Western vs Waterloo January 31 85-74

Alumni Hall

Alumni Hall carried a different kind of energy into the night, the kind that lingers after a team has been through something together and is still figuring out what it learned from it. Western came out sharp and purposeful, and Imran Armstrong wasted no time opening the scoring with a layup. But the mood snapped quickly when Stefan Prica drilled a three and completed the four point play, one of those early swings that makes a building collectively exhale.

Western answered it the right way. Tye Cotie responded with an and one of his own, not flashy, just firm and physical, the kind of response that steadies everyone else on the floor. After the game, Cotie framed that stretch as a mindset more than a moment, saying it was about "staying composed and making the right plays," and listening to his coaches, grabbing boards, talking to teammates, and "being the voice," said Cotie.

First quarter
The opening quarter stayed punch for punch. Waterloo spaced the floor and shot with confidence, while Western kept countering with pace and balance. Cotie's presence grew with every possession, and the quarter ended with a moment that summed up the tone of the night. With the clock winding down, Cotie slipped through traffic for a smooth, shifty layup, an uncommon sight from a 6 foot 8 forward and one that brought a murmur through the crowd. Western trailed narrowly after one, but the response had already been established.

Second quarter
The game settled into a grind where execution mattered more than rhythm. Western leaned into ball movement and patience, trusting the extra pass instead of forcing shots. That trust showed up repeatedly, and later Cotie explained how deliberate it was, especially in moments where one possession could tilt the game. He said if he could make "that one more" to an open teammate instead of taking a tough look himself, it was always the better shot, adding that he trusted his teammates to knock them down, said Cotie.

Waterloo refused to fade, answering every small run, but Western carried a 50 44 lead into the break, not comfortable, but controlled.

Third quarter
Waterloo made its push coming out of halftime, dragging the game into the kind of physical stretch where every rebound and loose ball feels heavy. The Warriors erased the gap piece by piece, and by the middle of the quarter the game was level again. Neither side blinked. By the time the third ended, the score sat at 63 63 and Alumni Hall had shifted into that tense standing posture where every possession feels like a test.

Fourth quarter
Western found its edge early. Milan John opened the quarter with a calm midrange jumper, Cotie followed with a powerful slam, and Armstrong punctured the moment with a euro step finish that pushed the lead to 69 63 and forced a quick Waterloo timeout. It was a sequence built on poise rather than panic.

For Armstrong, the moment carried extra weight. Afterward, he spoke openly about the emotions of being back, saying he had "a lot of emotions" and was excited to be back on the floor, but that the win mattered most as the team tried to "make a push in the right direction," said Armstrong. He did not shy away from the grind behind it either, calling the recovery "tough," detailing weeks of physio, and crediting his trainers for pushing him every day to get back to this point, said Armstrong.

Defensively, Western locked in. Coach Brad pointed to focus as the separator, saying the group was challenged at halftime to clean things up, and that in the second half they were "more dialed in," especially defending Waterloo's high post actions. He singled out Cotie as a difference maker, calling him "phenomenal defensively, especially in the fourth quarter," said coach Brad.

As the game tightened, the ball continued to find the right hands. A late kick out from Cotie to Armstrong for a three felt like a momentum breaker, and Cotie explained afterward why those moments matter, saying trusting the pass and trusting teammates is what wins close games, because the best shot is not always yours, said Cotie.

John embodied that stretch. He filled gaps defensively, jumped passing lanes, cleaned the glass, and kept the game from slipping. Afterward, he tied it to identity, saying the team's focus all season has been controlling pace and executing in crunch time, and after the previous night's disappointment, the response had to come on the defensive end, where the group made "huge plays" when it mattered most, said John. When asked about impacting the game beyond scoring, he framed it simply, saying he has always taken pride in doing the small things, because "the small things add up into big things," said John.

Western closed it out by holding Waterloo to just 11 points in the fourth, finishing with an 85 74 win built on composure, trust, and collective focus rather than rhythm alone.