Jan. 15: Western 83 – Guelph 71

GUELPH – The Gryphon men's basketball team dropped an 83-71 final to the Western Mustangs this afternoon at the W.F. Mitchell Athletic Centre. The loss drops the Gryphons to 4-8 on the season while the Mustangs improve to 6-6.

For three quarters the two teams played about as even a game as possible. The Gryphon's failure to execute down the stretch cost them their sixth defeat in their last seven games.

Dan McCarthy (Guelph, Ont.) returned to the Gryphon's line-up, and showed no signs of any rust as he scored a game high 29 points, shooting an impressive 11-15 from the field and 4-6 from three point range. Unfortunately, no other Gryphon could offer much else, with Michel Clark (Burlington, Ont.) scoring 10 while Michael Petrella (Brantford, Ont.) had nine, to go with six assists.

 

The Mustangs were led by Ryan Barbeau, who scored 24 points, 10 in the final quarter alone. Quinn Hederson netted 16 points while Garrett Olexiuk added 15. One bright spot for the Gryphon's was their ability to contain Andrew Wedemire, who had a quiet 12 points and nine rebounds.

 

Both teams kept in close throughout the game, with neither team able to extend much of a lead. The teams were tied at the end of the first quarter, and after trading runs in the second, went into the half even at 37 apiece.

 

The Mustangs were able to play a well disciplined game in the second, as the Gryphon's only attempted five free throws in the second half. As a team, the Gryphon's shot a very bad 47% from the charity stripe. The Mustangs countered by shooting 20-26 from the line, helping sealing the Gryphon's fate.

With six minutes remaining in the fourth, the Mustangs were able to start pulling away, holding the Gryphons without a field goal for a three minute span as they built up a comfortable lead they would not relinquish.

The Gryphon's will hope to change their luck on the road when they visit the Laurier Golden Hawks January 19th. Tipoff is scheduled for 8pm.