Western Mustangs Sports

LONDON, ON - The Mustangs Men's Basketball team completed a historic victory against the Carleton Ravens, picking up a win over the Ravens for the first time since November 17, 2001, defeating them 98-92 on a night the program celebrated legendary former Head Coach Craig Boydell.
 
Carleton won the jump and got on the board first, but the Mustangs were strong defensively, forcing turnovers and shot clock violations, holding Carleton to 1-5 from the three-point line after 1 quarter, with the Ravens leading 20-15.
 
Western went on a 15-5 run to start the 2nd quarter, led by veteran guards Aryan Sharma and Jerric Palma. However, Carleton would continuously find ways to score, eventually putting together a 10-0 run to trail by two. At the half, the Ravens led 46-45. 

?? HALF TIME

Western drops 33 in the 2nd quarter to hold a slight lead at the break. Jerric Palma has 15 points to lead the Mustangs.

CAR l 43
WES l 48
?? Watch the action at https://t.co/h4rTjrU0cN#RunWithUs #WesternMustangs #LetsGoMustangs pic.twitter.com/dZTL7ayBSa

— Western Mustangs (@WesternMustangs) November 11, 2023

 
Western continued to apply defensive pressure throughout the second half of the game, forcing turnovers, stealing the ball, taking charges and playing with more energy. The major difference in the third quarter was beyond the arc, where Carleton went 5-9 and Western 0-3, trailing by 7.
 
In the fourth quarter, the energy beyond the arc would change, and Western eventually went 3-7. Western's defensive pressure and energy continued to get stops and change the momentum of the game. Two major blocks from rookie forward Kennedy Charles, a charge from Matteo Zagar and a handful of steals from Tyson Dunn put the Ravens under pressure. 
 
Jerric Palma knocked down a big three pointer with under five minutes to go, cutting the Ravens lead to 5, and later notched another one of this five threes on the night to put the Mustangs up 87-85. From there, the Mustangs never looked back and closed out the game 98-92. 

?? FINAL

The @Mustangs_Bball take down the defending @USPORTSca
Champion @CURavens with a MASSIVE 30-point 4th quarter to win 98-92.

Western is back on home court tomorrow night against Ottawa at 8:00 PM#RunWithUs #WesternMustangs #LetsGoMustangs pic.twitter.com/Ddb5FnLw18

— Western Mustangs (@WesternMustangs) November 11, 2023

 
Noah Otshudi, said "we have been working at this since last year, we fixed a lot of stuff up and we felt like we had enough to get the win today". The second year guard finished an efficient night of shooting (10-15 FG) with 20 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists,
 
Kennedy Charles said "we started off strong, we were able to carry that strength and not let up on them at all."
 
Head Coach Brad Campbell earned his first career win against Carleton, and echoed the same relentlessness. He said, "Anytime you can beat a team with the quality as Carleton, it's a big deal. Especially a big win for our celebration of Dr. Craig Boydell. We played like we wanted it. We competed. [We] kept playing the next position, we kept moving forward, scrapping and believing in ourselves, and that's how we got the victory today."
 
Campbell coached alongside the late Dr. Craig Boydell for 10 years, and described his impact, "[he was] Incredible. One of the biggest influences in my life."
 
The Mustangs will suit up again tonight against the nations number 1 ranked team, the Ottawa Gee-Gees. Fans can purchase tickets at WesternMustangs.ca/Tickets; entry is free for Western students with valid Student Cards.