Lancers advance to OUA Final Four for 5th time in 6 years
LONDON, Ont. - The Windsor Lancers men's basketball team hit the road on Saturday to take on the Western Mustangs in the OUA quarter-finals. Fresh off beating the Waterloo Warriors on Wednesday night, the Lancers came from behind to defeat the Mustangs 89-72.
After losing to the Mustangs twice in the regular season, it looked like more of the same early, however, the Lancers were able to come out on top and advance to the OUA Final Four for the fifth time in the last six years.
Western's Omar Shiddo led all players in points with 29 points in the losing effort. The Lancers were led by senior captain Mike Rocca who scored 24 points.
Rocca also chipped in 13 rebounds, enough to lead all players and notch a double-double. The Mustangs were led by Jedson Tavernier and his seven rebounds.
The Lancers had five players score double digits with Rocca, Marcus Jones, Damian Persaud, Lucas Orlita and Anthony Zrvnar all scoring 10 or more points. For the Mustangs, Shiddo, Marko Kovac and Eriq Jenkins all scored in double digits.
Things didn't look good for the Blue & Gold early. The Lancers were impatient on the offensive end, leading to a lot of missed shots and a lot of easy offense opportunities for the Western Mustangs. The Lancers hovered in the 20 per cent area in terms of field goals and only hit one three in the opening frame of action. Despite the shooting woes, the Lancers managed to remain close enough to mount a comeback.
In the second quarter, Windsor found some patience and the shots started falling as Rocca and the Lancers battled back. After a rocky start, the Lancers found themselves up at halftime, 38-29.
In the second half the Mustangs went off in the third quarter, shooting 80 per cent from the three-point line in the third frame. Western began to carve into the Lancer lead as they looked to defend their home court. Fortunately, for the visiting Lancers, Rocca did not want to hit the road with a loss in hand as the senior scored on over 50 per cent of his looks from the field as the Lancers survived and advance to the next rounds of playoffs, 89-72.
Source: Windsor Lancers