Introduction:
The Lancer men's basketball team took a 113-106 loss on Saturday afternoon when they traveled up to London to face the Western Mustangs.
 
Stats:
Windsor's Thomas Kennedy played a key role on the offensive side, contributing 32 total points and 11 rebounds while Najee Brown-Henderson and Xavier Ochu also landed in the double digits, racking up 22 total points and 18 total points respectively.
 
Game Flow:
Windsor came out in the first period on a mission to come out with a win as they jumped out in front early. Thomas Kennedy got the Lancers up on the board first with a flying layup and shot beyond the arc to take the early lead. Windsor guard, Xavier Ochu made the first 3-pointer of the game to grab the Mustangs' attention while points were traded back and forth. The blue and gold headed into the second quarter with the momentum in their favour, 27-23.
After capitalizing on Mustang turnovers, the Lancers looked to continue their lead heading into the second frame. Thomas Kennedy was able to grab a rebound and Lorenzo Barberi finished the play with a jumper. Seconds after, Yohann Sam made back-to-back clean shots around the perimeter to increase Windsor's lead by 12 points quickly and force Western into a timeout. After the quick break, Western put in good effort to respond back to the Lancers' momentum, but the squad continued to pull away. Western's forward, Aryan Sharma kept the blue and gold on their toes with a 3-pointer to close the gap to 14 points. In the final seconds of the half, Ziphion Grant made a final three that had the Lancer bench up on their feet. With the high intensity, the Mustangs struggled to contain the blue and gold and the Lancers led 67-51 going into the break.
In the third quarter, both teams went to work as they battled up and down the court for scoring chances. Najee Brown-Henderson made a strong impact for the team with two field goals and forcing a Western turnover. However, with 4 minutes remaining the Mustangs would gradually find openings to close the blue and gold's lead to 11 points. Later on, Quinn Carey would step onto the court and hit a field goal to help maintain the Lancers lead. The last minute saw Windsor on the defensive side but they held the lead 87-80 as time expired in the quarter.
The final frame had the blue and gold feel the pressure as the Mustangs would claw their way back to close the gap and attempt to capture the lead. As the shot clock counted down, Najee Brown-Henderson made another 3-pointer to make it 5 3P's on the night. With 5:29 remaining in regulation, Windsor and Western were tied 92-92 as both teams fought to build a lead. After a foul was drawn, Thomas Kennedy was sent to the line for a couple free throws and the Mustangs lead was shortened to 3 points. In the final play of the game, Western managed to pull away and the Lancers fell 113-106.
Windsor will look to bounce back on Saturday, January 11th against the Laurier Golden Hawks in Waterloo. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00pm and the game can be seen live at OUA.tv.