Box Score
The Guelph Gryphons men's basketball team lost a nail biter, 71-67 to the Badgers this afternoon (Jan. 28) in Guelph.
The loss drops the Gryphons to 8-8 while the win advances the Badgers to 9-7.
The Badgers got out to an early lead with a 10-point run and maintained that lead for most of the game with a tremendous defencive effort.
Adam Bering (Windsor, ON) put the Gryphons on the scoreboard capitalizing on a free-throw opportunity. Chasing the lead, the Gryphons managed to beat the Badger defence and drive to the basket, closing the gap 19-12. The team made the most of their free-throw opportunities and went 5-7 in the first quarter.
The Badgers continued to dominate the Gryphons on the court. Dan McCarthy (Guelph, ON) and Zachary Angus
(Burlington, ON) drained several big three-pointers to chip away slowly at the Badgers lead.
Kareem Malcolm's fast breaks helped to get the Gryphons within 10 points of the lead at 40-31. The Gryphons shooting average improved in the second half of the game, while Bering powered his way though the Badger defence to advance the Gryphons score, but the Badgers would continue to respond.
McCarthy set the tone for the fourth quarter, nailing a three-pointer at the shot clock. His hot shooting took the game to 61-55, and electrified the large home crowd.
The Badgers called a time out after the Gryphons came within six points of the lead. The Gryphons were building momentum and finding their way into the Badger zone to put game changing points up on the scoreboard. McCarthy sunk another three-pointer to make it a four-point game and stellar rebounding from Sheriff Wiredu (Ghana) put the Gryphs within two at, 66-64.
With the home crowd behind them, the men looked to take the lead for the first time in the game with 3:25 left in the fourth quarter, after coming back from a 10- point deficit.
The Gryphons needed to make every shot count if there was any chance they were going to clinch the win. Malcolm hit a huge three pointer to be within one, with merely 1:47 left in the game. The Gryphons gave up the ball on their final attempt to secure the lead allowing the Badgers to extend their lead, and would eventually squeak out a 71-67 win over the Gryphons.
McCarthy put up 20 points tonight to lead the Gryphons in scoring, followed by Bering with 15 and Malcolm with 13.
Didi Mukendi (St.Catharines, ON) scored 19 to lead the scoring for the Badgers, followed by Andrew Kraus (Markham, ON) with 17 and Andrew Ferguson (St.Catharines, ON) with 13.
The Gryphons will match up against the Mustangs on Wednesday, February 1 at 8:00 p.m. in the W.F. Mitchell Centre in Guelph.
Men's Basketball vs. Brock 2012 Gallery
