WESTERN 81 BROCK 75

LONDON, Ont. - Despite a poor second quarter, the Western Mustangs used their depth and strong transition play to upset the Brock Badgers 81-75 at Alumni Hall Jan. 5 in front of 750 fans.

Western (4-5) was paced by Colin LaForme, who was making his home debut, and he led the Mustangs with a double-double (10 points and 13 rebounds). Matt Curtis had a game-high 23 points.

Brad Smith added 21 points for Western and was strong defensively.

Brock (5-4) had to look beyond perennial all-star guard Brad Rootes for scoring who was amazing despite being shadowed all night. He had 18 points for the visiting Badgers, while Rohan Steen had 19 points.

Western trailed early but found success with a balance of second-effort scoring and three-point shooting.

Coming off a win at the Ryerson Invitational at the end of December, the Mustangs looked sloppy and had jitters at the start of the game.

Brock led 43-40 at the half but struggled to contain the Western balance in the third quarter, in which the Mustangs outscored the Badgers 23-14.

LaForme, a transfer from Youngstown State in the NCAA, was good on the glass and from three-point range showing his versatility as a big man.He will be an important cog in the Western wheel as they battle in a tough OUA West in January, a month that features a pair of games against the Windsor Lancers.

Western next travels to Windsor on Jan. 9 to face the defending OUA champion Lancers at 8 p.m.