NORTH BAY, ON - The Western Mustangs hit the road for the first time in 2024 facing off against the Nipissing Lakers on Friday night, ultimately securing a seven-point victory.
It was an incredibly tight game throughout the first quarter, with the Lakers opening strong tonight working themselves up to a seven point lead to start.
Western, while maintaining intense defensive effort throughout, had turned their scoring around, managing to overpower the Lakers in the remainder of the quarter to take the lead.
Nipissing were doing a good job of pulling down the defensive rebounds, collecting a total 10 of 14 in the Mustangs' end, limiting Western's ability to score off second chance attempts.
At the end of the quarter, the home side managed to take a narrow lead on their final possession of the first, ending at 18-17.
The Mustangs were the first to score in the second quarter, ultimately pulling ahead by five following a six point run to open up at 23-18.
Despite this initial run from Western, the Lakers managed to narrow the gap back down to two points, mimicking the scoring pattern that saw the Lakers taking a run to lead before the Mustangs overtook to start the first quarter.
During an aggressive second quarter, both sides continued to fight hard in this closely-contested match. Western pulled ahead to hold the lead to end the first half with a narrow two-point advance, as Nipissing played hard to keep the Mustangs within reach, at 38-36.
The third quarter saw the Lakers start on a run, taking back the lead at 46-42. The score remained incredibly close throughout the third quarter, with both sides passing the lead back and forth.
Ultimately, the Mustangs continued to hold the lead to end the third quarter up by one, at 53-52.
In the final quarter, the Mustangs extended their lead back up to seven points, before the Lakers narrowed it back down to only three points, within a single possession, with six minutes remaining.
Western continued to hold the lead, fighting hard against the home team and holding a near double-digit lead in the final minutes of the game.
With only 60 seconds remaining, Nipissing looked to make a comeback, remaining just as intense as they were to start the match.
Ultimately, Western emerged with the victory, defeating the Lakers 77-70 to improve their regular season record to 8-6.
Western will continue on the road this weekend, facing the Laurentian Voyageurs in Sudbury tomorrow night, Saturday, January 20th at 1pm. Fans can tune in live at OUA.tv to cheer on the Mustangs.
