiddo) hit me with some as well," said Walker "I just kind of got hot in the 2^nd quarter and it carried through and it feels great."
 
The Lancers put had a big third quarter outscoring the Mustangs 31-24 to even the game at 70-70 going into the fourth quarter.
 
The fourth quarter saw much of the same with both teams exchanging slim leads. With junder. Minute remaining the Lancers called their final time out with the Mustangs up 92-89, but the Mustangs were able to strip the ball and hold on for the win.

Western was led by 3^rd year forward Julian Walker with 28 points including going 4 for 4 and  4 rebounds along with Omar Shiddo with 25 points.

"We have a veteran group and guys who believe in this team, Omar does Omar things and a lot of great things from Julian tonight and it helps us get the win." said Campbell.
 
Before the start of the game, Coach Campbell recognized his graduating seniors. 5^th years Eriq Jenkins & Nikola Farkic along with their families were presented with a poster and flowers in a showing of appreciation for their time as Mustangs.

"They've been two starters in our program for four years, pillars of our backcourt and the leadership of our team," said Campbell "The most impressive part is that they've both had the best seasons of their career this year and those guys helped carry us through this season so we wanted to show how much we appreciate that."
 
The Mustangs will get a first-round bye in the playoffs as they pick up the top spot in the West. They will turn their focus to a quarter-final showdown on Saturday, February 22^nd which they will host at Alumni Hall.
 
"We knew this year we would be defined by the playoffs, it's great to get the bye but we've got to get ready this week," said Campbell "We've fought hard to host this game at home and we're looking to go deep."
 
Walker feels that the momentum from this win over Windsor will bring momentum into the post-season.

"With a win like that, our momentum is going to be up but we know that when it comes to the playoffs it can be taken away quickly so we have to have a tough week of practice and prepare as best we can."
 
Check back here at westernmustangs.ca for full details on the playoff opponent and game time.