Lancers earn impressive 89-74 win over IPFW

Windsor, ON - The Windsor Lancers men's basketball team earned an impressive 89-74 victory over the Indiana Purdue at Fort Wayne Mastodons in their annual OUA-NCAA Tip-Off Classic on Wednesday night at the St. Denis Centre.

This is the fourth straight year that Head Coach Chris Oliver's squad has earned a pre-season victory over an NCAA Division I opponent. The Lancers previously earned wins over Oakland University, University of South Alabama, and The Citadel.

For the Lancers, guard Mitch Farrell turned in an electric performance in his Windsor debut as he led all scorers with 27 points on 10-14 shooting including an incredible 7 of 9 from three-point range. He also added 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals to help pace the Lancer victory.

On Wednesday night, Windsor jumped out to an early four point advantage and then went back and forth with the Mastodons through much of the first quarter. Senior Evan Matthews provided an early spark in the low post as the two teams were tied 20-20 after the opening ten minutes.

In the second quarter, the Lancers again opened up a slight lead but weren't able to break free of the Mastodons. Another evenly played quarter ended with IPFW holding a slim 42-40 lead at halftime.

The second half was all Windsor as the home team exploded early in the third quarter and built a ten point advantage. Veterans Rotimi Osuntola Jr. and Khalid Abdel-Gabar knocked down some open looks from long-range as the Lancers extended to a commanding 66-52 lead. The Lancers were on fire from behind the arc throughout the contest and finished 17-34 from three-point range.

The Mastodons were unable to mount a charge in the fourth quarter as Farrell and Alex Campbell hit from deep to increase the Lancer lead as they cruised to the 89-74 win.

In addition to Farrell's 27 points, the new look Lancers also got 17 points and 7 rebounds from Rotimi Osuntola Jr. and 15 points from Khalid Abdel-Gabar. Alex Campbell chipped in with 12 points and Evan Matthews added 9 points and 6 rebounds while playing some tremendous low post defense.

The Lancers next pre-season action will take place on September 20th when they host Humber College at 4pm at the St. Denis Centre.

Source: Windsor Lancers