Box Score The New Year started off on the right note for the McMaster men's basketball team as it went to Waterloo on Wednesday night and defeated the Warriors 93-66.

The presence of former Marauder coach Justin Gunter on the Warrior bench made for an interesting side-note as it was his first time playing the school where he spent 12 years as a player and coach.

The Marauders used several long scoring runs to build up a first-half lead and made it tough for Waterloo to come from behind. Tied 8-8 in the opening quarter, McMaster finished the quarter strong to lead 23-14 after 10 minutes.

The second quarter saw McMaster start out on a 15-2 run to open a 38-16 advantage, and forcing Gunter to call a timeout. The Marauders used the long ball to gap the Warriors during the second stanza, hitting five from beyond the arc, including a rare 4-point play by Lazar Kojovic. But credit Waterloo for refusing to quit and the Warriors ended the quarter strongly to get back within 14 at 48-34 by halftime.

McMaster opened the third quarter by outscoring the Warriors 9-2 to get the lead back over 20. Waterloo got some solid play from Ben Davis to stop the run but could not cut into the maroon margin and trailed 72-50 after the third quarter.

Having a comfortable lead allowed Mac Coach Amos Connolly to substitute liberally and keep his players fresh as he got solid production from the bench.

The fourth quarter saw McMaster open the lead up to almost 30 and the Warriors showed the fatigue of playing from behind for almost the entire contest, resulting in the final 27-point victory.

Connolly was pleased with the team's effort, especially coming off a seven-week layoff. "Waterloo is a tough environment and to hold them in the 60's indicates we played good defense," said Connolly post-game. "I was happy with our pace of play and we'll take this one as Coach Gunter is doing a fantastic job and it won't be long before this place is a very difficult OUA stop."

The Marauders used their usual balanced attack as six players scored in double figures. Top shooter was Leon Alexander with 17, while his fellow starters Trevon McNeil (14), Troy Joseph (12) and Connor Gilmore (10) also hit double-digits. Off the bench David McCulloch with 11 and Lazar Kojovic with 10 had solid games. For Waterloo Ben Davis and Jon Ravenhorst each scored 14.

Improving to 6 and 2 in the OUA Central, the Marauders will travel back to Waterloo on Saturday for a game at Wilfrid Laurier with a 3-pm start.