OTTAWA, ON - The Western Mustangs were back on the road again this weekend, and in their first of two away games this week, they fell to the Ottawa Gee Gees, 98-78.

The match was evenly matched throughout the first quarter, with Ottawa scoring right off the jump and the Mustangs responding immediately on the next play. 

It was a very intense back-and-forth between both teams. Still, the Mustangs were dominant offensively throughout the first quarter, making several shot attempts in the paint and pulling down several rebounds, allowing them to capitalize through second-chance points. 

In the final few minutes of the quarter, the Gee-Gees were doing their best to move the ball around on offense while the Mustangs held close, forcing them to rush shots from further out in the field. 

Western moved quickly on the offensive transition, effectively setting up plays in the front court and cutting through to the basket for easy layups. 

The Mustangs were consistently powering up and down the court, often outrunning the Gee-Gees when setting up a solid play. 

As the first quarter came to an end, Western had a narrow lead of 20-19. 

The Mustangs opened the second quarter fighting hard through traffic and continuing to put up key baskets down low and pulling down numerous offensive rebounds where necessary.

Ottawa was pulling ahead in this quarter and ultimately ended up out-scoring Western by eight points at the end of the half. 

Matteo Zagar was doing a great job of pulling down offensive rebounds and making the most of his positioning down low in the key. 

Western was still pressing hard on the Gee-Gees, causing the shot clock to run down often and bringing Ottawa to make rushed shots to avoid a violation. 

Unfortunately, despite the effort from the Mustangs to hold Ottawa out beyond the arc, the Gee-Gees were shooting very successfully at a distance, sinking over four times as many 3-point shots as the Mustangs, with 2:30 minutes remaining in the half. 

These 3-point shots allowed Ottawa to power ahead, despite the Mustangs making great shots in the paint. As the first half ended, an impressive buzzer-beating shot from Isaiah Pemberton from deep brought the difference within single digits. 

As the third quarter began, Western was trailing 49-42, but both teams were still fighting with just as much tenacity as in the first half. 

Ottawa began the quarter with an unanswered six-point scoring run before the Mustangs scored, with Matteo Zagar putting points on the board four minutes into the quarter. 

Western's defensive communication was incredible and dominant this quarter, as they were continuously able to switch seamlessly to the open man or to double-team down low. 

This communication helped bring the Mustangs back from a 13-point deficit down to eight, as Aryan Sharma had shot three straight 3-point shots in a row. 

With two minutes remaining, Ottawa had pulled up to an 11-point lead, but Western was holding them close on defense, not allowing them to pull ahead any further as the game headed into its final quarter, with the Gee-Gees in the lead 76-65. 

Both teams fought incredibly hard throughout the entire game, and right into the final quarter. 

Despite being out-scored by Ottawa in the previous two quarters of the game, the Mustangs did not give up or back off until the end of the game. 

The Mustangs were constantly fighting for position to put up shots and pull down rebounds, and they remained very forceful on defense, forcing Ottawa to make several rushed shots. 

There was still a relatively narrow lead for the Gee-Gees in the final quarter, and the Gee-Gees were making the Mustangs work incredibly hard to bridge the gap. 

Western was powerful on the rebound throughout the night, having pulled down 32 compared to only 23 for Ottawa during the fourth quarter. 

There was great ball movement and communication from both sides, but unfortunately, the Gee-Gees were successful in fending off the Mustangs, as they won the match by 20 points, with a final score of 98-78. 

To catch the Mustang's next game, fans should tune in to OUA.tv on Saturday, November 26 at 8 pm to see them take on the Carleton Ravens for the first time this regular season.