KINGSTON, Ont. (November 25, 2017) - The Gaels men's basketball team (5-3) fell just short of a comeback against the Western Mustangs (5-4) on home court Saturday night.

GAME FLOW
Opening the scoring, Landon Brickenden (Summerland, B.C.) was the first to get on the board for Queen's. Mike Shoveller (Arnprior, Ont) soon followed with a 3-pointer off an from Jaz Bains (Brampton, Ont).

Western came out of the gate playing a full court press to disrupt the Gaels offence. Despite the defensive pressure, Bains notched four assists by the end of the first frame. The game was tight early, as both teams pushed the pace and crashed the boards. After an impressive step-back 3-pointer, Bains found Jesse Graham (Kingston, Ont.) on a no-look pass as the shot-clock wound down. A buzzer beating 3-pointer by Eriq Jenkins of the Mustangs made it a 4-point game at 24-20 in favour of the Mustangs.

Kicking off the second quarter, Shoveller capitalized off of a perfect pick-and-roll. A fast break layup from Western's Jenkins pushed the margin to a 10-point game. Queen's struggled to score in the second only managing three points in the first five minutes. It was Shoveller who ended the dry spell, knocking down a big 3. The Gaels found themselves trailing once again at the end of the quarter with a 40-28 score entering halftime.

Western opened the second half with a 3-pointer to make it a 15-point game. Momentum favouring the Mustangs, the Gaels went to work to grind out some points. Bains led the charge, converting an and-1 basket. Mid-way through the third quarter, the Mustangs knocked down another 3-pointer to pad their lead to 18, forcing a Queen's timeout. A physical battle, Western conceded a technical and the Gaels responded with an scoring run. The 8-2 run came exclusively from the hot hands of Gaels guard Bains.

Heading into the fourth, the Mustangs led by 16 points with a 62-46 score. An offensive force for the Gaels on the night, Bains opened the final quarter with a step-back jumper. Tanner Graham (Kingston, Ont.) hit a big 3-pointer, with a dish from Bains. Graham picked up a block on the other end and hit another three  to put the Gaels within ten.  

With four minutes left, a big 3-pointer by Quinton Gray had the crowd on their feet to put the Tricolour within single digits. Harry Range got a tough rebound in the paint and got to the line to put the game within three. Gray drove in the lane and put up a big basket to make it a 1-point game. Marko Kovac of Western would come in clutch and sink an important 3-pointer with 15 seconds left. 

The final score of the game, Queen's 71, Western 75.

BY THE NUMBERS
21 & 10 - Jaz Bains put up a double-double, with 21 points and 10 assists
48.1% - The Gaels collectively shot 48.1% from the field
18 - Queen's allowed 18 turnovers to the Mustangs on the night

UP NEXT
The Gaels take on the York Lions in a mid-week showdown, on Wednesday Nov 29^th at 1:00pm. You can watch the action live on OUA.tv or grab tickets at www.gogaelsgo.com/tickets to check out the action at the ARC.