Weathering a slow start, and a prolific night from Waterloo's Nedim Hodzic, McMaster came out on the winning end of a back-and-forth struggle Saturday.

Connor Gilmore notched his sixth double double of the season, while David McCulloch and Jordan Henry led the way with 16 and 15 points respectively, as Mac edged Waterloo 81-79 on the road.

It was Gilmore who sealed the win, rounding a defender and laying his effort off glass to give the Marauders their final lead with 21 seconds to play. The Warriors had one final possession, but saw their attempt from midrange clang off the rim and be cleared to end the night.

The win was the Marauders second consecutive, and saw the Hamilton squad improve to 9-9 in conference play, good for fourth spot in the OUA West.

Suffering a nightmarish opening to Saturday's game, McMaster fell into a quick 10-2 hole and scrambled to a timeout with four minutes to play in the first quarter. That wake up call from coach Patrick Tatham appeared to do its work, as the Marauders clambered back to within five points at the quarter break and continued to press into the second.

Making their slight edge on the boards felt -- McMaster out-rebounded Waterloo 39-31 on the night -- the Marauders continued to chip away at the Warriors lead, and took their first lead of the game when Damiann Prehay cleaned the defensive glass and knocked down the jumper at the other end for 23-21 with 5:45 to play in the half.

From there, the game developed the shot-for-shot appearance that it would carry through the second half, as Waterloo climbed back level at the halftime break and the teams headed to the locker room at 35-35.

Hodzic and the Warriors threatened to run away early in the third, with the big man successfully executing the three-point play to give Waterloo a seven-point cushion with 7:53 to play in the quarter.

Answering with an 8-0 run, McMaster restored balance and was stuck just one when the quarter came to an end after another Hodzic and-one play.

Once again, it was the host Warriors who were the sharper team out of the break, knocking down three straight buckets to build a seven-point lead before the Marauders climbed back to striking distance.

A three-point play from Gilmore and subsequent make from Henry boosted Mac ahead 72-70 with 3:23 to play, setting the final tense minutes of the contest in motion.

Ultimately, the Marauders never trailed again, with the Warriors only able to level in answer to buckets from the visitors, until Gilmore's final finish underneath went without a reply.

NEXT UP: McMaster returns home to Burridge Gym for a divisional clash with the Brock Badgers on Wednesday, January 30. That game is scheduled to get underway at 8:00 p.m. and can be seen live on Hamilton's Cable 14 or OUA.tv.