GUELPH, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons men's basketball team saw their three-game win streak come to an end on Friday night on their home floor following a 97-80 loss to the McMaster Marauders.
The Gryphons got off to a hot start, pouring in 27 first quarter points on 57% shooting as a team to take an early six-point lead. The visiting Marauders would flip the script in the second quarter, however, outscoring the Gryphons 26-12, sparked by a 13-4 run that turned a 33-33 game into a 46-37 lead for McMaster at the half. After an evenly played third quarter, McMaster would end any hopes of a Gryphon comeback, outscoring Guelph 34-23 in the fourth.
The Marauders were led by fifth-year guard David McCulloch's 23 points (7-of-11 shooting, 3-5 from beyond) while fourth-year forward Connor Gilmore added 20 points while going 4-6 from three.
For Guelph, third-year guard
Aaron Nugent finished with a career-high 24 points (9-14 shooting, 3-4 from three) while also adding 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Sophomore forward
Rasheed Weekes chipped in with 15 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks while guards
Tommy Yanchus and
Malcolm Glanville each finished with 13 points.
Friday night's game also served as a potential first-round playoff matchup, with McMaster (6-7) and Guelph (6-8) currently tied with 12 points on the season and sit in fourth and fifth-place, respectively, in the OUA West. The Gryphons will be back on home court on Wednesday (Jan. 16) versus Brock before heading out on a six-game road trip beginning Saturday (Jan. 19) at Western.
Gryphon Take
"Two areas really hurt us tonight: One - we didn't value the ball. We turned it over 18 times and they capitalized seemingly every chance. And two - we missed 12 fouls shots. There was numerous times where we had a six or seven point game and instead of continuing to close we wound up compounding our mistakes. Playing four games in a seven-day stretch has been a challenge. We looked mentally fried at some points in the second quarter. We'll take advantage of having the next few days off before returning to practice Monday to get ready for Brock on Wednesday."
– head coach Chris O'Rourke
The Record
Guelph is 6-8
Next up
vs Brock Badgers - Wednesday, Jan. 16, 8 pm @ Guelph Gryphons Athletics Centre
