Guelph, ON - Friday night at the W.F. Mitchell Athletics Centre the Gryphons Men's Basketball team lost 78-77 to the Memorial Sea-Hawks in a preseason matchup.

The first half was a tale of two quarters. Both the Gryphons and the Sea-Hawks got off to quick starts offensively in what was an up-and-down opening quarter. Guelph shot 58.8% in the first going 10-17 from the field. The second quarter was a different story as the Gryphons defence started to take control of the game as they forced the Sea-Hawks into 15 turnovers and held them to 32.4% shooting from the field. Guelph held Memorial to just seven points in the quarter as the Gryphons led 43-26 at the half.

However, as the third quarter began, it would be a quarter the Gryphons would like to forget. The Sea-Hawks got hot from the field and put together a 20-2 run over a five minute stretch which saw the Gryphons vanquish a 17-point lead. Memorial outscored the Gryphons 32-11 in the quarter while shooting 13-21 from the field. The Gryphons were finally able to put a halt to the Memorial run thanks to seven points from Daniel Dooley, setting up a tight game down the stretch at the W.F. Mitchell Athletics Centre.

The game came down to the wire, which included some mad scrambles and a few turnovers in the final 21 seconds. However,, the Gryphons had a chance to win the game as they trailed 78-77 and had final possession needing a basket for the win. Third year guard Jonathan Wallace (Malton, ON) took the final shot for the Gryphons and came agonizingly close to winning it, only to see his mid-range shot hang on the rim for seemingly an eternity before eventually falling into the hands of a Memorial rebounder as the Sea-Hawks escaped with a 78-77 win.

A total of 10 players got on the scoresheet for the Gryphons, led by fourth year forward Ahmed Haroon who had a team-high 17 points. The Gryphons starting backcourt of Wallace and Dooley finished with 14 and 12 points respectively. The leading scorer of the game was Caleb Gould of the Sea-hawks as he had a double-double with 26 points and 12 rebounds.

The Gryphons continue preseason action at home tomorrow at 3 p.m. as they host the Mercyhurst Lakers from Erie, Pa. out of NCAA Division II.