Despite Barbeau's 34 points, Western drops 90-79 decision

By Mustangs Athletics

The Western Mustangs nearly pulled off an upset that would have sent ripple effects through the OUA playoff outlook, but could not quite get over the hump in a 90-79 loss to the visiting Marauders of McMaster University. On Senior Night, Ryan Barbeau led all scorers with 34 points.

After playing to a 19-19 tie to end the first period, the Mustangs slow began to build a lead early in the second period until a late-period run put the Marauders up by seven. With 17 ticks remaining on the clock, McMaster’s Adam Presutti nailed a 3-pointer but Barbeau answered right back seconds before the buzzer with a trey of his own. At the half, the Mustangs faced only a 44-40 deficit.

After trailing by as many as 12 points in the third period, the Mustangs fought back to within four points thanks to a Charlie Drouin layup and a subsequent 3-pointer from Barbeau pulled them to within points of the lead. However, a string of Western missed foul shots and turnovers through the remainder of the game saw McMaster’s lead swell to as much as 15 in the waning minutes of the game.

Western’s Quinn Henderson provided 10 points and eight rebounds, while teammate Peter Scholtes dropped in 13 points of his own. Despite shooting nearly 50-percent in both halves, the Mustangs were cold from beyond the arc, hitting only four of 18 attempts.

The University of Western Ontario will be in action again on February 18^th when it travels to Windsor for a 4:00pm tipoff.