London-Western at cross country nationals; Lightning add Mordi & more;

Gameday in 5: A look to the week ahead — and a recap of the week that was (Nov. 20-26) — for London’s teams and athletes.

Heath McAllister, representing the gold medal-winning U20 team from London Western Track & Field Club, won individual bronze at the 2023 Athletics Canada cross country championships. (Photo: Miles Ryan Rowat / Mundo Sport Images).

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London Knights

It was a bit of a wild weekend for the Knights, who won two of three on their northern road trip to maintain third place in the Western Conference standings.

London started the week with a bounce-back win on Thursday (after two straight losses), beating the North Bay Battalion 6-3. The Knights wasted little time with Ruslan Gazizov opening the scoring at the 4:15 mark. Easton Cowan and Oliver Bonk scored back-to-back power play goals to extend the lead. North Bay responded with a goal of their own, but London led 3-1 at the end of the first.

Gazizov opened the scoring again in the second to restore the three-goal lead. North Bay scored twice to bring themselves within a goal, but that’s as close as they’d get. The third period was all Knights, with Oliver Bonk scoring the team’s third power play goal and Max McCue adding an empty netter.

After a big win Thursday, the Knights took a tough loss Friday, losing a lopsided 9-2 decision to the Sudbury Wolves. The wolves scored three times in every period en route to the win. Jacob Julien and Sam Dickinson scored the two Knights goals. Goalie Owen Willmore was charged with all nine goals in the loss.

London then flipped the script on Saturday, beating the Barrie Colts 9-3. The two teams traded goals in the first, with Easton Cowan opening the scoring with a shorthanded goal. The Knights came out swinging in the second period, outscoring Barrie 7-1 in the frame. Kasper Halttunen led the way, scoring his first hat trick as a Knight. Jacob Julien, Henry Brzustewicz, Ruslan Gazizov and Kaeden Johnston all joined in on the fun with goals of their own. Michael Simpson, who got the start in net for the Knights, stopped 35 of 38 shots to secure the win.

Up next:

The Knights will play a pair of games this weekend — including a return home Friday (after a road stretch) against the Mississauga Steelheads.

Fri. Dec. 1 (7:00pm vs. Mississauga Steelheads)
Sat. Dec. 2 (7:05pm @ Saginaw Spirit)

Western Mustangs

Football

Four members of the Mustangs’ football team were named All-Canadians for the 2023 season. Wide receiver Savaughn Magnaye-Jones, safety Jackson Findlay and tackle Erik Andersen made the first team, while linebacker Lourenz Bowers-Kane was named to the second team. 

Magnaye-Jones was third in total receiving yards (671) and fifth in yards per game (83.9) during the 2023 regular season. He scored five touchdowns in eight games. Andersen, meanwhile, was a crucial part of an offensive line that allowed Western to remain competitive on the ground after injuries to their top two running backs.

Filling the shoes of Daniel Valente Jr. this year, Jackson Findlay had a very strong season, including tallying three interceptions (118 yards returned) in the regular season — and adding another four picks in the team’s three playoff games. Bowers-Kane led the Mustangs with 36.5 tackles, 1.5 sacks, three tackles for losses and a forced fumble during the regular season.

Men’s Basketball

After a 97-95 win over Lakehead Friday, Western’s men’s basketball team finds itself tied for first in the West division with the Laurier Golden Hawks.

Looking to build on their 5-2 record heading into Friday’s game, the Mustangs started strong, holding a 12-point lead after the first quarter — and an 11-point advantage, 48-37, at the half. But Lakehead pushed back in the third quarter, eventually taking the lead and threatening an upset win. Western scored the first six points in the fourth quarter, though, to take the lead back, and they successfully held off the visitors.

Jerric Palma had the big blow, completing a four-point play to give the Mustangs a five-point lead with 17 seconds left in the game. Palma was the team’s leading scorer with 22 points to go with 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Tyson Dunn turned in a double-double with 20 points and 11 assists (and 6 rebounds).

Up next:

The Mustangs have just one more game — a road contest — before the holiday break. They’ll return to action in the new year with a home game against Laurier Jan. 5.

Sat. Dec. 2 (2:00pm @ Windsor Lancers)

London Western Track & Field Club

It was a successful day at the 2023 Athletics Canada cross country championships Saturday in Ottawa for the London Western Track & Field Club, which sent 40 team members — on five different teams — to the Mooney’s Bay course in the nation’s capital.

The U20 men’s team came away with the gold medal in their division. Heath McAllister led the way with an individual bronze medal in the 8km race (in a time of 25:20). Ian McAllister finished seventh, while teammates Liam Smith, Satveer Gill and Ryan Davies placed 18th, 19th and 24th, respectively.

London Western won team silver in the men’s open event. Leading the way in that 10km race were Connor Black (5th, 29:34) and Mike Tate (6th, 29:35). Also finishing in the top 10 was Jeremy Coughler (10th), while Phil Parrot-Migas was right beside in 11th.

It was bronze for the open women’s team, meanwhile, with a strong team performance overall. Chloe Hewitt led the way with a 22nd place finish (36:21) in the 10km event. Jenna Schulz was 29th, while Zoe Burke and Hana Marmura were 33rd and 34th, respectively.

London Lightning

The Lightning continued to make signings last week for the 2023-24 season — their first in the Basketball Super League (BSL). Already with eight players ready to head to training camp, which begins next week, the Lightning signed big man Amir Yusuf, forward Kevin Baker, and a returning guard, Jeremiah Mordi.

That makes 11 — with more to be announced in the coming days. That list includes Sam Cunliffe, BSL drafted players Rashad Smith and Alonzo Murphy, and the first five Lightning signings, Jermaine Haley Jr., Marcus Ottey, Jachai Taylor, Nick Garth, and Ben Mockford.

Mordi was a valuable member of last year’s Lightning team that won its second straight NBLC championship. In 23 games overall, he averaged 13.9 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. Against the Windsor Express, he had a phenomenal deciding Game 5 performance, pouring in 37 points on 12-of-19 shooting — including 5-for-9 from three-point range.

London is now one month away from tipping off the 2023-24 season in Sudbury on Dec. 28, 2023.