LONDON, ON - The Western Mustangs faced the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks in this year's Senior Night game at Alumni Hall. Ultimately ending in a 12-point deficit for the Mustangs, at 92-80.
Western began the first quarter with an 8-0 run, powering down the court offensively, and constantly cutting the Ridgebacks off from the basket.Â
Ontario Tech then turned around and went on to out-score the Mustangs 11-04 to narrow the Western lead to just one point with less than half the first quarter remaining.
It was an intense back-and-forth throughout the first quarter, with the lead changing twice, and the Mustangs holding Ontario Tech off to end at 22-21.
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The intensity picked back up immediately out of the first quarter, with both sides fighting hard up and down the court.Â
After the first five minutes of play in the second, both sides have only scored six points, as Western continued to emphasize shutting the Ridgebacks down on defense.
In the final minutes of the half, the Mustangs held Ontario Tech scoreless for almost four minutes, as they extended their lead up to 34-27.Â
The Ridgebacks took back the lead for the first time since the first quarter in the final two minutes of the quarter, going up by one, before the Mustangs quickly took it back.
Despite the constant back-and-forth action of the quarter, the first half ended with the Ridgebacks holding a narrow one-point lead, at 42-41.Â
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Western was much faster on the transition out of halftime, barrelling down the court to set up offensively and try to run back the lead.
Ontario Tech had a strong start to the third quarter offensively, doubling the number of points the Mustangs scored in the first four minutes. This furthered their lead up to ten points with just over half the quarter remaining.
"Today wasn't a reflection of the hard work that we've been putting in all year," said Senior Mustang, Jerric Palma. "Honestly it was just effort, we didn't come out with the fire that we needed to compete in this game."Â
The Mustangs had a tougher time sinking points in this quarter, as the Ridgebacks extended their lead up to 22 points to end the third, out-scoring Western 35-15, resulting in a score of 77-56 in favour of the visiting team.
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Western was determined to make up for the deficit in the previous quarter, opening the first minute of play with a 6-0 scoring run.
Although they have been trailing since the final minute of the first half, Western remained determined in their play, putting their all into every play and possession.Â
"Our defence was poor tonight, we couldn't keep our guys in front," said Mustangs' Assistant Coach Joel Delcarmen, "It's a well coached team... the third quarter was the big difference for us, and we've got to be better."
As the midway point of the final quarter approached, the Mustangs sank three times the number of points as the Ridgebacks, collecting 13 points to the Ridgebacks 4.Â
It was a much more cohesive final quarter as the Mustangs managed to narrow the Ridgebacks' lead to single-digits in the final minute of play.
Unfortunately, they were unable to recover from the deficit they fell into in the third quarter, falling to Ontario Tech, 92-80.
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The Senior Mustangs honored tonight were Tyson Dunn, Jerric Palma, George Horn, John Vrdoljak, and Aryan Sharma.
"As a senior, I've been here for five years, I've pretty much matured with this team," said Palma, "It's honestly going to be one of the most memorable parts of my university career. "
The Mustangs will be back at Alumni Hall for their final home game of the regular season, against Guelph. Tip-off is at 8 p.m, fans can purchase tickets at WesternMustangs.ca/tickets or tune in to watch live at OUA.tv.
Western students enter for free with their OneCards.
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