The Varsity Blues men’s basketball team came into their game Friday night looking to bounce back after a tough loss the previous weekend to the Ottawa Gee-Gees. Their opponent on Friday was the Western Mustangs, who sat third in the Western Division going into the matchup, compared to the Blues who were in first in the OUA Central division. 

What happened

Blues forward Lennart Weber picked up right where he left off last weekend, opening the scoring for the Blues with a three. After a back and forth throughout the first quarter, the Blues held a three-point lead thanks to a three from star guard Callum Baker late in the quarter. 

Things went south early in the second quarter, when the Mustangs went on a 10–0 run, taking a five-point lead. Unfortunately for Western, however, that run lit a spark in Baker, who hit five threes in the first half, giving his team a 41–37 point lead at halftime. 

Baker stayed hot in the second half as he hit yet another three early on, sending a message to any Western fans who hoped he would cool down. One play by Baker in the third stood out, above all the threes he hit: after a missed shot by a teammate, he out jumped three players taller than him to grab an offensive rebound, and went back up, drawing a foul and two free throws. 

The Blues’ onslaught continued for the rest of the third quarter through exceptional ball movement and more threes. By the end of the third they had already topped their most three pointers in a game in the season.

Anybody who doubted the Blues’ ability to hold on to the lead would have realized their foolishness when Baker opened the fourth quarter with yet another three, tying his own season high for three pointers made. The Blues didn’t look back in the fourth quarter, and the game ended with a final score of 92–83.

On a night where the Blues set season highs in assists and three pointers, Baker told The Varsity that “this is definitely a version of our team that we want fans to get used to seeing every year from now on.” He also mentioned that the assisting and rebounding the team showed was a result of the “playmakers on the team” and the fact that the Blues are “one of the best rebounding teams and offensive rebounding teams in the country.” 

Baker gave a special shoutout to teammate Anthony Daudu, who leads the team in rebounding but went out at halftime with an injury, saying that they “had to make up for his, about 20 rebounds a game.” Baker led the Blues with 29 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists. 

What’s next

The Blues will look to take this momentum into their matchup with Brock University next weekend.