GUELPH, ON - There have been numerous basketball doubleheaders played at the W.F. Mitchell Centre over the decades. But Saturday night was one of the more memorable ever on the University of Guelph campus. The Gryphon women clinched home court in the opening round of OUA playoffs and the men did everything they could to earn a playoff berth of their own. Guelph (9-10) ultimately lost 65-62 to the Brock Badgers (13-6) on the final night of regular season basketball ever played on the Mitchell Centre hardwood.
  The Gryphons needed a win and a Lakehead loss to keep their playoff hopes alive. But the dream never materialized and the 2015-16 season came to an abrupt end.
  Fifth-year senior Jack Beatty fought back tears knowing that the season, as well as his career, came to a close. "Honestly, I'm kind of forgetting the game right now," said Beatty. "It's been an honour to be with the Gryphons for five years. Everything Coach O (Chris O'Rourke) has done for me means a ton. I can't thank him and my team enough. They've brought me up when I'm down, It's just been awesome playing here for five years.
  "I just want to thank all of the fans. This is the best season we've had (in recent times). It's been a blast."
  The final minutes were tense with the packed Mitchell Centre crowd in full voice as the opponents exchanged leads. Taylor Boers lost a couple Brock defenders and drove to the hoop for a 58-55 Guelph lead with about 5 minutes left on the clock. Ahmed Haroon put the Gryphons up again with a strong lefty take that made it 60-59 for the hosts with 2:45 remaining.  But Dani Algadi sunk two free throws with under 2 minutes on the clock, which gave Brock a 62-60 lead. Boers had his own free throws with 1:42 left and sunk both to tie it 62-62. 
  Guelph almost stole the ball on the ensuing possession but Algadi would get loose inside for a basket with 1:25 left, which was the dagger for the Gryphons. One of the painful aspects of the loss was the fact that Guelph had built some recent momentum and saw that playoff dream vanish.
  "It's tough," said O'Rourke. "We felt like at the Laurier game, we were in a position where we were really backs against the wall and we were going to obviously have to pull out a couple big games to put ourselves back in that position. The guys responded and we did that, responding after not really playing well at Waterloo but pulling the game out.
  "Obviously, beating Ryerson was huge and then following it up with U of T and grinding that one out. We knew coming into this weekend that we needed to at least get one and felt both nights we were in a position certainly after the half.
  "We were up 9 and we had opportunities to convert layups, make 3s, free throws and we didn't do it," the coach said of Saturday's heartbreaker. "It was tough watching them go to the line 22 times in the second half. That didn't help us. There was no question that the guys competed. We just didn't execute and perform to the level we needed to down the stretch."
 

Jonathan Wallace led the Gryphons with 14 points, while Boers added 13.  Like in the women's game, the men's program and its rich history was celebrated at half time with a video presentation. House of Slam alumni and Gryphon Hall of Famers Eric Hammond and Tim Mau were honoured at half court, along with legend Garney Henley and Guelph native Dan McCarthy. The current Gryphons paid their respects by coming out to salute the quartet, a classy way to close out the last ever regular season game at the W.F. Mitchell Centre.
  "It was great to have them here," said Beatty. "Aside from those four guys I know there was a ton more here that I know. I know that we didn't get the win tonight but it was great to have that happen in my last game. It was amazing."
  The loss was obviously fresh but Beatty quickly recalled his favourite moments on his home court.
  "The biggest one for me is obviously beating Ryerson, the No. 1 team in the country," said Beatty. "That's a first for us. We haven't beat many ranked teams but we took down the No. 1. When I was in my second year, Dan McCarthy hitting a 3 to win against Western at the buzzer. And early in January, Taylor hitting a 3 at the buzzer to beat Windsor.
  "Those were great wins here and team wins."
  O'Rourke said at the beginning of the season that this would be a telling year for his team. It was time for some young players to elevate their games and the coach felt the 2015/16 season was a good step forward.
  "Some our young guys grew up," said O'Rourke, noting a stretch where the team won 7 of 10 games. "We only lose Jack and we already have some very good recruits signed for next year, three provincial team players from out of province. We're excited about that.
  "It certainly was a positive step. It just didn't end the way we wanted it to."