Eureka Red Devils too hot for Stangs, take exhibition game 85-7210/20/2012 11:38:00 PM The Western Mustangs men`s basketball team welcomed the Eureka College Red Devils -- an NCAA Division III team from Eureka, Illinois -- on Saturday in pursuit of its first home victory for this exhibition season. Depsite a strong start, the Mustangs faced injury and team chemistry trouble as the game progressed and finished 13 points behind with a 85-72 final score to the Red Devils.Eureka College is the third NCAA team Western has hosted this year, dropping games against South Alabama and Trine University earlier in the pre-season. Four Mustangs putting up double digit point totals in tonight`s game, but the veteran experience took command throughout and resulted in the Mustangs` loss.The Mustang guards came out running and created opportunities off the fast break. Peter Scholtes accompanied the backcourt with strong inside play and finished the first quarter with a solid ten points. The Mustangs maintained resilience and contested against the Red Devil`s veteran offence for the first fifteen, even without strong defensive play. The opening quarter ended in a 24 point tie.The Red Devils went up a costly ten points at the start of the second quarter, where Mustang miscommunication caused several turnovers and allowed for the Eureka Red Devils to go up on the scoreboard. Western knew they needed to regroup and adjust in order to seize their full potential. Continued pressure from the Red Devils squad resulted in a first half score of 47-34 in favour of Eureka College.The second half began with a quick three-pointer from Mustang Ryan Higgins off of an assist from teammate Quinn Henderson. Great outside shooting from Jacob Hutchcroft gave Western the kick they needed to cut the deficit. Even though an improved offensive presence was evident in the third quarter, it was no match for the Red Devils` accurate shooting. The third quarter ended with a score of 47-70.The Mustangs had work cut out for them at the start of the fourth quarter. Jacob Hutchcroft continued to play well on both sides of the court, making two jumpers and a three pointer off the bench. Scholtes, who started off the game strong in the post, was sidelined by injury in the second half and unable to factor into a comeback.Western continued to play hard until the final minutes and cut Eureka`s lead, but fell short to the Red Devils, who outshot the `Stangs the entire game. Mustang Charlie Drouin played extremely well and racked up 14 points, three rebounds and one assist.Following the game, head coach Brad Campbell gave insight into what went wrong. “We were completely out executed. We were taken advantage of from a veteran team,`` he said. ``We got beat during off ball action and were poor in anticipating and seeing what was happening.”The Mustangs are back to the drawing board but have chances to rebound before the regular season starts in November. Western takes on fellow American school Ashland University from Ashland, Ohio next. The NCAA Division II squad will challenge at Alumni Hall on Monday, October 22 at 7pm.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Scholtes drops 26 in loss to NCAA's Trine University
The third-year forward led all players in points, and went 6-for-7 from three point range
10/1/2012 9:53:00 PM
LONDON, Ont. - After a long layoff following their first exhibition game in mid-August, the Western Mustangs men’s basketball team was back on the court Monday night, again playing host to an NCAA team, the Trine University Thunder. Despite outscoring the Indiana school 46-35 for the final three quarters, the Mustangs allowed 32 points in the first quarter, putting them in a hole they couldn’t climb out of, losing 67-57.
“If you spot a team a 22-point lead in the first quarter you’ve got your work cut out for you the rest of the game,” said Mustangs head coach Brad Campbell. “We basically gave up 25 points in the second half and 32 in the first quarter. We turned the ball over 28 times and were 11-for-29 from the free throw line. You throw those three things in there it’s going to be very difficult to come out with a win.”
The night got off to an unusual start for the two teams, as a few minutes before tip off an unexpected power outage effected parts of the main Western campus, including Alumni Hall. After a few minutes of deliberation Western officials decided to move things next door, and host the game at Thames Hall.
Following a quick turnaround by officials and the event staff, the two teams moved over to the more intimate confines of Thames Hall and got things underway only slightly later than expected.
The delay didn’t seem to affect the Thunder, who stormed out to an early lead on impressive shooting, going 14 for 18 from the field, including hitting four of five shots from three point range. As strong as Trine was from the floor, Western couldn’t get things going, hitting only four of 12 shots from the field, and going two for six from the line to end the quarter down 32-11.
Western turned things around in the second quarter, outscoring Trine 17-10, largely on the shooting of third-year forward Peter Scholtes. Scholtes scored all but three of the Mustangs points in the second frame, including going a perfect 4-4 from beyond the arc to make it 42-28 for Trine at the half.
Things continued to turn in the Mustangs favour in the third quarter, with multiple players including Scholtes, Jermaine Bernard and Quinn Henderson all getting involved in the scoring, to allow the Mustangs to close the gap to seven, with Trine leading 50-43 heading into the final frame.
Entering the fourth quarter the Thunder settled down and began to regain control of the game, jumping out to a 17-point lead midway through the final quarter. Late in the game Western began to reassert themselves, closing the gap to 10 with just over a minute left, and then closing to within eight in the final minute. However, that was as close as the Mustangs would get, with the Thunder taking a 67-57 victory.
Leading the way for the Mustangs all night was Scholtes, who dropped in 26 points, double the next leading scorer for either team, including hitting six of seven three pointers. Although the exhibition season is only two games old, Scholtes is emerging as a leader on this young Mustangs team, particularly on the offensive end.
“Pete’s the most proven scorer on our team, he averaged 16 points per game last year, he’s obviously proven at this level he can score. We’re going to have to have him score quite a bit, but we really need a second, third and fourth guy to come forward and put some points on the board for us,” said Campbell.
Next up for the Mustangs is a trip to Calgary for the Calgary Cup tournament hosted by the Dinos from October 11-14.
“If you spot a team a 22-point lead in the first quarter you’ve got your work cut out for you the rest of the game,” said Mustangs head coach Brad Campbell. “We basically gave up 25 points in the second half and 32 in the first quarter. We turned the ball over 28 times and were 11-for-29 from the free throw line. You throw those three things in there it’s going to be very difficult to come out with a win.”
The night got off to an unusual start for the two teams, as a few minutes before tip off an unexpected power outage effected parts of the main Western campus, including Alumni Hall. After a few minutes of deliberation Western officials decided to move things next door, and host the game at Thames Hall.
Following a quick turnaround by officials and the event staff, the two teams moved over to the more intimate confines of Thames Hall and got things underway only slightly later than expected.
The delay didn’t seem to affect the Thunder, who stormed out to an early lead on impressive shooting, going 14 for 18 from the field, including hitting four of five shots from three point range. As strong as Trine was from the floor, Western couldn’t get things going, hitting only four of 12 shots from the field, and going two for six from the line to end the quarter down 32-11.
Western turned things around in the second quarter, outscoring Trine 17-10, largely on the shooting of third-year forward Peter Scholtes. Scholtes scored all but three of the Mustangs points in the second frame, including going a perfect 4-4 from beyond the arc to make it 42-28 for Trine at the half.
Things continued to turn in the Mustangs favour in the third quarter, with multiple players including Scholtes, Jermaine Bernard and Quinn Henderson all getting involved in the scoring, to allow the Mustangs to close the gap to seven, with Trine leading 50-43 heading into the final frame.
Entering the fourth quarter the Thunder settled down and began to regain control of the game, jumping out to a 17-point lead midway through the final quarter. Late in the game Western began to reassert themselves, closing the gap to 10 with just over a minute left, and then closing to within eight in the final minute. However, that was as close as the Mustangs would get, with the Thunder taking a 67-57 victory.
Leading the way for the Mustangs all night was Scholtes, who dropped in 26 points, double the next leading scorer for either team, including hitting six of seven three pointers. Although the exhibition season is only two games old, Scholtes is emerging as a leader on this young Mustangs team, particularly on the offensive end.
“Pete’s the most proven scorer on our team, he averaged 16 points per game last year, he’s obviously proven at this level he can score. We’re going to have to have him score quite a bit, but we really need a second, third and fourth guy to come forward and put some points on the board for us,” said Campbell.
Next up for the Mustangs is a trip to Calgary for the Calgary Cup tournament hosted by the Dinos from October 11-14.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Game Day: Western vs Trine University (NCAA)
Western vs Trine University (NCAA) Tonight Alumni Hall 7pm
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