Boasting a comfortable, 11-point lead through three quarters, the Marauders were made to work to hold onto it through a tumultuous fourth, but ultimately came away from St. Catharines with a vital road win Friday.

McMaster reeled off its third consecutive victory to open the OUA season, beating their divisional rivals from Brock 79-73 to improve to 3-0 and continue their winning ways against divisional competition.

Forward Connor Gilmore led a balanced Marauders offence with 18 points, adding 12 rebounds for his second double double of the season, while a total of five McMaster players hit double digits in points in the win.

McMaster shot 46.5 per cent from the floor as a group, and held Brock to just 37 per cent overall and 11 per cent from three point range on the night.

A three from David McCulloch set the tone inside the first minute, as the Marauders took the game's only lead and built on it with the help of an immediate 7-0 run. The advantage swelled to 18 points by the end of the quarter, as Mac held the hosts to just nine points through 10 minutes.

Enjoying their largest lead of 20 points midway through the second quarter, McMaster's margin sat at 13 by the half's end, with McCulloch standing as the half's leading scorer after a hot start that saw the senior guard hit three of seven shots from the floor and two of four from three-point range for a high of nine points.

The Badgers took their first, tentative steps on the comeback trail in the third quarter, outscoring the Marauders by two in the period and setting the table for a furious effort in the fourth.

Steadily chipping away, Brock found itself just five points back of McMaster with 1:38 to play, after a pair of jumpers and a free throw capped a momentum swing in favour of the hosts.

But Kwasi Adu-Poku buried a shot soon after to steady the Marauders, and a series of Badgers misses on their ensuing three possessions ensured that the visitors kept their lead permanently.

NEXT UP: McMaster remains on the road in a week's time, travelling to North Bay on Friday, November 9 to battle the Nipissing Lakers before heading to Sudbury for a tilt against Laurentian the next night.