THUNDER BAY, ON - It was a hard-fought matchup between the Western Mustangs and the Lakehead Thunderwolves, as the Mustangs emerged victorious, claiming the 4-point win.
The Mustangs came up against the Thunderbirds heading into the game with a strong start to the season, looking to improve upon their 5-2 start to the season.
Western had a strong start to the first quarter, managing to gain and hold themselves the lead after a quick back-and forth to start.Â
Rebounding played a big role in the Mustangs ability to keep ahead throughout, consistently pulling down the majority of the missed shots, including not only five of the first seven rebounds, but at one point having three times as many as the Thunderwolves.
It was a really strong start to the night, as Western managed to pul ahead to a 12-point lead against Lakehead to end the first quarter of play up 27-15.Â
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Lakhead had a strong start to the second quarter offensively, managing to creep up toward the Mustangs' lead.Â
Western maintained a strong defensive effort throughout the quarter, continuing to fight for the majority of the total rebounds.
Western extended their lead back out to 11 points after the Thunderbirds had slashed it down to five as Lakehead narrowly out-scored Western in the second, as the half ended with the Mustangs holding onto their lead at 48-37.
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It was a tough third quarter for Western, as the Thunderwolves had managed to fight hard to close the Mustang lead down to six points in the first three minutes of the second half.
Lakehead came out firing on all cylinders in the third quarter, as the Mustangs seemed to be running out of the same energy they brought to start the match. Despite their slow start to the night, the Thunderwolves made a strong come back and were now proving a challenge for Western.
The home side took the lead back for the first time since the first quarter, going up by six with only 30 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Having more than doubled the Mustangs' points scored in the third, the Thunderwolves took the lead as the buzzer sounded, up 70-62.Â
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With the third quarter underway, the Mustangs started making those really strong defensive plays under the basket that we saw from them in the first - constantly attacking the rebound, and blocking the shooter.Â
Western scored the opening six points in the first 60 seconds of the quarter, tying the game at 68 a piece. Following this, the Mustangs regained the lead 2.5 minutes in.Â
This is more remnant of the Western team we saw open the game, they regained some of the heat they seemed to have lost in the past quarter.Â
As Lakehead gave up 12 points to start the final quarter, the Mustangs fought hard in the first three minutes out-scoring their opponent 14-02.Â
The energy from the crowd was intense, as they were vocal on every play, motivating Lakehead even further. However the Mustangs were able to pull ahead to a five-point lead following a four-point play from the team's highest scorer of the game, Jerric Palma (22 pts) with 17 seconds remaining.Â
The Mustangs held the final possession of the game, and a four point lead in the final seconds of the match.Â
Despite the constant lead changes in the game, the Mustangs managed to outscore the Thunderwolves by 10 points to end the night with the win 95-91.Â
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Following a week-long break, the Mustangs will hit the court on Saturday, December 02 at 2 p.m. for the final game of 2023 against the Windsor Lancers. Fans can tune in to watch live at OUA.tv.
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