Packed Gym and Special Start Time This Friday vs Queen's

for Link CLICK HERE

Mustangs to host Queen's, RMC this weekend

Story from Mustangs Athletics

LONDON, Ont. – The Western Mustangs men’s basketball team returns home this weekend for a pair of OUA regular season games. On Friday, they'll take on the Queen's Gaels at a special time (12:15 p.m.) as part of an event with the Thames Valley District School Board and its Safe Schools initiative. On Saturday, the men will take on the RMC Paladins at 3:00 p.m. For tickets to either game, click here.

Western Mustangs (1-5, 1-1 home) vs. Queen's Gaels (0-6, 0-2 away)

Friday, Dec. 2: 12:15 p.m.
Alumni Hall
Tickets
Watch game via Live Stream at: http://www.ssncanada.ca/game/2956

**
Special Event: The Western Mustangs have teamed up with the Thames Valley District School Board for a unique event in support of the Safe Schools ‘UPSTANDER’ campaign, which seeks to prevent bullying and violence and to create a safe and caring learning environment at schools.

Over 1,200 Grade 6 students will be welcomed Friday morning by Western athletics staff and student-athletes to Alumni Hall for the launch of the new film “S.O.S”, which seeks to help students recognize the harmful effects of bullying and to help inspire students to become 'upstanders' and strengthen their community. Following the film, the students will get the chance to watch the Mustangs take on the Queen’s Gaels in men’s basketball action at 12:15 p.m.
**

The Mustangs (1-5) are off to a slow start to the 2011-12 season and have lost five straight heading into this weekend. Last time out, the Mustangs lost 87-76 to the Ryerson Rams. Ryan Barbeau enters Friday's game averaging 19.8 points per game through six contests, second-best in the OUA. The fifth-year senior is just 26 points shy of 1,000 for his Western Mustangs career ... Queen's has struggled so far this season, losing each of their first six games. The Gaels are coming off a 69-60 loss to Brock, in which Nikola Misljencevic had a team-high 16 points.

Team Stat Leaders

	Western	Queen's
Points (PPG)	Ryan Barbeau 19.8	Nikola Misljencevic 14.2
Rebounds (RPG)	Peter Scholtes 4.0	Mackenzie Simpson 5.0
Assists	Ryan Barbeau 25	Matt Baker 10
Steals	Peter Scholtes 13	Alex Weatherill 10
Blocks	Peter Scholtes 2	John Lenz/Mackenzie Simpson 1

Western Mustangs (1-5, 1-1 home) vs. RMC Paladins (0-6, 0-2 away)

Saturday, Dec. 3: 3:00 p.m.
Alumni Hall
Tickets
Watch game via Live Stream at: http://www.ssncanada.ca/game/2958

RMC (0-6) is coming off a 98-51 loss to McMaster last Saturday. The Paladins' leading scorer, Connor Duke, had nearly half the team's points (25) in that contest, and his 16.2 ppg ranks 13th in the OUA. Idris Said-Madjid is not far behind at 15th (15.8 ppg).

Team Stat Leaders

	Western	RMC
Points (PPG)	Ryan Barbeau 19.8	Connor Duke 16.2
Rebounds (RPG)	Peter Scholtes 4.0	Liam Wright 6.0
Assists	Ryan Barbeau 25	Connor Duke 19
Steals	Peter Scholtes 13	Idris Said-Madjid/Liam Wright 3
Blocks	Peter Scholtes 2	Connor Duke 5

Ryan Barbeau Western Goodlife Male Ahtlete of the Week

On-line CLICK HERE

Barbeau, Dillon named Goodlife Fitness Athletes of the Week

Story by Bethany Wood - Mustangs Athleteics

Mustangs Ryan Barbeau and Katie Dillon are this week's Athletes of the Week presented by Goodlife Fitness for their outstanding performances this weekend.

Barbeau, a point guard on the men's basketball team, had a 51-point weekend after scoring 30 points on Friday against the Toronto Varsity Blues and 21 points on Saturday versus the Ryerson Rams. He sits at an average 19.83 points per game - second in the OUA standings.

Additionally, the fifth-year veteran is a mere 26 points shy of reaching a 1000 career points milestone. He'll aim to surpass this in the Mustangs' upcoming home games next weekend against Queen's and RMC.

Katie Dillon had a four point weekend for the Mustangs women's hockey team for their win over Ryerson Rams on Saturday and loss to Toronto Varsity Blues on Sunday. On Saturday, Dillon repeated the two-goal scoring game she had the previous weekend against Waterloo, and followed up with a goal and assist on Sunday.

Dillon now has eleven goals this season with 17 total points so far, and looks to best that mark in the New Year when the Mustangs host the Laurier Golden Hawks.

Congratulations to both athletes for their exceptional commitment, leadership, and results!

Mustangs Suffer Rough Road Weekend

Mustangs suffered large defeats to both Carleton U and Ottawa U on Friday and Saturday night.

Carleton 96 Mustangs 43

Ottawa 84 Mustangs 57

Next up for the Mustangs is U of T and Ryerson this weekend in Toronto

Game Day: @ #1 Carleton 8pm

Game can be seen on SSN Canada live at 8pm  CLICK HERE

Western Gazette Article on Game vs Laurentian On Saturday

Click Here for Link

Laurentian fights back to drop Mustangs

November 16, 2011
By Ryan Stern

Manny Pasquale hit a step back three-pointer with 0.7 seconds left that stunned the Mustangs squad and crowd alike. In a back and forth game, it was the Laurentian Voyageurs that came out on top, storming back to defeat the Western Mustangs 87-86.

“There was 16 seconds left, we had a play drawn up and it didn’t work,” Shawn Swords, Laurentian’s head coach, said. “It was in the hands of Manny and he’s a great player and he made a play.”

The Mustangs stormed out of the gate to take a 22-12 lead at the end of the first quarter. The ease with which this lead was attained made it look like Western would gallop to an easy victory.

The Mustangs lead swelled to as much as 17 points midway through the second quarter before momentum began to change hands. As the Voyageurs started to turn the tables, the Mustangs saw their lead vanish to a mere four points as the first half drew to a close.

Laurentian came out with a similar intensity in the third quarter and managed to wrestle the lead away from the Mustangs by quarters end, after a barrage of transition three-pointers off the hot hand of Pasquale. After three quarters, Laurentian led 60-58, setting up the photo finish in the fourth quarter.

The game continued as a seesaw battle for much of the fourth quarter as it appeared that neither team was capable of missing. Laurentian led by one point in the final 30 seconds, when Ryan Barbeau, who came alive in the fourth quarter, sunk a critical lay-up while being fouled . After hitting the free throw, Barbeau put the Mustangs up 86-84 with just 16 seconds left in a game that seemed destined for a Mustang victory or overtime. Unfortunately for the Mustangs, Pasquale had different plans, as his three-pointer in the next possession sealed the Mustangs fate.

“It was the sequence of events before the shot that hurt us,” Brad Campbell, Mustangs head coach, said. “An outstanding player made a good shot and they came through. But all in all a bad defensive fourth quarter was what hurt us.”

After the game, several of the Mustangs were at a loss for words, but also understood that there is no point in getting hung up on a loss this early in the season.

“It happens—for us it is being able to bounce back,” Ryan Higgins, a Mustang guard, said after the loss. “Basketball is a game of bounces, and it can’t work every time. We put ourselves in a good situation early and just couldn’t close. We’ll be ready next game.”

Barbeau led all Mustangs with 27 points, while Pasquale led all scorers with a game-high 29 points. The loss drops the Mustangs to 1-1 on the season as they prepare for an important early season matchup against the Carleton Ravens next Friday.

Mustangs Weekend in Review

Mustangs lose heartbreaker to Laurentian

1st yr guard Jermaine Bernard

For Link CLICK HERE

Story by Ray Kim - Mustangs Athletics

LONDON, Ont – Coming off a hard-fought win over York on Friday night, the Mustangs looked a bit tired on Saturday night as they fell 88-87 in a closely-contested affair to the Laurentian Voyageurs at Alumni Hall.

The Mustangs led by 10 points after the first quarter, thanks to a three-pointer from rookie guard Jermaine Bernard and six points from 6-foot-5 forward Peter Scholtes.

But Western struggled stopping Laurentian’s third-year guard Manny Pasquale. Pasquale used his penetration to create havoc on the court. Rookie guard Alex Ratte, meanwhile, added nine points in the quarter. Each team battled throughout the second quarter, and the Mustangs held a slim four-point lead, 45-41, at the half.

The third quarter saw the Voyageurs battle to take a 60-58 lead, as the Mustangs could not stop Laurentian’s fast-paced style of play.

In the final quarter, Ryan Barbeau’s performance helped the Mustangs regain the lead. His 3-point conversion with 16 seconds left gave the Mustangs an 86-84 lead until Pasquale made a clutch three-pointer with 0.7 seconds left to make it an 87-86 finish.

The Mustangs will travel to Ottawa to take on Carleton on Friday, Nov. 18 at 8 p.m.

Laurentian 87 Mustangs 86

Mustangs lose on buzzer beater to Voyageurs.

Ryan Barbeau 29pts 9asst 5rbs
Peter Scholtes 18pts 3rbs
Ryan Higgins 15pts

More to come....

London Community News Article on Friday's Game vs York

Quinn Henderson goes up strong vs York

Click Here for Link

Mustangs win opener


Photos by Mike Maloney/London Community News
The University of Western Ontario (UWO) Mustangs men’s basketball started their 2011-12 regular season campaign on the right foot at Alumni Hall on Friday night (Nov. 11), defeating the York University Lions 78-60.
With Ryan Higgins and Ryan Barbeau setting the pace for Western, shooting for 24 and 22 points respectively on the game, UWO controlled much of the play through much of the first half, building up a solid 49-23 lead.
Western stumbled a bit through the third quarter, allowing York to claw back within eight points headed into the final frame but that is as close as they would get. Stepping up the pace in the fourth quarter, the Mustangs out hustled the Lions, adding 19 more points to their tally while allowing only nine to seal the victory.
The Western men take to the Alumni Hall hardcourt again on Saturday night (Nov. 12) when they play host to Laurentian before heading off on the road next weekend with games against Carleton on Friday (Nov. 18) and Ottawa on Saturday (Nov. 19).

Mustangs 78 York 60

Mustangs 78 York 60. Ryan Higgins 24pts 3stls, Ryan Barbeau 22pts 4ast 5rbs, Jermaine Bernard 11pts, 2ast 6rbs
More to come...

Mustangs Open OUA League Play Tonight 8pm vs York

Catch the Mustangs as they take on York tonight at 8pm at Alumni Hall. You can also catch the game Live on-line at SSN Canada for link CLICK HERE

Mustangs Pre-view in London Free Press

Click Here for link

Young horses ready to gallop

UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL: Mustangs men

By MORRIS DALLA COSTA, THE LONDON FREE PRESS

The standard for being called young now belongs to the Western Mustangs men's basketball team.

"I've never had a team this young, never," said coach Brad Campbell. "We were looking at some young teams around the country but we are the youngest average-age team in the country."

No argument there. The Mustangs have eight first-year and three second-year players on the roster. Their most experienced player is fifth-year guard Ryan Barbeau, followed by third-year man Adam Jespersen. But in terms of experience, Jespersen has missed a lot of time through injury, sitting out most of last year with hand and wrist woes.

This season hasn't started any better for the 6-foot-8 forward. He is waiting an assessment on a knee injury. It isn't expected to be serious but it will take him out of action for at least two weeks.

Missing Jespersen not only hurts in terms of experience but also size. He's the Mustangs' tallest player.

Garrett Olexiuk, who would have been a fifth-year player and one of the team's best, wasn't able to come back from knee injuries he sustained last year.

"He was hoping he could do something if he took the summer off," Campbell said. "He held out some hope but in September he made the decision to call it quits."

The jump from high school basketball to university ball is enormous. Even with talented young players, it is going to take a while to adjust to the play.

"I think our young kids are phenomenal in terms of work ethic, enthusiasm and some ability to play at the CIS level," Campbell said. "Some things need to be cleaned up and instead of being one dimensional you need another dimension and some of that is going to come with work and experience.

"We like this group and when it matures it's going to be very good. Right now, we are in a situation where we are beating ourselves a little too much."

Traditionally, the Mustangs have been a team that generates a great deal of their offence down low in the key. But this year's version of the Mustangs doesn't have much size, although they are a little bigger than they would be normally at the guard position.

Campbell is especially happy with three members of his recruiting class, six-foot guard Jermaine Bernard out of Toronto and 6-foot-4 guard Ryan Higgins from Fergus and 6-foot-3 forward Greg Morrow from Banting. Morrow, however, is suffering from a sore back.

The good news is his second-year returners got a lot of playing time last year, led by Quinn Henderson, Nathan DiLoreto and Peter Scholtes.

The bad news is that the young players will get a lot of playing time.

"There's going to be some rough times," Campbell said. It's also going to change the way he coaches. "It entirely changes. Each season, every new team has its own challenges and way you have to coach. We're taking it very slow. In a normal year, we'd have a lot more offensive systems and options, defensively as well. There's just been an incredible amount of teaching. Teaching is going to go on a lot longer than normal."

The Mustangs open their regular season Friday at 8 p.m. against York Lions at Alumni Hall.

Captain's Blog #1

Mustang's 5th yr Captain Ryan Barbeau

Hello All,

I would like to take this time to formally welcome everyone to another year in Mustangs basketball, a fresh new era of competition and another year to get better and try to make it back to the national stage. As this is my 5^th and final year with the Mustangs my expectations for myself and also for the team are extremely high and I would love to end my tenure here with nothing less than a trip back to Nationals. The team this year is much different then past teams, we have many new faces and over half of the team is comprised of rookies, which definitely makes us one of the youngest teams in the country. Newcomers include: Ryan Higgins, Nick Berardi, Dave Inkumsah, Tony Spiridis, Gregory Morrow, Chuck Drouin, Larry Blyth and Jermaine Bernard. Each rookie will be given the opportunity to contribute to this teams success and as daunting a task as that may be for a first year player, it is something we are going to need. With the losses of veteran players such as Andy Wedemire, Brett Lawerence and Marcus Barnett, we are going to need everyone to contribute in different ways. Whether that is shooting the 3, being a tough rebounder, setting screens or scoring, each guy is going to need to do what they an to help this team be successful. As is usually the case within this program, we have all become very close friends in a very short time. We all enjoy hanging out with one another and as you can probably guess, have experienced some awesome times “hanging” out on the Ceeps dance floor/stage.

We have struggled as of late, losing 7 of our first 9 games, but we have been competitive in nearly all of them, as was seen with our loss to Calgary, a game we debatably should have won, against one of the better teams in the country.  I think that as we become more cohesive as a unit and guys start to understand what exactly their roles are and how they can individually help make this team better, then we will begin to show improvement and become extremely competitive once the season begins. We open up our regular season this weekend at home against York (Friday night @ 8pm) and Laurentian (saturday night @ 8pm) . This should be a great first test for us and hopefully we can be focused defensively and come out with two big W’s.

If you haven’t already, "Friend" Western Mens Basketball on facebook Click Here and become a part of the team.

Your Captain,

            Ryan Barbeau

Nazareth 75 Mustangs 64

Jermiane Bernard 13pts 6rbs
Ryan Barbeau 13pts

more to come...

OUA Mustangs Season Pre-view

5th yr PG Ryan Barbeau 

Click Here for link

WESTERN MUSTANGS MEN

Youth is the story for the Western Mustangs, as Coach Brad Campbell has brought in a large group of recruits making Western one of the league’s youngest teams.

Last year the Mustangs won a road playoff game at McMaster before losing to eventual OUA champion Lakehead in the semi-finals. However, Western has lost considerable talent to graduation, including all-star Andrew Wedemire (Sarnia, Ont.), whose consistent production will be hard to replace.

Fortunately, the most experienced Mustang is fifth-year point guard Ryan Barbeau (Belleville, Ont.), who will be looked at as the team’s leader. A former OUA all-star, Barbeau (14.4-PPG) is the final link to Western’s last team to qualify for the CIS championship in 2009.  “We are going to go as far as Ryan takes us,” said Coach Campbell. “He’s an all-star calibre player who has been through it all and he makes other players better.” Barbeau will serve as a team captain as he wraps his varsity career.

A pair of sophomores will need to step up their contributions if Western is going to remain competitive. Forward Peter Scholtes started as a freshman and was named to the OUA West all-rookie team. The London native has been named a team captain in just his second year. Swingman Quinn Henderson (Dundas, Ont.) also played starter’s minutes and showed he has a deft shooting touch from long range.  “It is an absolute must that we get more production from Peter and Quinn,” said Campbell. “On our team they are no longer young guys; they have to be veterans and leaders.”

Sophomore guard Nathan Diloreto (London, Ont.) also saw some action in his first year and will get more opportunities this season.

Some good news for Western is the return to health of post player Adam Jespersen (London, Ont.). Much heralded as a transfer from the NCAA ranks, Jespersen suffered a serious wrist injury that cut his season short and was slow to heal. At 6-8 and very skilled, a healthy Jespersen is a major addition to the Mustang line-up. “Having Adam back is essential to our success,” says the coach. “He brings size, veteran leadership, and he knows how to play.”

Coach Campbell went hard on the recruiting trail, as the Mustangs look to build future depth. Several of the rookies will get significant playing time, with guards Ryan Higgins (Fergus, Ont.), Jermaine Bernard (Toronto), and Greg Morrow (London, Ont.) expected to push for minutes. “Those three players will serve as a good cornerstone for the program,” said Campbell. “They will make an impact for us right now, but I think they can be special players in our league later on.”

Mustang fans can likely expect some growing pains as the freshmen adjust to playing at the CIS level.  

Despite being one of the youngest teams in CIS, Coach Campbell isn’t conceding anything, adding “A really good season for us would be a top-four finish in the league, but our minimum goal is to make the playoffs. In the OUA West, anyone can beat anyone on any given night.”

Mustangs Travel To Rochester N.Y. For Two Games This Weekend

The Mustangs will travel to Rochester N.Y. this weekend for two games vs a pair of NCAA DIII teams - Nazereth College and the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Game times have recently been changed note times:

Fri. Nov. 4th @ Nazereth 8pm
Sat. Nov. 5th @ RIT 12:30pm

Western Gazette Article vs Algoma

2nd yr Forward Peter Scoltes vs Algoma

Click Here for link

Mustangs rebound against Thunderbirds

November 1, 2011
By David Wright

There were no treats, just tricks on Sunday afternoon as the Mustangs men’s basketball team hosted the Algoma Thunderbirds at Alumni Hall.

Coming off a big 83-51 loss last Tuesday to the Wittenberg Tigers, the Mustangs rebounded in a big way by outscoring the Thunderbirds 65-54 in what was the Mustangs’ last preseason home game.

Securing a win on Sunday was crucial, as the Mustangs desperately needed momentum as they head into league play on November 11.

“We’ve been in a slump, so we definitely needed to get this win. I think we came out in the first half and played great. The team played with intensity and did a great job today,” Ryan Barbeau, Mustangs captain, said.

Although there were a lot of positives to take away from the contest, turnovers seemed to be a major issue in this game as the Thunderbirds capitalized on many of the turnovers the Mustangs gave up. Mustangs head coach Brad Campbell was clearly frustrated about this.

“Turnovers are an issue for us—decision making and also just a lack of execution. Sometimes we go off and do things on our own when we have to stick to what has been asked. And that leads to a lot of frustration, not only for the coaching staff but I think also for some of the veteran players too who understand what’s being asked of them,” Campbell explained.

Turnovers and executing on their possessions is also a problem that the Thunderbirds need to address.

“Limiting our turnovers, taking care of the ball and executing a little bit better […] but the main thing is limiting our turnovers,” Thomas Cory, Thunderbirds’ head coach, said.

Playing in his fifth season, Barbeau is the most experienced player on the Mustangs squad. He showed his mettle on Sunday by leading the way with a game high 16 points while first-year guard Jermaine Bernard impressed by scoring 11 points, including a couple of field goals beyond the arc. The rest of the points were evenly distributed between the young Mustangs squad.

With only two players beyond their second year, one can only wonder how this inexperience will affect the Mustangs’ performance throughout the season.

“We’re obviously very young. Our average age is under 20 years old. But we can’t really use that as an excuse as we continue to move forward. We have an experience problem and we’re going to have to learn on the fly,” Campbell said.

“A lot of these guys are going to have some baptism by fire to learn that way […] there’s been some lessons learned and we can be a little bit more ready come league play,” Campbell said.

Cory, however, had nothing but praise for the young Western squad.

“Western is a well-coached team and they execute very well,” Cory said.

“We competed with a good university team,” he continued

Happy with the results of Sunday’s game, the Mustangs will hope to move forward, improving and becoming stronger as a team. When they host the York Lions on November 11, every shot, every point, and every game will count.