The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's basketball dropped a thrilling game to the Western Mustangs by a score of 83-81 on Saturday, November 16 at Goldring Centre.

Toronto took control of the game for the first twenty minutes, closing out the first half with a 41-29 lead. Western responded in the third and fourth quarters, outscoring the Blues down the stretch to overcome the deficit. The Mustangs took their first lead since the first quarter with two and a half minutes to play in the fourth, and were able to limit the Blues offense for long enough to hold onto the win in front of an energetic crowd at Goldring Centre.

The Blues and Mustangs were evenly matched for most of the game, with the Blues shooting 48.3% from the field and the Mustangs 44.9%, with both teams shooting 5-of-16 from beyond the arc. The Blues had a 52-33 edge in total rebounds, but the Mustangs took advantage at the free-throw line, shooting 76.2% from the charity stripe in the game compared to 62.1% by the Blues.

Quarry Whyne led the offense for the Blues, scoring a season-high 24 points for the fourth-year guard. Simeon Jeffers had 19 points of his own, shooting 7-of-11 from the field, and Lennart Weber chipped in with 16 points. Weber cleaned up on the glass, leading the Blues with a career-high 15 rebounds, and Whyne and Anthony Daudu each picked up six boards. Weber's three assists led the Toronto offense as well.

For the Mustangs, Milan John's 23 points and Noah Otshudi's season-high 22 points led the charge in the comeback effort. John was a dual threat for the Mustangs, shooting 62.5% from three-point range with six steals. Matteo Zagar's seven rebounds and four assists was tops for the visitors.

The Blues fall to 4-4 on the season with this loss, while the Mustangs move to 3-5 in OUA conference play.

The Blues look to rebound next weekend when they make a trip to Kingston, Ontario to face the Queen's Gaels on Friday, November 22 at 8 p.m. The game will be streamed online via oua.tv.