WATERLOO, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons men's basketball team has taken some big steps forward this season. But the Gryphons are still trying to put together a full 40-minute effort on a consistent basis. Guelph rallied late before eventually falling 88-79 to the Laurier Golden Hawks in front of a packed house of local kids on School Day at the Athletic Complex Gym Wednesday afternoon.
 
Guelph had a strong first half on the road before the Hawks, second in the OUA West standings (12-5), pulled away with a dominant third quarter in which they outscored the visitors 33-19 for a 74-55 lead heading into the fourth. A pair of Aaron Nugent three-pointers spurred a quick 10-0 Guelph run to start the final quarter but the hole from the decisive third was too deep. Kieran Naus sunk pair of free throws to get the Gryphons close at 82-74 but Laurier's Jackson Mayers nailed a three-pointer with 3:15 remaining to push the lead back to double digits.
 

Banky Alade led the Gryphons with 22 points, while Tommy Yanchus had 18. Yanchus, who entered the day eighth in OUA scoring at 17.9 points per game, nailed 3 three-pointers en route to 14 points to keep the team within striking distance in the first half. Nugent finished with 12 points, including an impressive 11 (3 3-pointers) when the team made a push in the fourth.
 
Guelph had a difficult time containing the Hawks' star guard Ali Sow, who came into the game ranked second in OUA scoring at 26.8 ppg. Sow finished with 27 points, showing an array of skills putting the ball on the floor and making shots from the perimeter. Laurier's Ntore Habimana was also a handful, leading all players with 28 points.
 
The Gryphons struggled offensively in a loss at Western Saturday night but they came out firing in front of the big Laurier crowd. Malcolm Glanville (14 points and team-high 5 assists) and Yanchus each made a three-pointer and Alade feasted inside during a fast-paced first quarter that ended with Laurier up 24-20. Guelph kept the level up in the second with Yanchus and Alade carrying the load to enter the half down 41-35.

 
Gryphon Take
"The third quarter definitely hurt us. We had to scratch and claw out of that deficit. In the fourth quarter, we played with the urgency needed.  We need to build on the positive lessons and grind to be more consistent." – head coach Chris O'Rourke

 
The Record
Guelph is 6-11.

 
Next up
@ Windsor, Saturday, Jan. 26, 4 pm