Western vs Waterloo January 17 74-82

Waterloo
Western walked into the Physical Activities Complex at the University of Waterloo and onto Carl Totzke Court with the kind of record that usually brings a target. Waterloo walked in with nothing to lose and played like it from the first possession, hunting threes, flying into gaps, and turning the game into a test of nerve.

Western started the night with control. Milan John got to his spots early and Lucas Sheets set the tone with clean scoring and instant punishment whenever Waterloo helped too far. Western hit first, then hit again. Matteo Zagar came up with an early steal and Sheets buried a three that stretched the lead. Another Sheets three followed and suddenly Western had the gym quiet and the game exactly where they wanted it. Waterloo answered with shooting, Stefan Prica and Cristian Craciun knocked down early threes to keep the Warriors close, but Western finished the first quarter up 23 14 with momentum and composure.

The second quarter was where the game began to twist. Waterloo started making every shot feel expensive. Isaiah McRae drilled a three to cut the lead. Moses Anvari found rhythm in the middle of the floor. Possession by possession the gap shrank. Western still had answers, Owen Urquhart came off the bench and immediately scored with pace and confidence, finishing through contact and giving Western life when the game tightened. Milan John hit a big three late in the half to stabilize things, but Waterloo had already shifted the feel of the night. At halftime, Western led 42 38 and the margin felt thin, like the game was balancing on one swing.

That swing arrived in the third. Waterloo came out sharper and faster, scoring in the lane and then stepping right into more threes. The game flipped from Western leading to the score being tied, then Waterloo sneaking ahead. Western fought to stay attached. Kennedy Charles hit a jumper to keep it level. John answered with back to back buckets to regain the lead. Tye Cotie scored twice to match Waterloo possession for possession. But every time Western tried to build space, Waterloo erased it with another timely shot from deep. Late in the third, Craciun hit a three that pushed Waterloo in front, and the Warriors carried a 57 56 lead into the fourth with the building fully alive again.

The fourth quarter became a three point storm that Western could not fully outrun. Waterloo opened with a quick score, then McRae hit a three that felt like a warning. Western responded through John and Sheets, and for a stretch it turned into a heavyweight exchange where nobody blinked. John tied it at 62 after a steal sequence and then traded baskets again to bring Western level once more. Sheets hit a tough jumper to put Western back in front and then jumped a passing lane for a steal and another finish that made it 72 69. It was the moment Western looked ready to steal the game back.

Waterloo refused. A three tied it. Another tough finish put them ahead. Then came the possessions that decided everything, a turnover, a runout, and McRae landing another massive three to make the lead four. With Western chasing, Waterloo kept stretching the floor and kept firing. McRae hit again from deep. Prica hit again from deep. The lead grew to seven, then ten, and the air changed. Western kept attacking, but the last two minutes belonged to Waterloo's shot making. Waterloo finished with 14 threes and the final separation came from that exact difference, one team kept scoring in bunches from outside and the other team ran out of time to answer.

Western did enough to win on many nights, efficient shooting inside, strong stretches of defense, and big contributions from the bench. But against a team that shot the ball like that, every mistake and every empty trip got magnified. Waterloo made the biggest shots in the loudest moments and turned the game late.

Milan John
21 points
4 rebounds
2 assists
2 turnovers

Lucas Sheets
17 points
3 rebounds
1 assist
1 steal

Owen Urquhart
16 points
4 rebounds
1 assist

Matteo Zagar
8 points
6 rebounds
1 steal

Emmanuel Akot
5 rebounds
3 assists
3 steals