Box Score Guelph, ON – After playing with the No. 4 team in the country for most of the night, the Gryphons would fall short in the end as the Marauders would pull away in the fourth to win 86-74. With the loss, the Gryphons fall to 6-6. McMaster improves to 11-3 on the season.
Trevor Thompson led the Gryphons with 19 points. Aaron Redpath was the leading scorer for the Marauders with 23 points.
The first quarter would get underway with some high-paced action with a lot of emotion. The Gryphons would make their first five shots, marking a 10-4 run to start the game. Moments later Andrew Grant (Toronto, ON) would steal the ball and break away down the court to finish with an emphatic dunk. The Gryphons would end the quarter down two however, with a score of 20-18.
The second quarter emotions would get the best of both teams, as McMaster forward Connor Gilmore (Etobicoke, ON) would receive a technical foul early in the quarter that set the tone for what was to come. Later on Gryphons guard
Jonathan Wallace (Toronto, ON) and McMaster guard Aaron Redpath (Ajax, ON) would get into a scuffle, igniting both benches. The Marauders would get into foul trouble during the frame, which kept the Gryphons in the game. The half would end with the Marauders leading the Gryphons 39-33.
The intensity to the game was not forgotten over the half time break as the jawing and the technical fouls continued to pour in. Scoring wise, the third quarter was a back-and-forth affair as McMaster would score 24 in the period, while the Gryphons managed 22 points. The Marauders took a 63-55 lead into the final quarter.
That is where the Marauders would start to expand the lead and separate themselves from the Gryphons. Aaron Redpath caught fire from beyond the arc, knocking down several clutch three pointers. He finished as the games high scorer with 23 points as the Marauders improve to 11-3 thanks to an 86-74 victory. McMaster shot 52% in the second half compared to the Gryphons 38%. Trevor Thompson (Burlington, ON) led the Gryphons with 19 points while
Daniel Dooley had 12 points, five rebounds and five assists.
The Gryphons (6-6) remain in second place in the Central Division behind Mac (Lakehead is also 6-6, but Guelph owns the head-to-head with the Thunderwolves). The Gryphons will host another divisional opponent on Saturday (Jan. 31) at 3pm when they welcome the Brock Badgers (5-8) to the W.F. Mitchell Athletics Centre.
