Wedemire, Barbeau outlast No. 10 Laurier 82-79

Mustang Peter Scholtes 

Report by Andrew Simpson Mustangs Athletics

LONDON, Ont. - The Western Mustangs upset the No. 10 ranked Laurier Golden Hawks 82-79 at Alumni Hall on Wednesday, Jan. 26.

Andrew Wedemire powered the Mustangs' attack with 24 points and five rebounds. Ryan Barbeau had 19 points, five assists and three steals. Rookie Peter Scholtes had 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting.

The Mustangs improve to 7-8 on the season and Laurier drops to 10-5 on the year. 

The Mustangs got off to a great start, hitting their open looks and forcing Laurier to take tough ones. They held Laurier to just 10 points in the quarter to lead 20-10 after one.

Laurier was the team with the stingy defence in the second quarter outscoring the Mustangs 16-12. A strong drive to the hoop with 3.2 seconds remaining in the half by Ryan Barbeau gave the Mustangs a 32-26 halftime lead.

The Golden Hawks took a 48-45 lead with 3:10 remaining in the third after a steal by Laurier, a dunk and then a transition three-pointer. Following the timeout the Mustangs went on a 9-0 run and held a 58-53 lead at the end of three quarters.

Laurier was able to get in the line in the fourth quarter and cut the lead to 72-71 with 3:33 left. A reverse layup by Wedemire extended the Mustangs' lead to 80-76 with 1:05 remaining. 

Laurier's Matthew Buckley was fouled with 1.3 seconds left on his three-point attempt and hit the first one, missed the second, and while trying to miss, hit the third shot to make it 80-79 with 1.3 seconds left. 

Barbeau was sent to the line with 0.8 left and hit both to make it a three-point game and Laurier had one last chance to tie. Laurier's Patrick Donnelly had a good look at the end of the game but it was short and Western held on to win 82-79.

The Western Mustangs head on the road this weekend to take on the Waterloo Warriors at 3 p.m. on Jan. 29.