The Waterloo Warriors came home from a two-game road swing through southwestern Ontario with a split. After an 83-62 loss to Western at Thompson Arena on Friday night, the Warriors bounced back 24 hours later to beat Windsor 84-76 at the Toldo Lancer Centre.

Stefan Prica (Etobicoke, ONT/New Horizon) led the way on Saturday with 26 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 4 of 7 from three and a perfect 6-for-6 at the line. When Windsor cut a seven-point lead to one in the final three minutes, the Warriors' defence held the Lancers scoreless over the last 2:15 to close it out.

Friday: Western 83, Waterloo 62

Western jumped on the Warriors early. The Mustangs scored the first six points and led 25-9 after one quarter, getting easy looks inside and a lift off the bench from Owen Urquhart, who scored six points in the final four minutes of the quarter.

Waterloo answered with its best stretch of the night in the second. Prica caught fire, knocking down four threes in the quarter, the last with 14 seconds left, and Ross Pockar (Calgary, ALB/Edge School) and Moses Anvari (Ajax, ONT/Bill Crothers) scored inside. The Warriors won the quarter 27-14 and went to the half down just 39-36.

The game turned again in the third. After Isaiah McRae's three tied it at 41 early in the quarter, Western scored 11 straight points and pulled away, winning the frame 24-10. The Mustangs shot 52.9 percent for the game and committed only 7 turnovers to Waterloo's 12.

Andres Garcia led Western with 16 points and went 3-for-3 from deep, Milan John added 15, and Urquhart finished with 14 on 7-of-10 shooting in just 13 minutes. Pockar paced the Warriors with 13 points on 5-of-7, Prica scored 12, and Anvari had 9 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.

Saturday: Waterloo 84, Windsor 76

The Warriors flipped the script from the opening tip on Saturday. Cristian Craciun (Ancaster, ONT/Bishop Tonnos) scored on the first possession, and Waterloo raced out to a 20-7 lead behind threes from Craciun, Anvari and McRae. Windsor closed the quarter on an 8-0 run to make it 20-15.

Marcus Wilson (Miramichi, NB/Moncton High School) then gave the Warriors a huge boost off the bench. He scored all 12 of his points in the second quarter, hitting two threes and turning a steal into a layup, and Waterloo stretched the lead to 44-27. Windsor got back within eight at the break, 48-40.

The Lancers kept coming in the third, hitting five threes in the quarter to cut the lead to 57-55. Prica answered each time. His three with 2:51 left in the third made it 60-55, and he opened the fourth with seven straight Waterloo points, capped by another three for a 71-60 lead.

Windsor made one more push. Prica made two free throws for a 77-70 lead with 3:17 left, but the Lancers scored six straight to pull within 77-76 with 2:15 to go. From there, Waterloo's defence took over. Anvari split a pair at the line for a 78-76 lead, and Windsor came up empty on its next four trips. McRae came up with a steal with under a minute left, then grabbed a defensive rebound and scored a layup to make it 80-76 with 23 seconds left. Craciun blocked a three on the next possession, and McRae and Prica went 4-for-4 at the line to seal it.

The Warriors shot 52.7 percent from the field and 9 of 16 from three, and forced 15 Windsor turnovers while coming up with 11 steals. Craciun finished with 15 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks, Anvari added 14, and McRae filled the stat sheet with 13 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals.

Luke Grace was perfect for Windsor, going 7-of-7 from the field and 7-of-7 at the line for 23 points. Bronson Chambers added 21 with five threes.

Weekend by the numbers

Prica was the Warriors' top scorer on the trip, totalling 38 points and 8 threes over the two games.

The difference between the two nights came down to taking care of the ball and making shots from deep. The Warriors turned it over less, forced more turnovers and shot more than twice as well from three on Saturday, and it showed on the scoreboard.