By Morris Dalla Costa - London Free Press
The Western Mustangs men’s basketball team has proven at least one thing . . . you never know what happens until you play the game.
The Mustangs have suffered through a tough season and not many people expected the season to go beyond their quarterfinal matchup away from home to McMaster Marauders.
Surprise, surprise! The Mustangs got 22 points from Ryan Barbeau and 21 from Andrew Wedemire to defeat the Marauders 78-67 and earn a shot at the No. 1-seed in Ontario West the Lakehead Thunderwolves Saturday in Thunder Bay.
“Our best players played like our best players,” Mustangs coach Brad Campbell said.
The winner Saturday will move to the OUA Final Four Tournament.
While the Mustangs are big underdogs, there are some things going in their favour.
The Thunderwolves haven’t played since a doubleheader in London a week ago, which they split with the Mustangs.
“That’s the odd thing. You don’t usually play the same team three times in a row. The only team they have on their mind is us,” Campbell said. “We’ve played a game since then.”
The Mustangs will also benefit from an unexpected big win. “First and foremost any playoff win is a big win,” Campbell said. “You continue to grow in confidence.”
The Thunderwolves finished first in the West. Campbell says they did it by playing a team game.
“They have good depth and get contributions from a lot of players,” he said. “They play well defensively. It isn’t like they have a dominant player. They just have a lot of good players.”
The Mustangs fly to Thunder Bay Friday.
It isn’t the first time the Mustangs have staged a run from a low seed. In 2007-08 the Mustangs finished 12-10 in the regular season and from the No. 4 seed, went all the way to the national championship tournament semifinal.
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