A promising start unfortunately didn't translate into a win Friday night for the Nipissing Lakers men's basketball team, as they fell to the Western Mustangs on home court.

The Lakers were unable to hold on to their 11 point halftime lead and dropped a tight 77-72 contest to the Mustangs.

The first quarter saw both teams come out strong and pretty even with Western grabbing the one point lead, 19-18, at the end of the opening 10 minutes.

The Lakers dominated the second quarter, outscoring Western 26-14 and seemingly taking control of the game.

That big frame put them up 44-33 at the break.

What turned out to be the different in the game was the third, where the Mustangs couldn't miss, scoring 28 points and turning their 11 point deficit into a 61-53 lead.

The Lakers fought back in the final quarter, outscoring Western by three, but it wasn't enough, as the Mustangs held on to escape with the victory.

Marcus Lewis had a big game, scoring 26 points, Marvin Ngonadi added 18 and Justin Hill had 10 on tonight's contest.

Nipissing is back in action Saturday when they host Windsor at the RJS Athletic Centre. Game time is 8pm.