Michael Petrella (Brantford, Ont.) scored a season high 37 points to lead the Guelph Gryphon men's basketball team over the Waterloo Warriors 98-83 tonight at the W.F. Mitchell Centre.

 

The Gryphons move to 4-7 on the season while the Warriors drop to 5-6.

 

Just when it looked like the season was getting away from the Gryphon's, Petrella put the team on his back and came away with a career night.

 

Petrella led the Gryphon's with a game-high 37 points to go along with 11 assists. Petrella went 5-10 from three point range, and seemingly could do no wrong either blowing by defenders off the dribble or pulling up from deep.

 

Not to be undone, George Mason (Orillia, Ont.) had 21 points, scoring 18 of them after the halftime break. He shot an impressive 7-12 from three point range. Jerald Greenidge (Brampton, Ont.) added 12 points with 10 rebounds, while Michel Clark netted 10 with 11 boards.

 

The Warriors were led by Alan Goodhoofd's 20 points, while Wayne Bridge added 15 in the losing effort. While the Warriors shot a higher field goal percentage than the Gryphon's, they were only 4-13 from three point range, compared to the Gryphon's 16-32 shooting.

 

The win was not so certain at halftime, as the Gryphon's trailed the Warriors 46-40. Petrella was already holding his own, scoring 19 at the half, but no other Gryphon had more than six. The Warriors also shot over 50% in the first half, while the Gryphon's struggled to execute.

 

Coach O'Rourke's halftime speak certainly seemed to inspire his players, as they roared out to a 13-0 run to take a 53-46 lead at the five minute mark of the third. They never looked back, nailing five three's in the quarter. The Gryphon's outscored the Warriors 35-16 in the third alone, and maintained a double-digit lead for the rest of the game.

 

The Gryphon's will look to maintain their momentum as they take on the rival Western Mustangs this Saturday at the W.F. Mitchell Centre. Tipoff is scheduled for 3pm.