Box Score
LONDON, ON -Â
On Friday night, the Mustangs looked to carry on the momentum they gained from their 19-point comeback against the UofT Varsity Blues.Â
Both teams came out hustling in the first quarter. Milan John got things underway for the Mustangs, driving to the basket finishing the layup. The Lakers continued to fight, building a lead of 6-points at the end of the first quarter, 24-18.Â
Western fought back, firing from the 3PT line and letting Matteo Zagar clean up under the basket. He went into the break with a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double. Mikyle Malabuyoc also shared 8 assists along with 8 points at the break. The Mustangs tied it at 46 a piece at halftime.Â
Western came out firing in the third quarter, fighting for an 8-point lead heading into the final frame. Alumni Hall was electric, sparking the Mustangs hustle.Â
The Mustangs pulled away in the fourth quarter. Lucas Sheets and Malabuyoc led the way, knocking down crucial threes as they built a lead of as much as 21-points. Western maintained their lead and took the game 88-70, handing Nipissing their third loss of the season.
Malabuyoc was proud of the Mustangs defense in the second half. "Obviously we didn't play as well as we wanted to in the first half, but in the second half we really dialed down on our defense, blitzing all their guys on the ball screen, and rebounding, since we got out rebounded in the first half. We really buckled down our defense and made that a priority and played our game, played in transition, and we only let up 27 points in the second half compared to 46 in the first half, so the defense and our energy were important." He finished the night with his second double-double of the season, 16 points, including 4 threes and 11 assists.Â
Second-year forward Hunter Thompson emphasized the importance of crashing the boards and getting rebounds as the Mustangs take on the Laurentian Voyageurs next. "Laurentian is a big rebounding team. We've got to bring our A-game on the glass tomorrow, especially on D-Boards. It's easy to let up some second chance points, so we need to start off strong and make a point that we're there to crash the glass and we're going to dominate the boards." In his first 7-minutes of the season, the 6'10 center had 7 points, 6 rebounds and a block.
Western is back in action on Saturday, November 23rd at 8PM EST against the Laurentian Voyageurs. Tune in OUA.tv.
KEY STATS
F | Lucas Sheets - 18 PTS (6-11 FG, 4-7 3PT), 8 REBS, 3 STLS
F | Matteo Zagar - 17 PTS (8-14 FG), 17 REBS, 2 STLS
G | Mikyle Malabuyoc - 16 PTS (5-12 FG, 4-5 3PT), 11 ASTS, 3 REBS
G | Noah Otshudi - 15 PTS, 4 ASTS, 2 REBS
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