HAMILTON, ON - The Western Mustangs faced a tough challenge from the McMaster Marauders on Saturday night, falling by eight points, in a game that saw a shift in momentum during the second half.
It was a close game right off the bat, with both McMaster and Western appearing very evenly matched throughout the first quarter.Â
The Mustangs were under constant pressure from the Marauders, and continued to make great baskets while being guarded heavily.
Western remained quick to jump on each loose ball to gain back possession, as each time one team scored the other was quick to respond.Â
As the final minutes of the quarter passed, the Mustangs went from having a five point lead, to the Marauders managing to tie the score, and as the opening ten minutes came to an end, Western had managed to take back a narrow lead, up 21-18.Â
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In the opening minutes of the second quarter, the Mustangs continued the momentum they built at the end of the previous period, extending their lead up to 28-22.
It was at this point of the night where Western seemed to warm into playing consistently as a cohesive unit, continuing to be strong on both ends of the court, pulling down rebounds and capitalizing off fast breaks.Â
Despite the initial expansion in their lead, the Marauders soon responded holding the Mustangs at 28 points while they slowly crept up behind with only a few minutes remaining in the first half. Â
With McMaster calling a timeout as an attempt to slow the Mustangs from pushing forward in the lead, Western took this as an opportunity to organize themselves, and come out of the break much stronger defensively.
As the first half came to an end, the Mustangs expanded up to hold the game's largest margin at 10 points, up 40-30.
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McMaster began the third quarter with a run, increasing their score up to 36 while the Mustangs remained at 40 points, until they were stopped with a three from deep by Jerric Palma.Â
The Mustangs had a slow start to the third quarter in comparison to the previous two, and within the first five minutes of the quarter, they had been outscored 17-09.Â
With just over four minutes left in the quarter the Marauders tied the game, as Western continued to try to remain in control.Â
The Mustangs were quick to close out and defend the key, allowing them to pull down key rebounds in the final minute of the quarter, and despite the Marauders scoring 23-18 against Western this quarter, the Mustangs remained in the lead at 58-53.
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McMaster opened the fourth quarter scoring on their first possession, beginning their 12-02 increase in scoring with only five minutes remaining in the match.Â
While Western had a strong start to the game, the Marauders dominated play in the second half of the game. McMaster expanded upon their lead, going up to a 12 point lead.Â
The Mustangs switched to a tight full-court press to end the night, doing everything they can, from putting pressure on the inbound pass to creating contact to slow and stop the play from advancing.Â
While they were able to bring the game back within a six point differential, it wasn't enough to recover from the rough start to the final quarter, as the game ended with the Mustangs down 78-70.Â
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The Mustangs will hit the court again next week on Friday, November 24th when they face off against the Lakehead Thunderwolves at 8 p.m. in Thunder Bay. Fans can tune in and watch live at OUA.tv. Â
